The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Hoops Travels To Take On Troy Monday Night
11/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will return to action on Monday night when it travels south to take on instate foe Troy at 7 p.m. The Blazers and Trojans will meet for the fourth time in series history, with UAB winning each of the previous three meetings.
GAME INFORMATION
WHEN: Nov. 29, 2010 • 7 pm CT • Troy, Ala. • Sartain Hall (4,000)
RADIO: Blazer Sports Network (Flagship: WUHT 107.7 FM)
David Crane (play-by-play), Steve Mitchell (color) and Jon Gentile (engineer)
TV: None
About UAB
• UAB begins a stretch of four games in seven days with Monday night's contest at Troy. The Blazers are coming off a hard fought, 70-65, overtime victory against Arkansas Friday night. The game was played at the Verizon Arena in Little Rock, Ark.
• With the victory over the Razorbacks, UAB has started the 2010-11 season at 4-1. It marks the third consecutive season that Mike Davis and his team has begun a year by winning four of its first five contests.
• Senior point guard Aaron Johnson leads the nation with an average of 9.6 assists per game. Johnson, who had eight assists against the Razorbacks, now has 48 assists and only 18 turnovers this season. He is also contributing 8.0 points and 2.0 steals per contest.
• UAB junior Cameron Moore leads the team in scoring and rebounding. Furthermore, his 17.6 points a game rank fourth in C-USA, while his 9.6 rebounds per contest is third-best in the league. He is also sixth in the conference in field goal percentate (.583).
• Senior Jamarr Sanders is second on the team with 15.4 ppg, while also averaging 5.0 rpg. He leads the Blazers with 12 three-pointers made.
• Head coach Mike Davis improved to 89-49 (.645) during his five seasons at UAB, including a 74-33 (.692) mark over his last four years (including the 2010-11 season) alone.
About Troy
• Troy comes into Monday's matchup sporting a 1-4 overall record. The Trojans, who will be playing just their second home game of the year, are coming off a tough 92-83 overtime loss at Mississippi State Friday night. The contest capped a four-game road swing, as Troy will playing its first home game since Nov. 12.
• The Trojans are led by Vernon Taylor, who averages 17.6 points and is second on the squad with 5.8 rebounds a game. He led Troy with 24 points against the Bulldogs on Friday.
• Bernard Toombs enters the UAB game averaging a double-double with averages of 10.2 points and a team-best 10.0 rebounds per contest. He is also one of the best shot-blockers in the nation, collecting 11 blocks in five games this year.
• Levan Patsatsia (14.8) and Travis Lee (12.0) are each averging double figures for the Trojans. However, Lee has played in only one game this season.
• As a team, Troy is shooting .421 from the floor and .326 from beyond the arc. The Trojans have also outrebounded the opposition by an average of 4.2 boards a game (42.2-38.0).
• Head coach Don Maestri is in his 29th year as a head coach, all coming with the Troy men's hoops program. He has compiled an overall record of 478-326 (.595). He enters tonight's matchup 22 victories shy of the 500-win mark.
Notes From Last Game
• UAB recorded a 70-65 overtime victory vs. Arkansas in Little Rock, Ark. on Friday night. It marked the second consecutive year the Blazers defeated the Razorbacks in a close contest.
• The Blazers five started recorded all 70 points in the victory and combined to go 24-of-48 from the floor. The bench combined for zero points and only took two shots, missing both.
• UAB began the overtime with an 11-3 spurt to seal its fourth victory in five games to open the season. Cameron Moore and Robert Williams each hit a three pointer, while Ovie Soko converted a traditional three-point play to help lift the Blazers to the win.
• UAB shot only 34.8 percent from the floor during the opening half, but combined to blister the nets for .593 shooting from the floor (16-of-27) in the second half and overtime period.
Who's Hot?
• The Starting Five - All five starters scored in double figures against Arkansas Friday night ... As a group, they shot went 24-of-48 from the field and 7-of-11 from beyond the arc.
• Aaron Johnson - Leads the nation in assists per game at 9.6 ... Has 48 assists and only 18 turnovers ... He also leads the team in steals (10) and charges taken (10).
• Robert Williams - Hit a pair of crucial threes to help lift UAB to a win at Arkansas ... After scoring a combined four points through his first three games, Williams has had back-to-back double-figure scoring contests and combined for 21 points and nine rebounds over the two-game stretch.
• Ovie Soko - Averaging 18.0 points and 8.0 rebounds a game over his last two contests ... Recorded career highs of 19 points and eight rebounds against South Alabama ... Also had a career-best five blocked shots against the Jaguars.
Securing The Perimeter
• The Blazers lead Conference USA in three-point field percentage defense, checking in at .216 (19-of-88) for the year.
