The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
First Place Blazers Square Off With North Texas Thursday
2/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UAB (13-11, 9-2 C-USA) vs. North Texas (9-13, 3-7 C-USA)
7 p.m. CT | The Super Pit | Denton, Texas
Live Stats | Listen Live (Free) | Watch Live (Subscription) | Game Notes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Sitting in a three-way tie for first place in Conference USA action, the UAB men's basketball team looks to add to its three-game win streak on Thursday when the Blazers travel to Denton, Texas to take on North Texas at 7 p.m. CT.
The game will not be televised, but fans can listen to the contest on the Blazer IMG Sports Network with David Crane on the call. It will air locally in Birmingham on WUHT-FM 107.7. Fans can also watch the game on UABSports.com with a subscription.
For more information on the UAB men's basketball team, follow @UAB_MBB. For more on all Blazer sports teams, follow @UABAthletics.
UAB vs. North Texas Quick Hits
The Series: UAB and North Texas meet for just the third time in school history on Thursday in Denton, Texas. Each team has won on its home floor in the series. Last season, the Mean Green defeated UAB, 76-65, at the Super Pit, thanks to a 55 percent first-half shooting performance.
Three-Way Tie: The Blazers currently sit in a three-way tie for first place with Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky in the Conference USA standings. UAB's 9-2 start to C-USA action is the program's best start to C-USA play since the 2005-06 team finished 12-2 against league opponents.
Freshman Of The Week: UAB freshman Nick Norton has established himself as one of the top freshmen in Conference USA. The Bloomington, Ill., native has won C-USA Freshman of the Week honors in two of the last three weeks (Jan. 26 and Feb. 9). UAB has earned the Freshman of the Week distinction in three of the last four weeks, with Chris Cokley earning the honor on Jan. 19.
Rookie Point Guard: Nick Norton is currently third in the league in assists, averaging 4.0 per game, and is fourth in assist/turnover ratio with 91 total assists and 40 turnovers this season. Norton is also one of UAB's best 3-point shooter, hitting 37-of-93 (39.8 percent) from 3-point range.
What Can Brown Do For You: On a team that is full of talented freshmen, UAB redshirt junior guard Robert Brown leads the team in scoring with 13.4 ppg and has paced the Blazers in scoring in 15 of UAB's 24 games this season. He has scored in double figures a total of 19 times this season.
Top Free-Throw Shooting Team: UAB boasts the best free-throw shooting team in Conference USA. The Blazers lead the league in free-throw percentage (74.7 percent) and are shooting a league-best 81.8 percent from the line in C-USA games. The Blazers hit 35-of-42 (83.3 percent) from the free-throw line vs. Southern Miss on Saturday. The 35 made free-throws represented the third-best single game total in UAB history.
UAB Notebook
Balanced Blazers
» UAB has used a balanced attack this season, especially in Conference USA play. UAB had five players score in double figures in two-straight games last week. Robert Brown ,Hakeem Baxter and Tosin Mehinti all recorded double figures in both games. On Saturday, it was Tyler Madison (14) and C.J. Washington (10) joining them. On Thursday against LA Tech, the other double figure scorers were Nick Norton and Chris Cokley. UAB has had five players score in double figures five times this season and has had at least four players score in double figures in four of the last six games.
Blazers Crashing The Boards
» UAB has held the rebounding edge in the last three games (+13 vs. UTSA, + 15 vs. LA Tech and +3 vs. Southern Miss) and in nine of 11 conference games. Before C-USA action started, the Blazers led in rebounds in just three of the 13 contests. In league play only, UAB ranks first in the league in rebounding margin (+5.5) and second in rebounding defense (30.3 per game).
UAB Frontcourt One Of Best In C-USA
» UAB's frontcourt has solidified itself as one of the top frontcourts in Conference USA. The Blazers rank second in blocked shots (5.3 per game), with Tosin Mehinti (ranks third with 2.3 per game) and William Lee (ranks seventh with 1.1 per game) each in the top 10 in C-USA in blocked shots. In league games only.
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 were a combined four years of experience at UAB on the Blazers' roster. Below is a list of schools with the fewest years of Division I experience.
Mehinti Moving Up Career Blocks Chart
» Blazer sophomore forward Tosin Mehinti is currently No. 7 on UAB's all-time career blocks chart with 90 in his career. He currently leads the Blazers with 55 blocks this season, which ranks No. 5 in a single-season for an individual player at UAB.
UAB Has It Turned Around In Conference USA Play
» UAB suffered through a brutal non-conference slate that featured matchups against four ranked teams and an LSU squad that is one of the top teams in the Southeastern Conference. The Blazers finished non-conference play at 4-9 overall, but have turned it around in league action with road wins at Middle Tennessee, Southern Miss and UTSA and home wins against a tough Charlotte team a previously ranked Old Dominion squad and LA Tech, among other notable wins.
» UAB's only two losses have come on the road against the C-USA preseason top two picks -- LA Tech and UTEP. The Blazers lost both those games by a combined five points after building leads in both contests. In fact, UAB led for a combined 51:20 against those two teams.
