The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Hosts Marshall Saturday In Committed To A Cure Game
2/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Details:
UAB (14-13, 10-4 C-USA) vs. Marshall (9-17, 5-8 C-USA)
7 p.m. CT | Bartow Arena | Birmingham, Ala.
Live Stats | Watch | Radio: WUHT-FM 107.7 | Game Notes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- UAB's men's basketball team continues its three-game homestand by hosting Marshall on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT in the Blazers' Committed To A Cure game.
As part of the Committed To A Cure initiative, there will be 1,200 t-shirts, courtesy of Children's of Alabama, given out to fans at the doors upon entry. Fans are encouraged to wear different colored shoes like the team to bring awareness to pediatric cancer.
Saturday's game is not televised. For ticket information, contact the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at 205-975-8221 or visit UABSports.com.
UAB vs. Marshall Quick Hits
Series Information: UAB and Marshall meet for the 21st time on Saturday at Bartow Arena. The Blazers enter the matchup having won four-straight over the Thundering Herd, with a 14-6 advantage in the all-time series. UAB is 6-3 vs. Marshall in games played in Birmingham.
Third Place: The Blazers currently sit in third place in the Conference USA standings with a 10-4 mark. Louisiana Tech leads the league at 12-2 in conference play, while UTEP enters Saturday with a 10-3 mark in league action. 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.
Cokley Shines: UAB freshman forward Chris Cokley continued the strong showing for the UAB freshmen Thursday night with the first double-double of his career vs. the Hilltoppers. He scored 10 points and brought down 10 rebounds as one of four Blazers to post double-figure scoring. Freshman William Lee made a huge contribution on the glass with 11 rebounds, while Nick Norton led the team with 13 points.
Phenomenal Freshmen: 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.
Blazers Committed: Saturday is UAB’s designated “Blazers Committed To A Cure” game. UAB players have worn opposite colored shoes all season to show support and raise awareness for pediatric cancer, and the Blazers are encouraging fans to do the same and wear opposite colored shoes on Saturday in the 7 p.m. contest vs. Marshall at Bartow Arena.
UAB Notebook
UAB Perfect At Home Vs. C-USA
» UAB holds a perfect 7-0 record vs. Conference USA opponents at Bartow Arena. The Blazers have finished C-USA play undefeated at home only twice in school history. UAB finished 8-0 at home vs. league opponents in 2003-04 and 7-0 in 2005-06. The 2003-04 squad went made it all the way to the NCAA Sweet 16, while the 2005-06 team made it to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Balanced Blazers Down WKU
» Against WKU on Thursday, all 10 players who entered the game scored for the Blazers. UAB finished the night with four players in double figures, including a team-high 13 from freshman Nick Norton. Fellow rookie Chris Cokley added 10 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
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 five of the last six games and in 11 of 15 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).
Mehinti Moving Up Career Blocks Chart
» Blazer sophomore forward Tosin Mehinti currently stands at No. 6 on UAB’s all-time career blocks chart with 95 in his career. He currently leads the Blazers with 60 blocks this season, which ranks No. 5 in a single-season for an individual player at UAB.
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.
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 a total of 21 times this season. The Blazers’ go-to guy has led his team in scoring in 16 of 27 games this season.
Norton Running The Point
» Freshman point guard Nick Norton has had a strong start to his Blazer career through the first 26 regular season games. The Bloomington, Ill., native is fourth in Conference USA in assist-to-turnover ratio with 99 total assists and just 45 turnovers this season. He is also one of UAB’s best 3-point shooters, hitting 43-of-110 (39.1 percent) from behind the arc.
