The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
HOWDY FROM HOUSTON
2/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | General
Feb. 26, 2011
Greetings from "Rodeo Central." Houston is playing host to the 2011 Rodeo...lots of cowboy hats and country music this weekend...and, we hope, a big UAB win. The Green and Gold will square off against the Cougars later this evening in an important Conference USA match-up. The Blazers are part of a three-way tie for first in the league with just three games remaining in the regular season. Three teams are just one game back, and seventh-place Marshall is just two games out of first place. What a year!
Today will exciting, because all three leaders are playing on the road. UAB is here to face Houston, Southern Miss is at UCF, and Memphis visits UTEP. Coach Davis predicted earlier in the season that the league champion would have at least four losses, and right now, he's dead on. Although, with the difficult schedules remaining for the leaders, and those chasing, it's not out of the question to think an 11-5 mark might win the title. I don't care what the record is that wins the league as long as the Blazers are the one atop the standings a week from today.
The Green and Gold will travel to Southern Miss on Wednesday and then close out the regular season next Saturday at home against East Carolina. That's a tough finish, for sure, but the Blazers have been a good road team again this year, and they'll have to be if they want to win the C-USA crown. The good news is UAB doesn't need any help at this point. If the Blazers win out, they are guaranteed no worse than a tie for the regular season title...mighty nice to control things at this point in the campaign.
The rosters for tonight's game will be interesting. Houston will be without their second-leading scorer, Adam Brown, who was suspended indefinitely on Friday by head coach James Dickey. No reason was given, but he'll be out tonight. Meanwhile, UAB may see Cameron Moore back in the line-up after missing two weeks. The Blazers' second-leading scorer might see playing time against the Coogs after breaking a bone in his left hand at practice the day before the Rice game at Bartow Arena. I wouldn't expect to see Cam, if he plays, go his customary 35+ minutes, but any playing time will be a welcome site for Mike Davis and the Blazer fans.
It really is hard to believe we have one week left before the post-season begins. With hoops winding down, that means baseball and softball are getting started. Both squads are playing at home this weekend. Softball is co-hosting the Magic City Classic, while baseball is entertaining Xavier. I hope you'll take advantage of the long-overdue nice weather and go enjoy some baseball and softball action this weekend.
Well, I resisted the urge to order chili (another prevalent item in Houston this weekend), and the sandwich is about to arrive. I hope you have a great weekend, and don't forget to tune in to the Blazer Sports Network this afternoon at 4:30 PM for pre-game from the "unique" Hofheinz Pavilion.
GO BLAZERS!!!
DC
