The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Begins Two-Game Homestand vs. East Carolina
1/27/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will begin a two-game homestand on Saturday night when it hosts East Carolina at Bartow Arena at 7 p.m.
UAB and East Carolina will meet for the 14th time in series history on Saturday night. The Blazers own a 11-2 lead in the previous 13 contests and are 6-1 when taking on the Pirates at Bartow Arena.
The two teams played three times during the 2010-11 campaign. The Blazers captured a pair of victories during the regular season, winning 66-59 in Greenville and 66-48 at home on senior night. However, ECU captured a 75-70 overtime victory in the quarterfinals of the 2011 C-USA Tournament to stun the top-seeded Blazers.
GAME INFORMATION
Jan. 28, 2012 • 7 pm CT • Birmingham, Ala. • Bartow Arena (8,500)
UAB Game Notes vs ECU
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RADIO (Flagship: WUHT 107.7 FM): Blazer Sports Network
David Crane (play-by-play), Steve Mitchell (analyst) and Jon Gentile (Engineer)
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About UAB
• UAB (7-12, 2-4), which is still looking for its first home league victory, won its second road league contest of the season with a 56-49 victory at Marshall on Wednesday night. Senior forward Cameron Moore led all scorers with 21 points on a season-best 10 field goals in the Blazers' second road win in three such contests this season.
• Moore, the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, enters the East Carolina contest leading UAB in scoring (15.8), rebounding (10.5) and blocked shots (2.7) a game. Nationally, he ranks 15th in rebounds a contest and is 17th in blocks a game (as of 1/27).
• 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. UCF (1/21) and is not expected to suit up vs. the Pirates, 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 (8.8 ppg) and is second in rebounding (7.7 rpg). Soko has recorded three double-doubles over his last seven contests in which 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 East Carolina
• East Carolina (9-10, 0-6) comes into Saturday's contest having dropped six consecutive games to open Conference USA play. Most recently, the Pirates fell at home to Southern Miss, 72-60, to remain as the lone winless team in league play.
• As a team, the Pirates are shooting 42.8 percent from the floor and 32.5 percent from beyond the arc, while averaging 71.2 points per game. However, those numbers have fallen dramatically in conference competition. The Pirates are averaging 66.3 points a game against C-USA teams, while shooting 41.1 percent from the floor and 31.5 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, ECU's 75.5 points and 48.1 field goal percentage defense ranks last in C-USA play only.
• Junior guard Miguel Paul, who transferred from Missouri, leads three Pirates in double-figure scoring with 16.5 points per game, which ranks second in Conference USA. Paul leads the league with an average of 5.4 assists and tops his team in steals (1.5) and three pointers made (47) and attempted (126).
• Senior forward Darrius Morrow ranks second on the team in both scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg). He leads the squad in blocked shots (1.5) and field goal percentage (53.3).
• Junior forward Maurice Kemp chips in with an average of 10.4 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds a contest.
• Head coach Jeff Lebo is in his second season at the helm of the East Carolina program and is in his 13th season as a head coach. Lebo has a record of 27-26 (.509) while with the Pirates and has an overall mark of 238-182 (.567).
A Few Notes From Last Game
• Cameron Moore scored 21 points to lead UAB to a 56-49 victory over Marshall on Wednesday night.
• A layup by Moore with 11:36 remaining gave the Blazers a 42-41 lead and started a 14-3 run that enabled them to come away with a split in their season series against the Thundering Herd.
• DeAndre Kane and Dennis Tinnon scored 12 points each for Marshall, with Kane also getting a season-high seven assists and Robert Goff blocking a season-high four shots.
• Each team grabbed 40 rebounds. The Thundering Herd came in with the nation's third-best rebounding margin, plus-10 per game.
• The Blazers started the game on fire, making 12 of 24 shots in the opening period to hold a 30-28 lead at the half.
• UAB matched its season high with 17 assists in the game, as all nine players registered at least one helper.
• Preston Purifoy finished with nine points, while Quincy Taylor added nine points, four assists and three rebounds in the game.
UAB-East Carolina: The Series
• UAB and East Carolina will meet for the 14th time in series history on Saturday night. The Blazers own a 11-2 lead in the previous 13 contests.
• The two teams played three times during the 2010-11 campaign. The Blazers captured a pair of victories during the regular season, winning 66-59 in Greenville and 66-48 at home on senior night. However, ECU captured a 75-70 overtime victory in the quarterfinals of the 2011 C-USA Tournament to stun the top-seeded Blazers.
• The East Carolina win snapped a seven-game losing streak to UAB and marked the Pirates' first win over the Blazers since Feb. 16, 2005.
• UAB is 6-1 in games played against the Pirates at Bartow Arena. The Blazers have won four consecutive games over ECU in Birmingham.
