The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Hoops Set For Road Game At Marshall
1/23/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will play its third road game in four contests when it travels to Huntington, W.Va. to take on Marshall on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET).
The contest will be televised regionally on CSS and can also be heard on the Blazers Sports Network, 107.7 FM.
UAB and Marshall will meet for the 17th time in series history, and the second time this season, on Wednesday night. The Blazers own a 10-6 lead in the previous 16 contests and a 5-2 mark in games played at the Cam Henderson Center, including three straight wins over the Herd in Huntington, W.Va.
Marshall captured a 61-59 win over UAB at Bartow Arena in the first meeting between the two teams this season (Jan. 11). Despite the loss, the Blazers have won six of the last eight meetings between the two teams.
GAME INFORMATION
Jan. 25, 2012 • 7 pm ET • Huntington, W.Va. • Cam Henderson Center (9,043)
UAB Game Notes vs. Marshall
| Gametracker | Listen
RADIO (Flagship: WUHT 107.7 FM): Blazer Sports Network
David Crane (play-by-play), Aaron Jordan (analyst) and Jon Gentile (Engineer)
TV:CSS
Mike Morgan (play-by-play) and Brian Oliver (analyst)
About UAB
• UAB (6-12, 1-4) is still looking for its first home league victory after a 48-41 loss to UCF on Saturday. Senior forward Cameron Moore recorded his second straight double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds in the losing effort.
• Moore, the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, enters the Marshall contest leading UAB in scoring (15.5), rebounding (10.7) and blocked shots (2.9) a game. Nationally, he ranks 12th in rebounds a contest and is 15th in blocks a game (as of 1/23).
• 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 injured his hand late in the game vs. the Knights and is not expected to suit up vs. the Herd, is second on the team with 11.0 points per game. At the time of his injury, Swing ranked second in conference play in three-point field goal percentage (.500) and threes-made per game (3.0).
• Junior forward Ovie Soko is third in scoring (9.2 ppg) and is second in rebounding (7.6 rpg). Soko has recorded three double-doubles over his last six contests he has seen action. Moore (6) and Soko (5) have combined for 11 double-doubles on the year.
• UAB head coach Mike Davis, the 2011 C-USA Coach of the Year, owns a record of 113-69 (.621) during his five-plus seasons at UAB. He has a career mark of 228-148 (.606), now in his 12th season as a head coach. He now owns a record of 54-31 (.635) in conference play.
• 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 Marshall
• Marshall (13-6, 4-1) comes into Wednesday's contest having dropped back-to-back contests against West Virginia (78-62 on Jan. 18) and most recently at Southern Miss (67-63 on Saturday).
• As a team, the Thundering Herd is outscoring the competition by an average of 4.9 points a game (70.3-65.4). Marshall does most of its damage on the boards, boasting a +10.0 rebound advantage over the competition (42.1-32.1), which ranks third in the nation. Additionally, the 42.1 points rebounds per contest rank third in the nation, while the Herd's 17.0 offensive rebounds per game rank second nationally.
• Sophomore guard DeAndre Kane leads the Thundering Herd in scoring (16.4 ppg), steals (1.5) and minutes played a game (33.3 mpg) and is second on the team in assists (3.6) and rebounds (5.6). He ranks second in the league in points, seventh in assists and 16th in rebounds per game.
• Senior guard Damier Pitts is second on the team points a game (13.1) and leads the squad and ranks second in C-USA with 4.6 assists per contest.
• Junior Dennis Tinnon, who had a career-high 19 boards against UAB in the first meeting between the two teams, is third on the team with 9.7 points and leads the team in rebounding (10.7 rpg) and double-doubles (8).
• Head coach Tom Herrion is in his second season at the helm of the Marshall program and is in his sixth season as a head coach. Herrion has a record of 35-18 (.660) while with the Herd and has an overall mark of 115-56 (.673).
A Few Notes From Last Game
• UAB overcame a nine-point half time deficit, but UCF used a 10-0 run to close out the game to defeat the Blazers 48-41 at Bartow Arena on Saturday afternoon.
