The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Squares Off Against SMU At C-USA Tourney
3/12/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 12, 2013
Game Notes 
| Video | Audio | GameTracker
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The seventh-seeded UAB men's basketball team will square off against the No. 10 seed SMU Mustangs in the opening round of the Conference USA Tournament on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. CT. The contest will take place at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.
With a victory, the Blazers would advance to take on No. 2 Southern Miss in the C-USA Quarterfinals on Thursday at Noon CT.
(7) UAB (15-16, 7-9 C-USA)
vs. (10) SMU (15-16, 5-11 C-USA)
Date: March 13, 2013
Time: 3:30 p.m. CT
Location: Tulsa, Okla.
Venue: BOK Center (19,199)
Multimedia
Video: All-Access (UABsports.com)
Radio: WUHT-FM 107.7
Talent: David Crane (pxp), Steve Mitchell (analyst)
Live Stats: GameTracker (UABsports.com)
Twitter Updates: @UABathletics
The Series
UAB leads, 8-2
Last Meeting: UAB 74, SMU 69 (3/2/13)
SMU shot a blistering 57.7 percent from the floor, but Rod Rucker and Fahro Alihodzic combined for 38 points and 17 rebounds in the victory.


UAB has won the last six meetings with the Mustangs and captured the lone matchup between the two schools at the C-USA Tournament in 2006, by the score of 69-55.
The Coaches
UAB: Jerod Haase (Kansas, '97)
Record at UAB: 15-16 (1st season)
Career Record: 15-16 (1st season)
SMU: Larry Brown (North Carolina, '63)
Record at SMU: 15-16 (1st season)
Career NCAA Record: 186-79 (8th season)
Career Record: 1,668-1,208 (38th season)
On The Blazers
>> UAB enters the C-USA Tournament as the No. 7 seed by finishing 7-9 in league play and 15-16 overall. The Blazers dropped their regular season finale at 25th-ranked Memphis last Saturday, 86-71.
>> Against the Tigers, UAB trailed by 15 at the break and battled back to pull within a point in the second half. However, Memphis burst out to lead by as much as 24 and claimed the 15-point victory. Jordan Swing topped the Blazers, posting 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the loss.
>> Rod Rucker was named to the All-Conference USA Second Team announced by the league office on Monday. In his first year with the Blazers, Rucker averaged a team-best 14.5 points and 8.3 rebounds along with posting 11 double-doubles, third most in C-USA.
>> After starting the conference season 1-6, UAB turned the season around to go 6-3 over the last nine league games.
>> UAB has outrebounded seven of its last eight opponents, with the lone team corralling more boards in a game than the Blazers being Memphis. During the last eight games, UAB is +35 on the glass. The Blazers also rank second in league games in offensive rebounds, collecting 13.1 per game.
>> UAB finished the regular season with a home record of 11-4, marking the 22nd time in 25 seasons the Blazers have reached 10-plus home wins in a season inside Bartow Arena. The Blazers are 296-69 (81.3) all-time in Bartow Arena.
>> Jordan Swing is one of two C-USA players, joined by UCF's Isaiah Sykes, who ranks amongst the league leaders in points (14.1/14th), rebounds (5.7/19th) and assists (2.8/15th) per contest.
>> Preston Purifoy ranks second in C-USA in free throw percentage, shooting 90.7. He is challenging the C-USA single-season free throw percentage record of 92.2 set by Zamal Nixon of Houston (`10-'11).
>> UAB is making its 18th appearance in the C-USA Tournament and owns a record of 14-17 all-time. The Blazers are in search of their first ever league tournament championship. UAB earned runners up honors in both 2003 (No. 9 seed) and 2006 (No. 2 seed).
>> This season marks the second time in program history that UAB earned the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament. The Blazers were seeded seventh in 1997 and went 2-1 in the tournament that season.
>> UAB ranks 11th in Division I in assists per game (16.3) and has dished out 10-plus assists in every contest this season. Dating back to last season, UAB has reached double digits in assists in 33 straight games. UAB recorded just eight helpers at UCF (3/3/12) last season in a 71-63 loss.
>> The Blazers are averaging the most shots per game in the conference, putting up 60.6 attempts per contest.
>> UAB is 12-2 when leading at halftime, 8-0 when holding the opponent under 40 percent shooting and 4-0 when holding the opposition to under 60 points this season.
On The Mustangs
>> As the No. 10 seed, SMU enters the tournament with an overall record of 15-16 and 5-11 in league action.
>> SMU has one of the top defenses in C-USA, holding opponents to just 63 ppg and a league-low field goal percentage of 39.7.
>> Jalen Jones nearly averages a double-double for the Mustangs, averaging 14.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
>> Like UAB, SMU shoots the ball well from the foul line. The Mustangs top C-USA, making 74.5 percent of their attempts.
>> SMU is coached by NBA Hall of Famer Larry Brown, who has amassed a coaching record of 1,668-1,208 as a head coach in the NBA, ABA, NCAA and Team USA in 38 seasons.
Rucker Named Second Team All-C-USA
In his first season with the Blazers, junior forward Rod Rucker was named to the All-Conference USA Second Team announced by the league office. Rucker tops UAB in points (14.5) and rebounds (8.3) per game and has collected the third-most double-doubles (11) in C-USA this season.
They Just Met
UAB and SMU squared off less than two weeks ago in Bartow Arena (3/2), with the Blazers prevailing 74-69. SMU shot an impressive 57.7 percent for the game, but Rod Rucker and Fahro Alihodzic controlled the front court, combining for 38 points and 17 rebounds in the victory.
Kansas Connections

Legendary NBA Hall of Fame head coach Larry Brown is in his first season at SMU and coached at Kansas for five seasons amassing a record of 135-44 from 1983-88. UAB head coach Jerod Haase played for the Jayhawks for three seasons from 1994-97.


Another connection between the two head coaches is that Brown earned his degree from North Carolina, while Haase served as an assistant coach for nine seasons with the Tar Heels.
