The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Basketball Notes For The VCU Game
12/13/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2001
UAB at VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH
Saturday, Dec. 15, 2001 *ALLTELL Pavilion (7,500)
Richmond, Va. *Tipoff 7:30 pm EST
UAB vs. VCU QUICK FACTS
RADIO: Blazer Sports Radio Network
(WAPI-AM 1070 in Birmingham)
Gary Sanders, Play by Play
Matt Coulter, Color
Jon Gentile, Producer/Engineer
TELEVISION: None.
SERIES: UAB leads 17-14
LAST MEETING: UAB 70, VCU 61 Bartow Arena, (Dec. 30, 2000).
UAB BLAZERS
UAB is 4-4 and has won two straight and three of its last four games. The Blazers defeated UNLV 74-68 last Saturday (Dec. 8) after beating Alcorn State 102-61 earlier in the week.
P.J. Arnold has scored 42 points over the last two games. He had 22 against Alcorn State and 20 versus UNLV. Arnold leads the team, averaging 14.2 points per game. Mo Finley has scored in double figures in each game this season, and is averaging 14.1 points per game. Will Campbell has scored in double figures the last five games and is averaging 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Myron Ransomaverages 10.1 points per game and had 13 rebounds against UNLV.
The Blazers are holding their opponents to just 40.5 percent shooting from the field, and have outscored them by 9.8 points per game.
Head Coach Murry Bartow is in his sixth season as a collegiate head coach with a record of 94-70 (.573). He has led the Blazers to a 42-36 C-USA record the past five years.
UP NEXT
UAB hosts Louisiana Tech, Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Bartow Arena.
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH The Rams are 7-2 overall and have won four straight. They defeated Florida Atlantic 88-84 in double overtime in their last game. VCU defeated cross-town rival Richmond 65-54, Dec. 1.
Wing player Willie Taylor leads VCU with 19.8 points per game. Guard Antoine Willie is scoring 15.7 points. Guard Domonic Jones scores 14.1 points per game and leads the team with five assists per game. Center L.F. Likcholitov leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 53 percent from the field.
The Rams are holding the opponents to just 35 percent shooting from the field.
Coach Mack McCarthy is in his fourth year as head coach with a record of 52-46 at the school. He is in his 16th year as a head coach with a record of 281-154. He spent 12 years as the head coach at Chattanooga.
UP NEXT
VCU hosts Gardner Webb, Tuesday night.
UAB PROBABLE STARTERS 2001-2002 Stats: PPG RPG PLAYER NOTES
F 30 Eric Batchelor 6-7 210 Sr. Memphis, Tenn. 5.6 1.8 Scored in double figures 3 of last 4 games. F 13 Myron Ransom 6-5 225 Sr. Birmingham, Ala. 10.1 5.2 Had career-high 13 rebounds against UNLV. C 54 Will Campbell 6-8 245 Sr. Elmira, N.Y. 10.4 7.2 Scored in double figures last five games G 24 P.J. Arnold 6-5 205 Sr. Memphis, Tenn. 14.2 4.0 Has 42 points last two games. G 33 Eric Bush 5-10 180 Jr. Anderson, Ind. 8.0 4.9 Averaging 5.3 assists per game.
OFF THE BENCH
G 10 Morris Finley 5-11 165 So. Lafayette, Ala. 14.1 2.9 Has scored in double figures each game this year.
F 42 Antonae Roberson 6-5 230 Jr. San Jose, Calif. 4.7 1.9 Scored in double figures 2 of his last 3 games
G 3 Asa Woods 6-5 185 So. Sumiton, Ala. 4.8 1.6 Scored career high 19 versus Alcorn St.
G 4 Jeffrey Collins 6-4 190 Fr. Birmingham, Ala. 4.8 2.2 Made three treys, scored 11 points vs. Alcorn St.
F 34 Cedric Davis 6-8 225 Jr. Dayton, Ohio 0.7 2.4 Had 7 rebounds against Richmond, Alcorn St.
HEAD COACH: Murry Bartow (UAB, 1985)
OVERALL/UAB RECORD: 94-70 (6th season)
ASSISTANT COACHES: Thomas Johnson (Montevallo, 1977)
Tom Schuberth (Mississippi State, 1980)
Matt Bowen (Indiana, 1995)
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH (7-2) PROBABLE STARTERS ... 2001-2002 Stats: PPG RPG
F 4 Willie Taylor 6-5 200 Jr. Nashville, Tenn. 19.8 5.2 F 12 Konstantin Nesterov 6-8 225 Jr. St. Petersburg, Russia 6.1 4.4 C 42 L.F. Likcholitov 6-11 250 Sr. St. Petersburg, Russia 8.7 7.0 G 24 Antoine Willie 6-2 185 Jr. Suffolk, Va. 15.7 3.6 G 10 Domonic Jones 6-1 180 So. Chesterfield, Va. 14.1 4.3
HEAD COACH: Mack McCarthy
ASSISTANT COACHES: Mike Ellis, Gerald White, Jeff Capel III
LAST TIME OUT
UAB 74, UNLV 68
P.J. Arnold hit three, 3-pointers in an 11-0 run that pushed UAB to a 74-68 win over UNLV in the Arby's Hardwood Classic at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Complex. Arnold finished with a game-high 20 points. The Blazers took a 36-34 lead into the half and led 46-43 when Arnold started the run. His treys and a pair of free throws by Jeffrey Collins gave the Blazers a 57-43 lead. UNLV could not cut the margin to less than seven points until their final shot. UNLV shot just 34 percent from the floor in the second half. Mo Finley came off the bench to score 15 points for the Blazers. Myron Ransom had 13 rebounds and Will Campbell scored 12 points. Dalron Johnson led UNLV with 17 points, but made just 6-of-16 shots from the field. UNLV did jump out to an 18-9 lead, but the Blazers rallied with a 12-2 run to take a 21-20 lead. The lead went back and forth until halftime and UAB never trailed in the second half.
