The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Hosts Tulsa On Senior Night At Bartow Arena
2/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will play its final home game of the regular season when it hosts Tulsa on Senior Night at Bartow Arena Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT.
Seniors Cameron Moore, Beas Hamga and Todd O'Brien will be honored in a pregame ceremony approximately 10 minutes prior to tipoff (6:55 p.m. CT).
The contest can be heard live on the Blazers Sports Network, 107.7 FM and will also be televised on CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan and Pete Gillen on the call.
Wednesday's contest between the Blazers and the Golden Hurricane will mark the 14th meeting in series history. The Golden Hurricane own a 7-6 lead in the all-time series, including having won four of the last five contests between the two teams.
The Blazers snapped a three-game losing streak to the Golden Hurricane in 2010 - the last time the teams squared off in Bartow Arena - with a 65-55 victory. With the win, UAB improved to 5-0 when playing Tulsa at home.
GAME INFORMATION
Feb. 29, 2012 • 7 pm CT • Birmingham, Ala. • Bartow Arena (8,500)
UAB Game Notes vs Tulsa
| Gametracker | Listen
RADIO (Flagship: WUHT 107.7 FM): Blazer Sports Network
David Crane (play-by-play), Steve Mitchell (analyst) and Jon Gentile (Engineer)
TV:TV: CBS Sports Network
Dave Ryan (play-by-play) and Pete Gillen (analyst)
About UAB
• UAB (13-14, 8-6) won for the sixth time in seven games when it defeated East Carolina, 61-57, in Greenville, N.C. on Saturday. The Blazers were led by C-USA Player of the Year candidate Cameron Moore's 21 points and 14 rebounds, which marked his 13th double-double of the season.
• Moore, the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, enters the Tulsa contest leading UAB in scoring (16.3), rebounding (10.6) and blocked shots (2.6) a game. He leads the league in rebounding and blocked shots and ranks third in scoring. No C-USA player since Kenyon Martin has finished among the top two in the league in each of those categories.
• Moore, who is just the second Blazer to earn the preseason player of the year honor (Robert Vaden in 2008-09), also leads C-USA in rebounding (10.0 rpg) in league games only and is second in scoring (17.8 ppg) and blocked shots (1.9). Nationally, Moore ranks 11th in rebounds and 18th in blocks a game (as of 2/27).
• Sophomore guard Jordan Swing is second on the team with 10.7 points per game. Swing is second on the team and ranks ninth in C-USA in three-point shooting at 36.8 percent and is third in free throw shooting percentage (86.2). Additionally, he is averaging 2.0 treys per game and shooting 40.0 percent from deep in league contests only, which rank seventh and fifth, respectively.
• Sophomore forward Preston Purifoy is third on the team with 8.7 ppg and leads UAB in three-point shooting percentage at 39.7 percent (48-of-121). Junior forward Ovie Soko is fourth in scoring (7.7 ppg) and is second in rebounding (6.7 rpg). Soko ranks second on the team with six double-double contests on the year. In fact, Moore (13) and Soko (6) have combined for 19 double-doubles on the year.
• UAB head coach Mike Davis, the 2011 C-USA Coach of the Year, owns a record of 120-71 (.628) during his five-plus seasons at UAB. He has a career mark of 235-150 (.610), now in his 12th season as a head coach. He now owns a record of 61-33 (.649) in conference play.
About Tulsa
• Tulsa (17-11, 10-4) comes into Wednesday's contest having won three of its last four games following the 73-69 win at Tulane on Saturday. Five Golden Hurricane players reached double figures led by Scottie Harralson and Eric McClellan's 15 points each.
• As a team, the Golden Hurricane are shooting 45.3 percent from the floor and lead C-USA in shooting from beyond the arc at 38.4 percent, while averaging 66.5 points per game. Tulsa also ranks second in the league in field goal percentage defense (40.9) and are holding opponents to 62.5 ppg.
• Sophomore guard Jordan Clarkson leads Tulsa in scoring (16.4 ppg) and assists (2.3 apg) a game. In C-USA play, Clarkson leads the league in three-point shooting (46.6 percent) and is fourth in scoring (17.1 ppg).
• Harralson is second on the team with an average of 11.1 points per contest, while his 40.6 percent shooting from deep ranks third in the league.
• Senior center Steven Idlet is the third Tulsa player to average double digit scoring at 10.1 points per contest. He also chips in with 5.3 rebounds and is shooting 53.6 percent from the floor.
• Head coach Doug Wojcik is in his seventh year at the helm of the Golden Hurricane program and has compiled a record of 140-89 (.611).
A Few Notes From Last Game
• Cameron Moore set a pair of milestones and finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds as UAB held on to defeat East Carolina, 61-57, on Saturday night.
• Moore went over the 1,000 point and 700 rebound career marks during the contest, joining Jerome Mincy and Lawrence Kinnard as the only Blazers who achieved the feat in program history. Moore is the 20th 1,000-point scorer in UAB history.
• Sophomore Preston Purifoy added 15 points, including knocking down a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Blazers.
• The Blazers went on a 13-0 run midway through the first half to take a 21-10 lead. However, the Pirates ended the half on an 18-8 run to cut the UAB lead to only three points at half, 31-28.
