The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
NOTEBOOK: 14th-Seeded UAB Advances To Face UCLA
3/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Steve Irvine, UABSports.com
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - William Lee introduced himself to the college basketball nation on Thursday in UAB's 60-59 victory in a NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament second round game against No. 3 seed Iowa State at KFC Yum! Arena.
To be honest, anyone who has played against the 6-foot-9 forward knows he has tons of ability. But, playing on the biggest stage in college basketball, Lee introduced himself to the casual fan with a game that included 14 points, 12 rebounds, one blocked shots and three huge plays in the final 24 seconds.
He calmly hit a 15-foot jumper to give UAB the go-ahead points with 24 seconds left and teamed with Tosin Mehinti to block George Niang's short jumper with 13 seconds left. He grabbed the rebound after the block and followed with two free throws with seven seconds left.
"I thought he was really good all night," said Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg. "He and (Robert Brown), I thought, were the two guys that they would play through and they did. They stepped up and delivered and that's what big time players do."
Lee admitted that his first time in the NCAA Tournament was "nerve wracking." He woke up with a stomach full of butterflies and felt he was a little too hyped up until the team's shoot-around on Thursday morning.
"Coach told us we're no longer freshmen," Lee said. "We just got to go out there and play basketball."
Partly because of his big plays, the Blazers move on for another game on Saturday against No. 11 seed UCLA in a third round game in Louisville. Game time will be announced later tonight.
*Sophomore Denzell Watts played an extended role on Thursday with Nick Norton battling sickness. Watts, who was playing against hometown friend and Iowa State pointg guard Monte Morris, had six points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and one turnover in 29 minutes. He was one minute short of tying his season-high in minutes that he set in the regular season opener against Louisiana Monroe.
He was also part of a bench than not only provided 19 points and 21 rebounds but also provided energy and effort. Watts said that Haase tells the bench players to "play harder than the starting five," when they enter the game.
"That's what we always try to do," Watts said. "It's been a trend over the season that if we can get a good spark off the bench then good things tend to happen."
*UAB and UCLA will get together for the second time this season. The teams met on the final day of the Battle 4 Atlantis with UCLA beating the Blazers, 88-76. UCLA built a 16-point halftime advantage in that game.
*UAB improved to 10-14 in NCAA Tournament games. It was the program's first NCAA Tournament victory since beating LSU, 82-68, on March 17, 2005 in Boise, Idaho. The Blazers advance past the first round for the seventh time in 15 tournament appearances.
*The UAB players were asked afterward if previous NCAA Tournament upsets gave them confidence heading to the game as a much lower seed than the third seeded Cyclones.
"Once you step inside the court, it's anybody's game," Robert Brown said. "Whoever wants it more usually is going to get that win. A lot of times in those upsets, I feel like the lower seed wanted it more and they came out and played harder. Today, I think we did that."
*The Blazers won its 20th game of the season with the win over the Cyclones. It marks the 22nd time in school history that UAB had a 20-win season and the first time under Haase.