THE VCU SERIES
UAB leads 17-14 after winning 70-61 at Bartow Arena last year. The two teams were rivals in the Sun Belt Conference and played each other regularly until 1991. UAB is 4-8 in Richmond, but has not played there since 1991. The Rams won that meeting 66-64. UAB came back to beat VCU 89-68 at Bartow Arena in '91 and has won two straight over the Rams.
LAST YEAR
UAB 70, VCU 61
UAB overcame a six-point halftime deficit to beat the Rams 71-60. LeAndrew Bass and Will Campbell both recorded double-doubles. Bass scored 14 points and had 11 rebounds and Campbell scored 11 points and had 12 rebounds. David Walker led the Blazers with 18 points. VCU led by as much as nine points in the first half at 29-20. In the second half VCU held the lead most of the way, leading 52-49 with 8:40 remaining in the game. The Blazers then went on an 11-0 run to go up 60-52 with 3:42 remaining and held on for the win. Bo Jones led VCU with 22 points.
MURRY BARTOW vs. VCU
Murry Bartow is 1-0 against the Rams, winning last year's game. Bartow is 2-0 against Mack McCarthy's teams. In addition to last year the Blazers defeated McCarthy's Chattanooga team 75-65, Dec. 18, 1996.
UAB VS. THE CAA
UAB is 34-23 against teams currently in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Blazers were in the SunBelt Conference with two of the schools, VCU and Old Dominion. UAB leads VCU 17-14 and Old Dominion 14-8. They are 2-0 against Drexel, 0-1 versus George Mason, and 1-0 against William and Mary.
ON THE ROAD
The Blazers are playing their second true road game. They have played four games outside the city of Birmingham and are 1-3 in those games. UAB was 1-2 in the Paradise Jam Tournament in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and lost at Murray State 74-69.
BACK TO .500
UAB has won three of the last four games to even its record at 4-4. The Blazers have outscored the opponents by 74 points in the last four games. Of the four wins, three have been by double-digits. The Blazers beat Eastern Michigan 79-66, Bradley 82-50 and Alcorn State 102-61. UAB's average win margin is 24 points.
KEY STRETCH
This game starts a key week for the 4-4 Blazers. After playing at VCU they host Louisiana Tech, Wednesday, Dec. 19 and travel to face LaSalle, in Philadelphia, Saturday, Dec. 22. Louisiana Tech is 4-2 on the year and has a win over Auburn and lost at Oklahoma by just four points. LaSalle already has a 63-58 win over UAB in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas of the Virgin Islands.
COBB TO SUIT UP
Lee Cobb, a sophomore transfer from Birmingham-Southern College, will suit up for the Blazers for the first time against VCU. He sat out until the end of the first semester for NCAA transfer rules. He saw limited time as a freshman at Birmingham-Southern, but has been impressive in practice.
BARTOW BLOWOUTS
UAB won its last two home games in Bartow Arena by a combined margin of 73 points. The Blazers beat Bradley by 32 points, 82-50 and Alcorn State by 41 points, 102-61. UAB is 2-1 at home and has a home scoring margin of +24 points a game. The Blazers are shooting 52.3 percent from the floor at home and 46 percent overall. UAB has shot 60 percent in the last two home games. At home UAB is averaging 81 points per game and 71.8 away from Bartow Arena.
CLOSE LOSSES
UAB is very close to being well above .500. The four losses have been by a total of 13 points. In each game, UAB had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead in the final 30 seconds. The largest margin of defeat has been five points by both LaSalle and Murray State. Miami won by two points and Richmond by one-point.
THREE-POINTERS
Over the last two games UAB has made 55 percent of its three-pointers. The Blazers made made 14 of 20 3-pointers against Alcorn State, tying the school record for treys in a game. The Blazers also made 14 three-pointers against Alabama State, Dec. 30, 1989. UAB followed the Alcorn State performance by hitting 8-of-20, 40 percent against UNLV. For the season the Blazers have made 42.6 percent (69-162) from behind the arc.