Defending The Home Court
• UAB is still looking for its first home conference win of the season when it takes the floor against East Carolina on Saturday night.
• In three home C-USA contests this season, UAB is shooting 36.6 percent from the floor and 31.7 percent from beyond the arc. However, in the three road conference games, the Blazers' percentage improves to 45.3 percent shooting from the floor and 41.3 percent from beyond the arc.
• UAB, which is 0-3 at home and 2-1 on the road in C-USA play this year, has lost all three home conference contests by a combined 12 points (Memphis, 62-59, Marshall, 61-59 and UCF, 48-41).
Lock Down Defense
• UAB has held two straight opponents to under 50 points entering the East Carolina game, while only five of 19 opponents have scored more than 62 points in a game this season.
• As a team, the Blazers have held the opposition to an average of 60.2 points a game, which ranks second in C-USA. The Blazers are third in the league in field goal percentage defense, allowing the competition to shoot just 40.2 percent from the floor.
• Against league competition, the Blazers are giving up an average of 55.6 points a game, which ranks second in the conference, while the 40.8 percent UAB allows opponents to shoot from the floor ranks third-best in the league.
• Only two teams have reached 70 points in a game against UAB this season (No. 24 Creighton and No. 13 Florida).
• The Blazers have held all but three opponents (VCU, Florida and Memphis) to under 45-percent shooting.
Swing Sidelined
• UAB junior Jordan Swing is expected to be out for the near future with an injured right (non-shooting) hand.
• Swing suffered the injury late in the UCF game (1/21). He has a target date set for a mid-February return.
A Thorn In Marshall's Side
• Over his past two seasons, UAB's Cameron Moore has enjoyed playing against the Marshall Thundering Herd.
• Moore, who has a pair of 20-point contests this year against the Herd, has put up some impressive numbers in the last four meetings between the two teams.
• Over that span, the 6-10 senior forward is averaging 17.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game against the Herd.
50 Points Or Fewer
• For the third time this season, UAB has held a team to 50 points or below with the 56-49 victory at Marshall on Wednesday night.
• Historically, when UAB holds opponents to 50 or fewer points, it is usually a good thing. The Blazers have an overall record of 66-6 when it happens. Furthermore, UAB head coach Mike Davis is 20-1 in his six seasons at UAB when holding the opposition to 50 or fewer points in a game.
• 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 Jan. 21. The last time that happened came with a 50-36 loss at Southern Miss.
Slim Margins In League Play
• UAB has now played six games in conference play, with all six contests being decided by a total of 24 points.
• The Blazers are being outscored by 1.3 points a game against league competition (56.5-55.2) and have only hit the 60-point mark once (61 points in the overtime win at Rice).
Tough Competition
• UAB's strength of schedule ranks as No. 25 in the country (Warrennolan.com) and is certainly part of the reason why it has struggled this season through 19 games of the 2011-12 campaign.
• Eleven of the Blazers' 19 opponents are ranked among the top 100 RPI according to WarrenNolan.com (as of Jan. 27). Of those 10 teams, six are ranked in the top 50 RPI and three 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 176-68 (.721) (as of Jan. 27).
• The schedule makers did not do UAB any favors in league play either. The six teams the Blazers have faced thus far in C-USA play are Memphis, Marshall (twice), Southern Miss, Rice and UCF, who have a combined record of 71-31 (.696).
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
- 2-11 when shooting less than 45%
- 0-7 when outrebounded
- 2-10 when scoring less than 60 points
- 5-2 when scoring more than 60 points
Countdown To 1,000-Point Club
• With 10 regular season contests remaining, UAB senior Cameron Moore has a chance to become the 20th member to reach 1,000 points in his Blazer career.
• Moore currently has 862 points and is 138 points shy of joining the elite group. He needs to average 13.8 points a game to reach the achievement by the end of the regular season.
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 621 rebounds in his career, which ranks sixth among the school's all-time rebounding leaders.
• Should Moore record four 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 10 contests.
• Moore is averaging 17.8 points and 11.0 rebounds a game, while shooting over 55.2 percent from the field (74-of-134) over the 10-game stretch.
• The San Antonio, Texas native has played even better against league competition. In the Blazers' six C-USA contests, Moore ranks third in the conference with 18.3 points and is second with 9.0 rebounds a game.
Tale Of Two Seasons
• Through 19 games, the Blazers have had two different seasons.
• After beginning the year 2-7 through the opening nine games, UAB has a 5-5 mark over its last 10 contests.
• Below is a look at a breakdown of the UAB numbers during the first nine games compared to the last 10 contests:
FG% 3-pt FG% Reb. Pts.
UAB First 9 .386 .266 34.2 55.1
UAB Last 10 .439 .379 36.4 61.0
Ten-Game Numbers
• When breaking down the Blazers' last 10 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 .439 .379 36.4 61.0
Opp .400 .342 31.7 59.0
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).