•UAB began the second half on a 6-0 spurt to regain control of the game and led 59-50 with 5:50 remaining.
• But the Pirates responded by scoring the next seven points to cut the lead to two, 59-57, with 2:08 remaining. Neither team scored anther point before Purifoy's free throws.
UAB-Tulsa: A Year Ago
• Justin Hurtt scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and Steven Idlet had 16 points and five rebounds as Tulsa pulled away from UAB to win 78-62 on Jan. 15, 2011 in Tulsa, Okla.
• Jamarr Sanders led UAB with 22 points, making 10 of 22 field goals. Preston Purifoy finished with a then-career-high 13 points and Cameron Moore added 11, all coming in the first half.
• Scottie Haralson added 14 for the Golden Hurricane.
• The Blazers erased most of a 15-point first-half deficit and trailed just 62-56 with 4:01 remaining. Hurtt hit a mid-range jumper and Bryson Pope scored on a steal to push the lead to 66-56. Tulsa closed the game on an 8-0 run, which included a breakaway dunk by Hurtt with a minute to play.
• Tulsa established itself early and often in the low post, outscoring UAB, 32-28, in the paint and owning a big 37-23 advantage on the boards. The Golden Hurricane also had a big edge at the free throw line, going 18-of-26 compared to the Blazers' five attempts (3-of-5).
UAB-Tulsa: The Series
• Wednesday's contest between UAB and Tulsa will mark the 14th meeting in series history . The Golden Hurricane own a 7-6 lead in the all-time series, including having won four of the last five contests between the two teams.
• The Blazers snapped a three-game losing streak to the Golden Hurricane in 2010 - the last time the teams squared off in Bartow Arena - with a 65-55 victory. With the win, UAB improved to 5-0 when playing Tulsa at home.
Fun Times In February
• The UAB men's basketball team has been playing some of its best basketball in the month of February.
• The Blazers own a record of 6-1 in February thus far, with the lone loss coming to league-leading Memphis at the FedExForum (Feb. 11).
• Below is a breakdown of the numbers by UAB and the opposition during the seven-game stretch.
FG% 3-pt FG% Reb. Pts.
UAB .432 .372 35.0 63.7
Opponents .411 .353 29.1 61.0
Unbeaten Against C-USA Single-Game Opponents
• The Blazers have six opponents on their conference slate that they will meet only once in league play, five of which they have played this season already.
• Against those teams, UAB owns a record of 5-0, with three of those victories coming on the road (at SMU, at Rice and at UTEP) and two at home (Houston and Tulane). That could bode well for the Blazers should their seeding for the conference tournament come down to a tie breaker.
• The only other single-game opponent the Blazers will face Wednesday night at home against Tulsa.
Quite The Milestones
• UAB senior Cameron Moore achieved a rare feat during the Blazers' victory at East Carolina Saturday night. With his 21 points and 14 rebounds, Moore surpassed the 1,000 point and 700 rebound milestones for his career.
• Moore, who currently has 1,001 points and 707 rebounds, became the 20th Blazer in UAB lore to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career. More importantly, he became just the third player in UAB program history to record 1,000 points and 700 rebounds in his career (Lawrence Kinnard and Jerome Mincy).
He's Been Purific!
• Sophomore guard Preston Purifoy has been playing extremely well over his last eight games, which is a big reason why the Blazers have a record of 6-2 over the span.
• During the eight-game stretch, Purifoy is averaging 13.1 points per game and has reached double figure scoring in seven of the eight contests. He is also shooting 46.3 percent from three-point range (25-of-54) and 48.6 percent (35-of-72) from the floor.
• In conference play, Purifoy ranks second in the league in three-point field goal percentage (46.3) and is fourth in threes made per game (2.3).
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 during C-USA play.
• Against league competition, Moore tops C-USA in rebounding (10.0 rpg), is second in scoring (17.8 ppg) and third blocked shots (1.9 bpg) and seventh in field goal percentage (.508).
• For the year, Moore leads C-USA in blocked shots (2.6) and rebounds (10.6) and is third in scoring (16.1). No C-USA player has finished among the top two in all three of those categories since Cincinnati's Kenyon Martin in 1999-2000.
Road Warriors
• After getting off to a 0-3 start in league play, the Blazers have rebounded nicely with wins in eight of their last 11 games. That includes a record of 5-1 in the six road games over the 11-game span.
• During the Mike Davis era, the Blazers have played well in road C-USA contests. Including a 5-2 record this season, over the last five years, the Blazers own a record of 26-13 (.667) in conference road contests, which includes a mark of 17-6 (.739) over the past three season alone.
Mr. Double-Double
• Senior Cameron Moore has recorded a double-double in seven of his last eight contests and nine of his last 11 games coming into the Tulsa matchup on Wednesday.
• Over the 11-game stretch, Moore is averaging an impressive 17.6 points and 10.9 rebounds a game.
• Moore has 13 double-doubles this season which is good for second in Conference USA. He now has 27 double-doubles in his career, which places him in second overall on the program's all-time list.
• Carlos Williams is the school's all-time leader in double-doubles with 35 throughout his career.
