The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Squares Off Against Jacksonville State On Wednesday Night
12/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2008
UAB-JSU Game Notes | Gametracker | Watch
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team returns to the hardwood following an 11-day break when it takes on instate foe Jacksonville State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Bartow Arena. The contest will mark the third time the two teams will square off on the hardwood in series history.
Wedensday's contest will mark the first game UAB has played since dropping an 87-80 decision at Cincinnati on Dec. 6, which dropped the Blazers to 5-3 on the season. The Blazers are led by three seniors who average double figures. Senior guard/forward Robert Vaden, a Wooden Award candidate and Preseason C-USA Player of the Year recipient, leads the team in scoring (19.5 ppg) and is second in rebounding (7.0 rpg). He has also picked up where he left off last season on three-point shooting, leading the team with 29 treys on the season (29-of-79).
Senior forward Lawrence Kinnard is coming off another big game with 22 points and a game-high nine rebounds in the loss to Cincinnati. It marked his third straight 20-point performance entering Wednesday's Jacksonville State contest. He is second on the team in scoring, averaging 18.0 points and leads the squad with 8.6 rebounds per contest.
Senior guard Paul Delaney III is third on the team with 18.0 ppg, to go along with 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and a team-leading 1.4 steals per game. Additionally, Delaney also leads the team in field goal percentage, connecting on 55-of-110 shots from the floor this season (.542).
As a team, the Blazers are shooting 43.9 percent from the floor and 34.4 percent from beyond the arc this season. UAB is also averaging 8.0 three-point makes per game and is outscoring opponents by 2.2 points a game (75.2-73.0).
Jacksonville State enters Wednesday's game sporting a 6-1 overall record and has won six straight games coming into its contest at UAB. The last time JSU played was on Dec. 6 when it opened play in the Ohio Valley Conference with an 82-66 victory at Tennessee Tech. The Gamecocks have now won four striaght road games and have matched their best start to a season since moving to Division I.
Leading the way for JSU are four players who are averaging double-figure scoring this season. Freshman forward Brandon Crawford is averaging a team-leading 15.8 points a game to go along with connecting on 50.0 percent of his three-point attempts (10-of-20). However, Crawford missed the Tennessee Tech victory with an injury apparently suffered the morning of the game.
Freshman forward Geddes Robinson is second on the team in scoring with 12.7 ppg, while also leading the team in rebounds (7.6 rpg) and field goal percentage (61.4 percent). Sophomore guard Jeremy Bynum (11.9 ppg) and Jonathan Toles (11.4 ppg) also average double-figure scoring.
As a team, the Gamecocks are shooting an impressive 48.7 percent from the floor and 42.3 percent from beyond the arc. JSU is outscoring the opposition by 11.3 points (79.6-68.3) and are outrebounding its opponents by 2.9 rebounds a game (37.4-34.6).
UAB and Jacksonville State will meet for just the third time on the hardwood when the two teams square off Wednesday night. The Blazers currently own a 2-0 record over the Gamecocks, with both victories coming in Birmingham. Wednesday's contest will also mark the first time in just over 10 years the in-state foes will do battle. The last time the two teams met came on Dec. 8, 1998.
Saturday's contest will be aired on WUHT 107.7 FM, with the pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT.
