The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Ends Non-Conference Slate At No. 13 Florida
1/2/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will play its final non-conference contest when it travels to Gainesville, Fla. to take on the No. 13/14 Florida Gators on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT).
The contest will be televised live to a national audience on Fox Sports Net.
Tuesday's contest marks the third meeting in series history between UAB and Florida, but it is the first time the two teams have not played at a neutral site. Each team has one win in the series, with the two games having been decided by a total of 12 points.
GAME INFORMATION
Jan. 3, 2012 • 7 pm ET • Gainesville, Fla. • Stephen O'Connell Center (12,000)
RADIO (Flagship: WUHT 107.7 FM): Blazer Sports Network
David Crane (play-by-play), Steve Mitchell (analyst) and Jon Gentile (Engineer)
FOX Sports Net:
Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Larry Conley (analyst)
UAB game notes vs Florida
| Gametracker | Listen
About UAB
• UAB (5-7) earned its third straight win and fourth victory in its last five games with a 92-58 victory over Alabama A&M last Saturday. Junior forward Ovie Soko had a career-high 15 rebounds to go along with 17 points in the victory.
• Senior forward Cameron Moore, the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, enters the Florida contest leading UAB in scoring (14.6), rebounding (11.5) and blocked shots (3.6) a game. Nationally, he ranks fourth in rebounds per game and sixth in blocks a contest (as of 12/31).
• Moore is just the second Blazer to earn the preseason player of the year honor, joining former standout Robert Vaden, who was tabbed with the accolade prior to the start of the 2008-09 campaign.
• Sophomore forward Jordan Swing, who has scored double figures in five consecutive games coming into the Florida contest, is second on the team with 10.7 points per game, while Soko is third in scoring (9.2 ppg) and is second in rebounding (7.3 rpg). Soko has now recorded three double-doubles on the year.
• UAB head coach Mike Davis, the 2011 C-USA Coach of the Year, owns a record of 112-64 (.636) during his five-plus seasons at UAB. He has a career mark of 227-143 (.614), now in his 12th season as a head coach.
• Last season, the Blazers finished with a 22-9 record and a 12-4 mark in conference play as UAB captured its first outright regular season Conference USA championship in school history. As a result, the Blazers received an at-large berth to the 2011 NCAA Tournament, marking their first appearance in the "Big Dance" since the 2006 campaign and the 14th NCAA Tournament showing in program history.
About Florida
• Florida (11-3) comes into Tuesday night's contest ranked No. 13 in this week's Associated Press top 25 and No. 14 in the ESPN Coaches Poll following a 90-70 win over Yale on Saturday. Guard Kenny Boynton scored a game-high 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, in the victory.
• Five Gators average double-figure scoring on the season, led by Boynton's 19.4 ppg. The junior guard is one of the most accurate three-point shooters in the nation, knocking down 51-of-112 treys this season (45.5 percent).
• Senior point guard Erving Walker averages 13.1 points a game, while leading the team in assists (5.2 apg).
• Freshman guard Bradley Beal (15.1 ppg), sophomore forward Patric Young (11.9 ppg) and forward/center Erik Murphy (10.7 ppg) all average double-digit points.
• As a team, the Gators are outscoring the competition by an average of 18.6 points a game (85.9-67.3). Florida is shooting 48.0 percent from the floor and is 13th nationally in three-point shooting, at 40.4 percent on the year.
• Head coach Billy Donovan, who has led the Gators to a pair of national championships, is now in his 16th season at the helm of the Florida program. He owns a record of 371-150 (.712) during his time in Gainesville, and is 406-170 (.705) in 18 years as a head coach.
A Few Notes From Last Game
• Ovie Soko scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in UAB's 92-58 rout of Alabama A&M on Saturday.
• Quincy Taylor recorded a career-high 15 points to go along with seven assists and three steals. He shot 100 percent from the field (6 of 6) including hitting all three of his 3-pointers.
