The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Hoops Travels To Take On Louisiana-Lafayette
11/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will square off against Louisiana-Lafayette for the fourth time in series history on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. CT in Lafayette, La. The Blazers (4-3) and Ragin' Cajuns (1-2) are meeting for the first time on the hardwood since the opening round of the 2003 NIT, a game which UAB won, 82-80, in Bartow Arena.
The game will be carried live on WUHT 107.7 FM with David Crane and Steve Mitchell on the call.
UAB won its second consecutive game with a 84-72 decision over former Sun Belt Conference rival Jacksonville last Saturday. The Blazers led by as many as 25 points (72-47) midway through the second half, before a late rally allowed the Dolphins to sneak within the final margin of 12. The Blazers received 25 points from junior Robert Vaden en route to the win.
Vaden leads the Blazers in scoring, averaging an impressive 18.9 points a game which ranks fifth in Conference USA. He also leads the team in three-point shooting (21-of-66, 42.4 percent) and minutes played (34.4).
Sophomore Walter Sharpe is second on the team in scoring with 14.1 points a game, while leading the team in rebounding (7.1) and blocked shots (1.6 bpg). Junior forward Reggie Huffman is second on the team in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and third in scoring (10.1 ppg). Furthermore, the Birmingham, Ala. native has hit 32-of-39 shots from the floor and ranks second in Conference USA in field goal percentage (.821).
Additionally, junior forward Lawrence Kinnard contributes 9.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest.
As a team, the Blazers are averaging 47.5 percent shooting from the floor and 37.0-percent from three-point range. Despite a 4-3 record, the Blazers are outscoring their opponents by 10.1 points a game (73.7-63.6).
Head coach Mike Davis is in his second season at the helm of the UAB men's basketball program. Davis, who is in his eighth season as a head coach, boasts a career record of 134-98 (.578) and five postseason appearances, including the 2002 national championship game. He is now 19-19 (.500) at UAB.
Louisiana-Lafayette enters Tuesday night's contest with a 1-2 record after suffering back-to-back road losses at Louisiana Tech (64-56 on 11/16) and at Oral Roberts (62-53 on 11/20). The Ragin' Cajuns won their only home game of the season, taking a 79-67 decision over North Alabama on Nov. 14.
Louisiana-Lafayette is led by sophomore guard Elijah Millsap, who leads the team in scoring (15.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.7 rpg). The 6-6 guard also leads the team with 11 steals on the season and ranks second with seven helpers.
Besides Millsap, senior guard David Dees is the only other Cajun to average double-figure scoring. He enters the contest against UAB averaging 11.0 ppg, while also ranking second on the team with 6.7 rebounds a contest.
The Ragin' Cajuns are a guard-oriented team, boasting of 14 guards on their 17-man roster. The team quickness and athleticism has resulted in 30 steals over ULL's three contests, while forcing opponents into 53 miscues. However, Louisiana-Lafayette has struggled on the season shooting the ball, averaging just 23.2-percent from three-point range.
Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Robert Lee is in his fourth season at the helm of the men's basketball program. Lee has compiled an overall record of 26-42 (.382) during his tenure.
UAB-Louisiana-Lafayette The Series
UAB and Louisiana-Lafayette will meet for the fourth time in series history when the two teams take the hardwood Tuesday night, with the Blazers holding a 2-1 advantage in the series. This marks the first meeting between the two teams since an opening round NIT victory for the Blazers on March 19, 2003 (82-80). In fact, every game played between the two teams has gone down to the wire. ULL won its lone game against UAB by two points (74-72) on March 6, 1980, while the Blazers also captured a 75-67 win on Nov. 28, 1997 in the 1997 Great Alaska Shootout.
Last Time Out
Robert Vaden hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 25 points to lead UAB to an 84-72 victory over Jacksonville. Walter Sharpe scored 12 points and Lawrence Kinnard and Aaron Johnson had 10 each for UAB. Marcus Allen led Jacksonville with 14 points and Ben Smith had 13. Sharpe scored eight early points inside to help UAB to a 22-10 lead. Jacksonville closed the margin to four points, but a 12-0 run late in the half gave UAB a 54-35 lead at intermission. Vaden, a junior transfer from Indiana, warmed up from outside in the second half. He hit four 3-pointers to give UAB a 72-47 lead with 10:40 to play. Vaden finished one point shy of his career-high. He had 26 points in UAB's season opening win over Georgia State and scored 26 at Indiana in 2006 against Iowa. Lukasiak powered inside for four baskets down the stretch to help Jacksonville cut the final margin to 12 points. Szymon Lukasiak was the game's high rebounder with seven boards.
Close Calls
It would be fair to assume that when the Blazers and Ragin' Cajuns meet Tuesday night at the CajunDome, the game could possibly go down to the wire. In the three previous meetings, the victorious team has won by an average of 4.0 points. Each team has won a two-point victory, while the Blazers captured an eight-point win in the 2007 Great Alaska Shootout.
Dishing It Out
Freshman guard Aaron Johnson was forced into an important role when senior guard Paul Delaney III was sidelined with a season-ending knee injury three games into the 2007-08 campaign. Johnson has picked up where Delaney left off in the three games since. Over that span, Johnson has recorded 19 assists (6.3 assists per game) with only 11 turnovers. He has also averaged 4.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals a game during the stretch.
Blazers Set Games Played School Record
UAB head coach Mike Davis and his team will be looking forward to the month of November coming to an end. The Blazers will play their eighth game this month when they step onto the hardwood against Louisiana-Lafayette Tuesday night. The eight contests is a school record for games played in the month of November. The former record of six was set last season in Davis' first year at the helm of the program.
Top Scoring Duos
UAB's Robert Vaden and Walter Sharpe rank among the top scoring duos in Conference USA this season. Vaden, a transfer from Indiana, leads the team and ranks fifth in the league with 18.9 ppg. Sharpe, a transfer from Mississippi State, is second on the team with 14.1 ppg. Together, the duo contribute 33.0 points a game, which is good enough for the fourth-best scoring duo in the league. Below is a breakdown of the top scoring twosomes in Conference USA this season:
1. Douglas-Roberts & Rose, Memphis 38.2
2. McKiver & Pane, Houston 36.8
3. Jackson & Kilgore, UTEP 35.6
4. Vaden & Sharpe, UAB 33.0
5. Humphrey & Dorris, Marshall 31.5
Streak Continues
With the 64-50 defeat over Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 21, the Blazers captured their eighth straight win when holding an opponent to 50 points or less in a contest. The last time UAB lost when allowing 50 or less points occurred on Jan. 2, 2002 with a 50-36 loss to Southern Miss. In fact, the Blazers are 22-1 since the 1993-94 campaign when giving up 50 or fewer points. The Blazers boast an overall record of 49-4 when accomplishing the feat.