• UAB trailed from the opening tip until the 6:12 mark in the second half when Jordan Swing hit a pair of free throws to take a 39-38 lead. Swing would tack on another pair of free throws to put the Blazers 41-38 with 5:12 remaining, prior to the Knights' game-winning run.
• Igniting the comeback that came up short for the Blazers was Jekore Tyler, who had a stretch of seven-straight points, as he finished the contest with 11.
• Moore recorded his sixth double-double of the season, scoring a game-high 12 points and grabbing 12 boards. He made 6-of-14 shots from the field and added two blocks to his stat line.
• Swing tied Moore with 12 points, including a pair of treys and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
• The Blazers struggled to find the bottom of the net throughout the contest, shooting just 28.6 percent (14-for-49) from the floor. The Knights were not much better, connecting on 18 of 47 shots (38.3 percent).
UAB-Marshall: The Series
• UAB and Marshall will meet for the 17th time in series history on Wednesday night. The Blazers own a 10-6 lead in the previous 16 contests. Despite falling in the last meeting earlier this year, UAB has captured wins in six of the last eight meetings between the two teams.
• UAB is 5-2 in games played against the Herd at Huntington, W.Va. The Blazers have a three-game winning streak at the Cam Henderson Center, with their last loss coming on Jan. 19, 2008.
UAB-Marshall: Round One
• Marshall's Robert Goff converted a 3-point play with 41 seconds left, which proved to be the difference as the Thundering Herd escaped Bartow Arena with a 61-59 victory against UAB on Jan. 11.
• The difference of the game was on the boards as Marshall claimed a 45-34 advantage on the glass, including 21 offensive rebounds which resulted in 20 second chance points for the Herd.
• UAB led 53-46 after an Ovie Soko jumper with 8:08 remaining, but Marshall embarked on a 10-0 run, including back-to-back treys from Shaquille Johnson and DeAndre Kane to hold a 56-53 edge with just over five minutes to play in the contest.
• Moore finished with a game-high 22 points, tying his season-high, making 9 of 19 from the field, while adding seven rebounds. Soko notched a season-high with 18 points, draining 8 of 11 shots including his first seven. He added 11 rebounds for his team-leading fifth double-double of the season
Low Output
• When UAB dropped the 48-41 decision to UCF last Saturday, the Blazers' scoring output set some new standards.
• The 41 points were the lowest scoring offensive output by a UAB team in Bartow Arena history.
• The Blazers' scoring offensive output were the lowest since scoring 37 points at UTEP on Feb. 8, 2006.
• Cameron Moore (12), Jordan Swing (12) and Jekore Tyler (11) combined for 35 of the team's 41 points. The trio were a combined 13-of-28 (46.4 percent) from the floor, while the rest of the team went 1-of-21 (4.8 percent) from the field.
• The 48 points scored by the UCF was the lowest point total the Blazers have allowed throughout the season.
The Shot Heard Round The Ham
• UAB sophomore Robert Williams hit the biggest shot of his young career with a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded in overtime to lift the Blazers to a 61-60 win at Rice on Jan. 18.
• It marked the only made shot of the night for Williams, who finished 1-of-2 from the field with three points and three rebounds.
• Williams is averaging 3.6 points and 4.0 rebounds a game. He is also leading the team from beyond the arc at 44.4 percent (8-of-18).
50 Points Or Fewer
• For the first time since Jan. 12, 2002, the Blazers lost a game when allowing the opposition to score 50 or fewer points in the 48-41 loss to UCF on Saturday. The last time that happened came with a 50-36 loss at Southern Miss.
• UAB head coach Mike Davis, who had been 20-0 when holding the opposition to 50 or fewer points during his six seasons with the Blazers, dropped to 20-1 in such contests.
• The Blazers have now held 10 of their 18 opponents to 60 points or less 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 65-6 when it happens.
Slim Margins In League Play
• UAB has now played five games in conference play, with all five contests being decided by a total of 17 points.