• Senior forward Cameron Moore had 16 points and nine boards in the winning effort. Jordan Swing added 13 and K.C. Whitaker chipped in with a career-best 11 points for the Blazers.
• UAB shot a season-high 62.5 percent (30 of 48) from the field and 61.1 (11 of 18) from 3-point range. The Blazers also knocked down 77.8 percent (21 of 27) of their free throws.
• Almost every Blazer recorded at least one rebound as UAB outrebounded Alabama A&M 43-25.
By The Numbers: First Seven Compared To Last Five
• After beginning the year 1-6, UAB has now reeled off wins in four of its last five contests. Below is a look at a breakdown of the UAB numbers during the first seven games compared to the last five contests:
FG% 3-pt FG% Reb. Pts.
UAB First 7 .380 .246 35.0 54.4
UAB Last 5 .486 .405 38.4 66.6
Cameron Moore Named C-USA POW
• UAB senior forward Cameron Moore was selected as the Conference USA Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday. This is Moore's first C-USA Player of the Week honor this season and second of his career (Dec. 6, 2010).
• Moore had an outstanding week in leading UAB to a pair of victories. In the Blazers' two contests, he connected on 15-of-20 shots from the floor (.750) and averaged 17.5 points and 16.5 rebounds.
• Against George Washington, Moore pulled down a career-high and school record 24 rebounds and was one point shy of becoming the first UAB player in program history to record 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game. He closed the contest with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor in a 56-49 road win over the Colonials. The 24 rebounds is also the third-best performance in C-USA history.
• Moore was equally as good in the win over Alabama A&M, hitting 7-of-8 shots from the floor en route to 16 points and nine rebounds.
Board Work
• The work on the boards has been a key component over the last five games, as UAB is outrebounding the competition by more than 11 rebounds a contest (38.4-27.2).
• For the season, the Blazers own a +4.6 advantage on the glass (36.4-31.8).
`Moore' Boards Than Most
• Senior forward Cameron Moore has been unstoppable on the glass this season, averaging 11.5 rebounds a contest, which ranks fourth nationally and second in Conference USA (through Jan. 1).
• Against George Washington, the San Antonio, Texas native recorded a career-best and school record 24 rebounds, to go along with 19 points, in the winning effort. He was just the third player in school history to have 20 rebounds in a game and was a point shy of becoming the first UAB player in school history to record a 20-20 game.
• Moore enters the Florida game averaging 17.7 points and 16.3 rebounds over his last three games.
Too Many Turnovers
• UAB has struggled all season with turning the ball over, ranking last in Conference USA with an average of 17.1 miscues per game. However, that has become even a bigger problem over its last four contests.
• Over that stretch, the Blazers have turned the ball over 83 times (20.1/game), which has resulted in 87 points off turnovers for the opposition. In comparison, UAB has only 49 points off turnovers over that same stretch.
• Despite the turnover woes, the Blazers have recorded a 3-1 record over their past three contests.
Tough Competition
• Part of the reason UAB has struggled this season has been the quality of competition through its first nine games of the 2011-12 campaign.
• The combined record of the Blazers' opponents as of Dec. 29 is 80-33 (.713). Moreover, when taking out Troy (5-7) and UT Martin (3-11) - the only .500 and under teams the Blazers have played this season - opponent records total 72-15 (.828).
Five-Game Numbers
• UAB has now reeled off wins in four of its last five contests. Below is a look at a breakdown of the numbers as a team during the five-game stretch:
FG% 3-pt FG% Reb. Pts.
UAB .486 .405 38.4 66.6
Opp .386 .279 27.2 59.2
50 Points Or Fewer
• UAB held George Washington to 49 points in the Blazers' 56-49 victory on Dec. 28. It was the first time this season UAB has held an opponent to under 50 points and the sixth time in 11 games the opposition has scored less than 60 points in a contest.
• Historically, when UAB holds opponents to 50 or fewer points, it is usually a good thing. The Blazers have an overall record of 65-5 when it happens, including a perfect 20-0 mark under Mike Davis. The last time UAB lost when giving up 50 or fewer points came on Jan. 12, 2002, when the Blazers fell at Southern Miss, 50-36.
