The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Welcome UNC Pembroke For Friday's Exhibition
11/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UAB (0-0, 0-0 Conference USA) vs. UNC Pembroke (0-0, 0-0 Peach Belt Conference)
Friday, Nov. 7, 2014 - 7 p.m. CT
Bartow Arena - Birmingham, Ala.
Game Coverage: | Watch TV: None
Radio: None
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- UAB's men's basketball team will take the court for the first time during the 2014-15 season with an exhibition game against UNC Pembroke on Friday at 7 p.m. CT inside Bartow Arena.
Fans will get their first chance to watch the 2014-15 edition of the Blazers. It is a roster that features nine newcomers who will see their first action in a UAB uniform.
Friday's exhibition marks the final tune-up before UAB's season-opening game against Louisiana Monroe on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. CT inside Bartow Arena.
For ticket information, contact the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at 205-975-8221.
For more information on the UAB men's basketball team, follow @UAB_MBB. For more on all Blazer sports teams, follow @UABAthletics.
UAB vs. UNC Pembroke Quick Hits
» UAB enters its third season under the direction of head coach Jerod Haase. For the first time as the Blazers' head coach, each player on this year's team is a player that Haase and his staff have recruited. The Blazers return four letterwinners, including their second-leading scorer, from a squad that went 18-13 overall in 2013-14.
»The Blazers began the 2014-15 season with an overseas trip to Spain from Aug. 16-23. UAB played three games and went 2-1 against Spanish professional teams during the week-long journey.
»This past May, UAB and the City of Birmingham were chosen to host the 2015 Conference USA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, with the men's tournament to be held at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center on March 11-14.
» The Blazers enter the 2014-15 season with their second-leading scorer C.J. Washington returning to the lineup. Washington scored 13.0 ppg to go along with 6.9 rebounds per contest last season.
» Head coach Jerod Haase and his staff put together perhaps one of the best recruiting classes in UAB history this season. This year's incoming class features highly-recruited prospect William Lee -- Alabama's 2014 Mr. Basketball and 2014 Gatorade Alabama Player of the Year -- as well as Lewis Sullivan, who was named the Alabama Class 6A Player of the Year. Joining Lee and Sullivan is fellow in-state recruit Jarvis Calhoun as well as Savannah, Ga., native Chris Cokley and Illinois point guard product Nick Norton.
UAB vs. UNC Pembroke Game Notes
Washington Named Preseason All-Conference USA
» UAB senior forward C.J. Washington was named to the 2014-15 Preseason All-Conference USA Team, as voted on by the league's head coaches. Washington was one of just 10 players from the conference to earn the honor. A native of Augusta, Ga., Washington had an impressive season with the Blazers during the 2013-14 campaign. The 6-foot-8 forward topped the 20-point mark in scoring six times, including a season-high 28-point output against Temple in the Charleston Classic that earned him Conference USA Player of the Week honors. Washington was second on the team in scoring with 13.0 points per game to go along with 6.9 rebounds per contest.
Strong Freshman Class Ready To Help Blazers
» UAB hauled in some of the top prospects in the state of Alabama on the way to one of its top recruiting classes in school history this season. The class is headlined by William Lee -- Alabama's 2014 Mr. Basketball and the 2014 Gatorade Alabama Player of the Year.
Young Team In Haase's Third Year
» Of the 13 eligible players on UAB's roster this season, 10 are either freshmen or sophomores. UAB's sophomore class of Denzell Watts, Tosin Mehinti and Tyler Madison each saw increased playing time last season. Watts, who served as UAB's backup point guard, played 20 minutes or more in 12 of the Blazers' 17 C-USA games, scoring in double figures three times. Meanwhile, Mehinti led the team in blocks with 35 last season, while Madison scored a season-high 11 points off a 4-for-8 shooting performance against Charlotte in the 2014 C-USA Tournament.
Two NCAA Tourney Teams On Schedule
» UAB will play two teams that participated in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The Blazers play a Wisconsin team (at the Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 26) that made it all the way to the Final Four after compiling a 30-8 overall record and a second-place finish in the Big Ten. UAB will also play North Carolina on Dec. 27 in Chapel Hill. Last season, the Blazers defeated a Tar Heel team that finished the year 24-10 overall and advanced all the way to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Blazers Join Elite Class At Battle For Atlantis
» The Blazers have not shied away from a tough schedule under head coach Jerod Haase, and the 2014-15 slate is no different. This season UAB is one of eight elite teams -- North Carolina, UCLA, Georgetown, Florida, Wisconsin, Butler and Oklahoma -- at this year's event. The eight teams that will participate in Atlantis have a combined 195 NCAA tournament appearances, as well as 53 Final Four appearances and 20 NCAA national championships.
UAB Gets 700 In 36 Years
» With UAB's 87-74 win against Nebraska on Nov. 22, 2013 the Blazers picked up their 700th win in program history -- a remarkable stat considering UAB is in just its 37th season of playing collegiate men's basketball. Overall, the Blazers are averaging 20 wins per season dating back to the inaugural 1978-79 season.
» It is also ironic that the 700th win came against Nebraska -- the same team that UAB played in its first-ever game as a program in 1978.
11 Non-Conference Wins Most In Four Years
» UAB began last season with an 11-4 non-conference record with impressive wins against then No. 16 North Carolina and eventual 2014 NCAA Tournament participant Nebraska. The Blazers also took then No. 19 New Mexico to double overtime, before falling 97-94.
The 11 non-conference regular season victories last season marked the most since UAB won 12 games before league action in 2009-10.
Bartow Friendly To The Blazers Under Haase
» UAB finished the 2013-14 regular season 12-5 at home on the year after playing a school-record 17 games inside Bartow Arena. Under head coach Jerod Haase, the Blazers are 23-9 at home dating back to the 2012-13 season. Against non-conference foes, UAB is 16-0 at home under Haase and has won 19 straight at Bartow Arena against teams not in Conference USA.
UAB Nation's Second-Best Rebounding Team Last Season
» According to ESPN.com's statistical rankings, UAB was the No. 2 rebounding team in the nation, averaging 44.5 boards per game last year. The Blazers recorded over 50 rebounds nine times last season (54 vs. Rutgers, 53 vs. Troy, 62 vs. New Mexico, 52 vs. North Carolina 51 vs. Alabama A&M, 50 vs. Newberry College, 53 at North Texas, 50 at Tulsa, and 51 at Marshall). The 62 against New Mexico represented just the fifth time in school history that UAB has had 60-plus rebounds.
The 2013-14 Blazers broke the UAB and Conference USA single-season record for rebounding average with 44.5 boards per game last season.
Conference USA Tournament Comes To Birmingham
» In May, 2014, UAB and the City of Birmingham were chosen by Conference USA athletic directors to serve as hosts of the 2014-15 C-USA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships. The men's tournament as well as the women's semifinals and championship will be played at the BJCC in downtown Birmingham, while the women's first round and quarterfinal action will take place at UAB's Bartow Arena.
» The Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship is set to return to Birmingham for the first time since 1999, marking just the second time the Blazers will host the event. UAB and the city of Birmingham also hosted five Sun Belt Men's Conference Tournaments when the Blazers played in that league from 1978-91. UAB hosted the inaugural 1996 C-USA Women's Basketball Championship in Birmingham.