• The Blazers are being outscored by 3.0 points a game against league competition and have only hit the 60-point mark once (61 points in the overtime win at Rice).
Last Overtime Win
• The overtime victory at Rice occurred nearly a year to the day of UAB's last overtime win.
• The last extra time win for the Blazers came in last year's C-USA opening contest on Jan. 8, 2011. On that date, the Blazers needed three overtimes to push past UTEP, 100-97.
• UAB head coach Mike Davis has a record of 10-6 in overtime games during his six seasons with the Blazers.
Tough Competition
• UAB's strength of schedule ranks as No. 28 in the country (Warrennolan.com) and is certainly part of the reason why it has struggled this season through 18 games of the 2011-12 campaign.
• Ten of the Blazers' 18 opponents are ranked among the top 100 RPI according to WarrenNolan.com(as of Jan. 23). Of those 10 teams, seven are ranked in the top 50 RPI and five are ranked among the top-25.
• Of the Blazers' 12 losses, three have come against teams ranked in the top 25 (No. 10 Murray State, No. 14 Florida and No. 19 Creighton).
• The record of the 12 teams who have beaten UAB is a combined 163-56 (.744) (as of Jan. 23).
• The schedule makers did not do UAB any favors in league player either. The five teams the Blazers have faced thus far in C-USA play are Memphis, Marshall, Southern Miss, Rice and UCF, who have a combined record of 71-26 (.732).
UAB Trends
• There are a few game trends to watch out for when UAB takes the court. The Blazers are:
- 5-1 when shooting 45% or better
- 1-11 when shooting less than 45%
- 0-7 when outrebounded
- 1-10 when scoring less than 60 points
- 5-2 when scoring more than 60 points
That's 600 If You're Counting
• With 15 rebounds at Rice on Jan. 18, senior forward Cameron Moore became only the eighth player in program history to reach 600 rebounds in his career.
• The San Antonio, Texas native comes into the Marshall game with 614 rebounds in his career, which ranks seventh among the school's all-time rebounding leaders.
• Moore needs three more rebounds to move past Elbert Rogers (1988-92) for sixth on the list.
• Should Moore record 11 rebounds, he would move into fifth in UAB lore, moving past Stanley Jackson (1989-93), who had 624 boards in his standout career at UAB.
Making His Case
• All season, Cameron Moore has been showing why he was chosen as the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year. But he has stepped his game up even more over the last nine contests.
• Moore is averaging 17.4 points and 11.4 rebounds a game, while shooting over 54.7 percent from the field (64-of-117) over the nine-game stretch.
• The San Antonio, Texas native has played even better against league competition. In the Blazers' five C-USA contests, Moore ranks second in the conference with 17.8 points and 9.4 rebounds a game.
Tale Of Two Seasons
• Through 18 games, the Blazers have had two different seasons.
• After beginning the year 2-7 through the opening nine games, UAB has a 4-5 mark over its last nine contests.
• Below is a look at a breakdown of the UAB numbers during the first nine games compared to the last nine contests:
FG% 3-pt FG% Reb. Pts.
UAB First 9 .386 .266 34.2 55.1
UAB Last 9 .443 .393 36.0 61.6
Ten-Game Numbers
• When breaking down the Blazers' last nine games even further, it is easy to why they have improved.
• Below is a look at a breakdown of the numbers as a team vs. the opposition during the nine-game stretch:
FG% 3-pt FG% Reb. Pts.
UAB .443 .393 36.0 61.6
Opp .406 .359 30.8 60.1
Defending Just Fine
• This year's 6-12 start to the season is certainly not attributed to the Blazers' efforts on the defensive end of the floor.
• Only two teams have reached 70 points in a game against UAB this season (No. 24 Creighton and No. 13 Florida).
• Nine of UAB's 18 opponents have failed to reach the 60-point mark in a game, while only four teams have scored over 62 points in a game against UAB.
• The Blazers have held all but three opponents (VCU, Florida and Memphis) to under 45-percent shooting.
