The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Hosts WKU In Conference USA Battle Thursday
2/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Details:
UAB (13-13, 9-4 C-USA) vs. WKU (16-8, 9-3 C-USA)
7 p.m. CT | Bartow Arena | Birmingham, Ala.
Live Stats | Watch | TV: FOX College Sports (Regionally) | Radio: WUHT-FM 107.7 | Game Notes
Ticket Information
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – UAB's men's basketball team hosts Western Kentucky at Bartow Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT in a battle of the current third and fourth place teams in the Conference USA standings.
Tickets for the pivotal C-USA clash can be purchased by calling the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at 205-975-8221 or by visiting UABSports.com.
Thursday's game will be televised regionally on FOX College Sports with the WKU radio team of Randy Lee (play-by-play) and Hal Schmitt (analyst) calling the action. Fans can listen to the contest on the Blazer IMG Sports Network, with David Crane (play-by-play) and Steve Mitchell (analyst) on the call.
For more information on the UAB men's basketball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter @UAB_MBB. For more on all Blazer sports teams, follow @UABAthletics.
UAB vs. WKU Series Information
Overall: UAB leads, 18-10
In Birmingham: UAB leads, 10-3
In Bowling Green: WKU leads, 7-6
Neutral Sites: UAB leads, 2-0
Current Streak: WKU, 2-0
Last Meeting: WKU won, 69-54, 11/28/06
UAB vs. WKU Quick Hits
More On The Series: UAB and Western Kentucky meet for the first time since 2006 on Thursday at Bartow Arena. The Blazers own an 18-10 all-time series advantage against the Hilltoppers, including a 10-3 advantage in games played in Birmingham.
Top Of The Standings: The Blazers currently sit in fourth place in the Conference USA standings, just one game back of third-place Western Kentucky and two games back of first-place Louisiana Tech. The top four teams at the end of the regular season will receive a first round bye in the Birmingham-hosted Conference USA Championship on March 11-14.
Close Losses: UAB enters Thursday’s game with four conference losses. All four of those losses have come on the road, with two coming by a combined five points to Conference USA’s No. 1 and No. 2 preseason picks Louisiana Tech and UTEP. UAB has not lost a league game by more than nine points. The nine-point loss came in an 82-73 double-overtime defeat to Rice this past Saturday.
Freshmen Shine: UAB’s freshman class continues its strong season. The Blazers have won Conference USA Freshman of the Week honors in four of the past five weeks, with William Lee becoming the latest Blazer to win the award this past week after he posted two double-doubles in back-to-back games at North Texas and Rice. Nick Norton (Jan. 26 and Feb. 9) and Chris Cokley were also honored earlier in the year. UAB’s three honorees represent the most by a single school in a single season since the award’s inception in 2011-12.
Best At The Line: UAB is the top free-throw shooting team in Conference USA, hitting 74.3 percent of its foul shots as a team this season. In C-USA action, the Blazers are hitting 80 percent of their free throws. UAB sophomore guard Tyler Madison ranks first in the league in free-throw shooting in C-USA play only, hitting 89 percent at the foul line in the last 13 games.
UAB Notebook
Old Sun Belt Conference Rivals Meet
» UAB and Western Kentucky are old Sun Belt Conference rivals that met every season from 1983-1991, with UAB holding a 15-6 series advantage over the Hilltoppers during that time frame. The first meeting between the two schools occurred on March 13, 1981 in what was UAB’s first-ever NCAA Tournament game -- a 93-68 Blazer win.
UAB Has It Turned Around In Conference USA Play
» UAB suffered through a tough non-conference slate that featured matchups against four ranked teams and an LSU squad that is one of the better 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 four losses have come on the road against the C-USA preseason top two picks -- LA Tech and UTEP -- as well as a three-point loss at North Texas and a double-overtime defeat at Rice. UAB’s four C-USA losses have come by a combined 17 points.
Blazers Crashing The Boards
» UAB has held the rebounding edge in four of the last five games and in 10 of 14 Conference USA games. Before C-USA action started, the Blazers led in rebounds in just three of the 13 contests. In league play only, UAB ranks second in the league in rebounding margin (+4.6) and third in rebounding defense (31.8 per game).
Mr. Efficient Chris Cokley
» UAB freshman Chris Cokley, who is fifth on the team in scoring during Conference USA play with 8.0 points per game, has averaged just 16.6 minutes per contest in league action. Cokley is making the most of his time in the game, hitting 45-of-75 field goals (60 percent) during the last 13 outings, which ranks fourth in Conference USA in league games only.
Mehinti Moving Up Career Blocks Chart
» Blazer sophomore forward Tosin Mehinti is currently tied at No. 6 on UAB’s all-time career blocks chart with 93 in his career. He currently leads the Blazers with 58 blocks this season, which ranks No. 5 in a single-season for an individual player at UAB.
Close Losses For UAB
» Of UAB’s 13 losses, nine have come by nine points or fewer. Three of UAB’s four double-digit losses this season have come against ranked teams -- then No. 2 ranked Wisconsin, 72-43, on Nov. 26 and then No. 22 ranked UCLA, 88-76, on Nov. 28 and then No. 20 North Carolina, 89-58, on Dec. 27.
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.