Free Throws In Final Five
• A key to winning any game is being able to knock down free throws in the waning minutes. Below is a breakdown of UAB this season from the charity stripe in the final five minutes of a game:
Preston Purifoy 4-4 1.000
Robert Williams 4-4 1.000
K.C. Whitaker 2-2 1.000
Jordan Swing 18-23 .783
Cameron Moore 8-15 .533
Quincy Taylor 4-8 .500
Jekore Tyler 2-4 .500
Ovie Soko 4-10 .400
A. Scotland-Williamson 0-1 .000
TOTALS 46-71 .648
Ten 3.0 GPA's Or Better
• The UAB men's basketball team has done a terrific job in the classroom. A total of 10 different student-athletes achieved a 3.0 or better over the first semester.
• As a team, the Blazers owned a team GPA of 3.15 during the first semester.
• Sophomore Jordan Swing led all team members with a 3.8 grade point average in communications management.
Bartow Classic Set
• The Jan. 7 UAB/Memphis men's basketball game at Bartow Arena has been designated as this season's Bartow Classic.
• The event, named in honor of legendary coach Gene Bartow, will tip off at 8:00 p.m. and will be televised nationally by the CBS Sports Network.
• UAB Athletics will donate a portion for every ticket sold (excluding season tickets) to the Coach Gene Bartow Fund For Cancer Research at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center.
• Bartow has been battling cancer since being diagnosed in April of 2009, and the fund was established in his honor at the first Bartow Classic in December of 2009.
• Bartow, a College Basketball Hall of Fame honoree, is considered by many as the "founding father" of UAB athletics. As the UAB Director of Athletics from 1977 until his retirement in 2000, Bartow developed an intercollegiate sports program from its infancy into one that featured 17 sports. He helmed the UAB Men's Basketball program for 18 seasons, 1978 to 1996, compiling a record of 366-203 (.643). He led the Blazers to the NIT in the program's second year of existence and followed that up with seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including trips to the Sweet 16 in 1981 and the Elite Eight in 1982. In all, he led UAB to 14 postseason appearances, 10 of which were NCAA Tournaments. In 1997, UAB renamed its basketball venue, Bartow Arena, in his honor.
Defending Just Fine
• This year's 5-7 start to the season is certainly not attributed to the Blazers' efforts on the defensive end of the floor.
• Only one team has reached 70 points in a game against UAB this season (No. 19/21 Creighton scored 70 on Nov. 16), while just four teams have scored over 60 points in a game against UAB (No. 24 Creighton, No. 18/19 Murray State, Wichita State and VCU). Those four teams are a combined 42-6 this year (as of Dec. 26).
• The Blazers have held all but one opponent (VCU) to under 45-percent shooting and only five teams have shot better than 40 percent against UAB (Creighton, UT Martin, Kent State and Middle Tennessee) in a game this season.
Finding The Right Starting Five
• UAB head coach Mike Davis has had to tinker with this year's starting lineup to try and find the right combination of players to start the game.
• Through 12 games, Davis has used seven different starting lineups.
"Moore" Blocks Than Most
• Senior forward Cameron Moore has had a great start to the season in terms of blocked shots.
• Moore ranks sixth in the nation in blocks per game (3.6) entering Tuesday's contest at Florida.
• Moore recorded seven blocks in each of the first two UAB games, becoming the first player in school history to achieve that feat.
• Moore's seven blocks against Creighton (11/16) and Murray State (11/20) tied for the fifth-most swats in a game in school history. Alan Ogg holds the school record with 12 blocks in a contest.
• With 107 blocks in his career, Moore became the fifth Blazer to post triple-digit blocked shots in a career. In doing so, he moved past Lawrence Kinnard into fourth on the all-time list.
• Moore needs 19 blocks to move past Norman Anchrum in third on the all-time blocks list.