FINLEY OFF THE BENCH
Mo Finley continued his strong performance off the bench when he scored 15 points against UNLV. In that game he scored 11 of his points in the first half, helping UAB overcome an 18-9 deficit and take a 36-34 halftime lead. He has become a true sixth man who adds instant offense. He has come off the bench the last four games, after starting the first four. When not starting, Finley has averaged 12.5 points. He is the only Blazer to score in double figures in all eight games, and is averaging 14.1 points per game.
ARNOLD HEATS UP
Senior P.J. Arnold has lit things up the last two games. He scored 22 points against Alcorn State and 20 against UNLV. He has made 9-of-14 (64.3%) from three-point range in those two games. Arnold now leads the team in
scoring, averaging 14.2 points a game. He has scored in double figures in six of the eight games. He posted his first UAB career double-double against Richmond, with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He also leads the team, scoring 20 or more points three times. Arnold is shooting 47 percent from 3-point range for the season.
BATCHELOR LIKES STARTING
Eric Batchelor has averaged 10 points since joining the starting lineup four games ago. He has scored in double figures in three of the four games. This came after not scoring in the three previous games. The senior forward scored 12 points against Bradley, 16 against Murray State and 11 versus Alcorn. He had only one point against UNLV. In the first four games, which he did not start, Batchelor scored just five points and had a total of four rebounds. He scored all five of early points in the season opener against EMU.
CAMPBELL GETS FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE OF SEASON
Will Campbell recorded his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Alcorn State. He followed that with 12 points against UNLV and has scored in double figures in five straight games. Campbell had eight double-doubles last year and now has nine for his career. Last year he was named the C-USA Player of the Week (Feb. 4, 2001) and posted a school-record tying 20 rebounds against Houston (Jan. 31, 2001), marking only the seventh time in league history that a player has notched at least that many in a contest.
SPREADING THE SCORING
UAB has four players averaging in double figures. P.J. Arnold is scoring 14.2 points a game, just ahead of Mo Finley's 14.1 ppg. Will Campbell gets 10.3 points and leads the team in rebounding with 7.4 a contest. Myron Ransom is averaging 10.1 points.
BUSH CAN DO IT ALL
Point guard Eric Bush is proving to being a multi-talented player at just 5-foot-10. He did dish out four assists in the game. He leads the team with 5.3 assists per game and is second on the team in rebounding, getting 4.9 boards per game. He still leads the team in minutes played with 31.5 a game. Bush is scoring 8.0 points a contest.
THREE BLAZERS OUT
Junior forward Sidney Ball, sophomore center Tom Frericks and junior guard Tony Johnson are all out for the game. Their status for the rest of the season in still unknown. Ball is suffering from a stress fracture in is back, Frericks is ailing from a groin injury and Johnson is still ailing from a non-union stress fracture he suffered in his foot last season.
SPEAKING OF INJURIES
Unfortunately UAB is following a similar injury path like last season. This year the Blazers have lost 24 player games to injury. Last year the team lost a total of 23 player games due to illness or injury. The biggest loss was Sidney Ball for 11 games. Tony Johnson missed eight games, David Walker two and LeAndrew Bass one. If you throw in both Myron Ransom and Mo Finley, who missed the entire season, then that total is 85 games.
WISH IT WERE THE BRAVES
UAB has outscored teams with the nickname Braves, by and average of 36.5 points. The Blazers beat the Bradley Braves 82-50 and the Alcorn State Braves 102-61.
UAB IN BARTOW ARENA
The Blazers are 2-1 in Bartow Arena this season. They are 154-35 (.815) in their 14th year playing in Bartow. The Blazers were 10-5 at home this year. Overall the Blazers are 288-71 (.802) in Birmingham.
BUSH NAMED TO PARADISE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM AT PARADISE JAM
Junior guard Eric Bush was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Paradise Jam (Nov. 17-20). This was his first action of his career for the Blazers. Bush averaged 10.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, six assists and 38.3 minutes of play in three games at the tournament.
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE
UAB has posted 21 winning seasons in the program's history. Blazer basketball has achieved winning records in 21 of 23 seasons. UAB has finished once at .500 and has had one losing season in its history.
THE EXHIBITION GAMES
UAB posted a 2-0 preseason record to begin the 2001-02 season. The Blazers recorded wins over EA Sports (93-75, Nov. 6) and Global Sports All-Stars (76-61, Nov. 2) in their two exhibition games. UAB shot 49.3% from the field against EA Sports and 50.8% against Global Sports All-Stars. From three-point land, the Blazers shot 43.5% against EA Sports and 50.0% against Global Sports All-Stars. P.J. Arnold led UAB in both games, scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against EA Sports and posted 18 points and a .67 shooting percentage from the field and from three-point territory against Global Sports All-Stars.
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
UAB's roster boasts six players from the state of Alabama. Asa Woods (Sumiton), Mo Finley (LaFayette), Myron Ransom (Birmingham), Sidney Ball (Duncanville), and newcomers Jeffrey Collins (Birmingham) and Lee Cobb (Decatur) all hail from the state. In all, UAB has a total of 10 players from the Southeast.
