The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Hosts Charlotte In Thursday C-USA Battle
1/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UAB (8-10, 4-1 C-USA) vs. Charlotte (8-9, 2-3 C-USA)
7 p.m. CT | Bartow Arena | Birmingham, Ala.
Tickets | Live Stats | Watch | Game Notes
Radio: WUHT-FM 107.7
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Sitting in a three-way tie for second place in the Conference USA standings, the UAB men's basketball team returns home to face Charlotte on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT.
Thursday night's game is Student Appreciation Night for UAB students. The UAB National Alumni Society will host an event, which is free to students, alumni, employees and fans, at 5 p.m. The first 500 students who attend that event will receive a free t-shirt. Those who attend Thursday's gathering at the Alumni House will also march to Bartow Arena to watch the Blazers take on the 49ers.
Doors to Bartow Arena open at 6 p.m. and UAB Athletics will offer a free hot dog and drink to each of the first 100 UAB students. There will also be a $500 Barnes & Noble textbook giveaway during Thursday's game.
For more information on the UAB men's basketball team, as well as in-game updates, follow @UAB_MBB. For more on all Blazer sports teams, follow @UABAthletics.
Series Information
Overall: UAB leads, 26-16
In Birmingham: UAB leads, 14-5
In Charlotte: UAB leads, 9-8
Neutral Sites: Tied, 3-3
Current Streak: Charlotte, 1-0
Last Meeting: Charlotte won, 80-70, 3/12/14
UAB vs. Charlotte Quick Hits
More On The Series: UAB owns a 26-16 all-time series lead against Charlotte as the two squads get ready to meet on Thursday. The Blazers are 14-5 all-time against the 49ers at home. Following the matchup against Charlotte, the Blazers host Old Dominion at 4:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.
Road Split: The Blazers enter Thursday's matchup following two road games last week. UAB went 1-1, with a 74-71 loss to preseason Conference USA favorite Louisiana Tech last Thursday and a 63-56 win at Southern Miss last Saturday. Against LA Tech, UAB led by as many as eight points in the second half and shot a season-best 58 percent from the floor in the loss. Against Southern Miss, the Blazers led for a large portion of the game en route to the win, thanks to eight made 3-point field goals and 17 assists on 20 shots.
Freshman of the Week: UAB freshman forward Chris Cokley garnered UAB's first Conference USA weekly honor this year as he was named the C-USA Freshman of the Week for his efforts against LA Tech and Southern Miss. The 6-foot-8 forward scored 11 points in back-to-back games and hit an impressive 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) shots from the field in the last two contests. Cokley is currently second on the team in scoring during Conference USA play with 9.4 ppg and has scored in double figures in three-straight contests.
Blocking Blazer: UAB sophomore forward Tosin Mehinti broke into UAB's all-time career blocks chart, sitting at No. 10 on the list with 74 career blocks. The all-time leader for the Blazers is Alan Ogg, who recorded 266 blocks during his time at UAB. Mehinti has recorded three or more blocks in four-straight games and is second in Conference USA with 2.2 blocks per game this season.
Freshman On Point: UAB freshman point guard Nick Norton enters Thursday's game ranked No. 3 in Conference USA in assist/turnover ratio. Norton currently has 66 total assists this season and 29 turnovers. His average of 2.3 assists per game also ranks third in Conference USA.
UAB Notebook
Mr. Efficient Chris Cokley
» UAB freshman Chris Cokley, who is second on the team in scoring during Conference USA play with 9.4 points per game, has averaged just 14.6 minutes per contest in league action. Cokley is making the most of his time in the game, hitting 20-of-29 field goals (69 percent) during the last five outings. He has also scored in double figures in three-straight games, hitting 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) shots from the field during those games.
Mehinti Moving Up Career Blocks Chart
» Blazer sophomore forward Tosin Mehinti is currently No. 10 on UAB's all-time career blocks chart with 74 in his career. He currently leads the Blazers with 39 blocks this season and has recorded three or more blocks in four-straight games. Mehinti's 39 blocked shots this season also ranks No. 10 in a single-season for an individual player at UAB.
UAB Winning At The Free-Throw Line
» UAB currently ranks second in Conference USA in free-throw percentage. The Blazers have hit 255-of-359 (71 percent) free-throw shots this season. In conference games, UAB is 72-of-92 (78.3 percent) from the free-throw line, including a 16-of-20 (80 percent) clip from the line in the final two minutes of the first five conference games.
UAB Is Third-Youngest Team In NCAA
» UAB entered the 2014-15 season as one of the least experienced teams in NCAA Division I men's basketball. The Blazers have just two seniors on the roster (C.J. Washington and Denzel Collins) and only seven years of experience at the DI level. Entering 2014-15, there was a combined four years of experience at UAB on the Blazers' roster.
What Can Brown Do For You
» UAB redshirt junior guard Robert Brown, who transferred from Virginia Tech after the 2012-13 season, has scored in double figures in 10-straight games and a total of 14 times this season. The Blazers' go-to guy has led his team in scoring in 12 of 18 games this season.