• In the four games since allowing Southeast Missouri State to shoot 7-of-15 from three in the season-opening win, UAB has held the opposition to just 12-of-73 (.164) from beyond the arc.
Another Overtime Win
• With the overtime victory vs. Arkansas on Monday night, UAB improved to 8-4 in such contests under head coach Mike Davis.
• The Blazers now own a record of 31-21 in overtime contests in program history.
Can I Assist You?
• With 48 assists this year, including 42 over his last four contests, senior point guard Aaron Johnson leads the nation with 9.6 assists per game.
• Johnson became the first player in school history to record three consecutive double-digit assist games. He had 10 assists at MTSU (11/17), 12 at Arizona State (11/20) and 10 vs. South Alabama (11/23).
• The Chicago, Ill. native is also making his mark on the defensive end of the floor. A member of the C-USA All-Defensive team a year ago, Johnson leads the team with 10 steals and 10 charges drawn this year.
Second Half Sensation
• Over his last three games, senior Jamarr Sanders has been ice cold in the first half, but red hot in the second half.
• During that stretch, Sanders has averaged 1.7 points during the opening 20 minutes, going 2-for-12 (.167) from the floor and 1-for-7 (.143) from beyond the arc. However, over the last 20 minutes, he is averaging 14.7 points, connecting on 17-of-29 (.586) from the field and 8-of-15 (.533) treys.
• All but five of Sanders' 50 points over UAB's last three contests have been scored in the second half.
We Want "Moore"
• Junior Cameron Moore is off to a sensational start this year, leading the team in scoring (17.6 points) and rebounding (9.6) entering the South Alabama game.
• The San Antonio, Texas native collected his third double-double this season, and fourth of his career with 14 points and 10 rebounds Friday night at Arkansas.
• Entering this year, has had three double-figure scoring contests. He has now surpassed his career total in five games this season and is the only Blazer to have scored double figures in every game this season.
Jacking Up The Threes
• UAB has attempted 113 three-pointers on the season. That number averages out to 22.6 three-point attempts a game.
• The Blazers have a distinct advantage in three-pointers made a game. UAB has made 48-of-113 treys this season (.363), while the opposition has made just 19-of-88 threes (.216) this year.
• In its last two contests alone, UAB has connected on 10-of-20 shots from deep (.500). In comparison, the opposition has hit just 6-of-39 three-pointers over the same stretch (.154)
Home Sweet Home
• UAB's Bartow Arena has always been a tough place for opponents to come in, but that has been even more true over the past four seasons. Over that time, the Blazers have been nearly unbeatable, compiling a record of 42-6 (.872) at home.
• Following the 78-56 win over Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 13 in the season-opening contest, UAB stretched its regular-season home win streak against non-conference opponents to 32 consecutive games.
• The last time the Blazers dropped a non-league regular-season game on their home floor was on Nov. 29, 2005 when UAB fell to Western Kentucky, 92-76.
• Even more impressive is the fact that UAB head coach Mike Davis has never lost a regular-season non-conference home contest during his five-year tenure in Birmingham, improving to 26-0 in non-conference games played during the regular season at Bartow Arena.
UAB Ranks As Among Fewest Years Of D-I Experience In NCAA
This year's UAB squad boasts of two seniors, two juniors, four sophomores and four freshmen. The Blazers' 11-man squad has a combined total of 10 years of Division I playing experience entering the 2010-11 season, which puts them in a unique category. This year's UAB team is one of only 26 teams in all of NCAA D-I which has 10 or fewer years of combined experience. The Blazers rank in a tie for 23rd in the poll, which was conducted in early November and verified by the NCAA. Below is a abbreviated list of a few of the teams which rank among the least experienced teams in the NCAA:
Rank Team D-I Years
1. Eastern Washington 4
T10. South Alabama 8
T10. Kentucky 8
T17. Michigan 9
22. Western Kentucky 9.5
T23. UAB 10
Stanford 10
USC Upstate 10
Lamar 10
Johnson's "Magic" Number
• UAB point guard Aaron Johnson now has compiled an impressive 473 career assists during his UAB career, placing him in fifth overall on the Blazers' all-time assist chart. He needs just 125 assists the rest of the season in order to break the school record.
• Over his career, good things usually happen for UAB when Johnson records at least four assists in a game, as the Blazers are 47-14 (.767) when he accomplishes the feat.
UAB Basketball In 33rd Season
The UAB men's basketball team has begun its 33rd season during the 2010-11 campaign. The Blazers have been one of the more successful programs on the national scene. UAB boasts an overall record of 647-376 (.632) and has earned postseason berths in the NCAA Tournament (13) or NIT (11) in 24 of its 32 years in program history.
