The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Hoops Set To Open Regular Season vs. Creighton
11/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will open the 2011-12 regular season on Wednesday night when it hosts the Creighton Bluejays for a 7 p.m. tip off.
UAB finished the exhibition season a perfect 2-0. The Blazers opened exhibition play with a 75-67 win over Florida Tech on Nov. 3, followed by a 64-36 win over Auburn Montgomery last Saturday night.
GAME INFORMATION
Nov. 16, 2011 • 7 pm CT • Birmingham, Ala. • Bartow Arena (8,500)
RADIO (Flagship: WUHT 107.7 FM):
Blazer Sports Network
David Crane (play-by-play), Steve Mitchell (analyst) and Jon Gentile (engineer)
UAB Game Notes vs Creighton 
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Scouting UAB
• Last season, the Blazers finished with a 22-9 record and a 12-4 mark in conference play as UAB captured its first outright regular season Conference USA championship in school history. As a result, the Blazers received an at-large berth to the 2011 NCAA Tournament, marking their first appearance in the "Big Dance" since the 2006 campaign and the 14th NCAA Tournament showing in program history.
• During head coach Mike Davis' previous five seasons at UAB, the Blazers own a home mark of 63-12 (.840). Furthermore, over the last four seasons alone, the Blazers boast a record of 54-8 (.871) in games played at Bartow Arena.
• Senior forward Cameron Moore, who was arguably one of the most improved players in the nation during his 2010-11 campaign, was selected as the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year. Moore is coming off a breakout season a year ago when he averaged 14.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game on his way to second-team all-conference and all-district accolades. The San Antonio, Texas native ranked third in the league in rebounding average and double-doubles (13) and was 13th in scoring average.
• Moore became just the second Blazer to earn the preseason player of the year honor, joining former standout Robert Vaden, who was tabbed with the accolade prior to the start of the 2008-09 campaign.
• Joining Moore in the frontcourt will be 6-8 junior forward Ovie Soko who is coming off a stellar sophomore season. Soko had a breakout season in 2010-11 and returns as the team's second-leading scorer (9.1 ppg) and rebounder (5.8 rpg). Over his last eight games a year ago, Soko averaged 10.9 ppg and a team-leading 6.1 rebounds per game.
• UAB head coach Mike Davis, the 2011 C-USA Coach of the Year, owns a record of 107-56 (.656) during his five seasons at UAB, including an 92-40 (.698) mark over his last four years alone (including the 2010-11 season). He has a career mark of 222-135 (.622) in 11 seasons as a head coach at Indiana and UAB.
About Creighton
• Creighton enters Wednesday night's contest sporting a perfect 2-0 record on the young season with wins over North Carolina A&T (97-65 on Nov. 11) and Chicago State (95-61 on Nov. 13).
• Four players come into the game averaging double figures, led by sophomore forward Doug McDermott who enters the game with an average of 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest - both team highs. Sophomore guard Jahenns Manigat is second on the team with 16.5 ppg and leads the squad connecting on 10-of-17 threes (.588).
• As a team, Creighton comes into the contest shooting .524 from the floor and .415 from beyond the arc. The Bluejays have also combined for an impressive 56 assists compated to only 21 turnovers in the two games.
• The Bluejays have scored 95 or more points in their first two games for the first time in school history, and their 192 points through two contests is four more than the previous high of 188 done in the eventual NCAA Tournament campaigns of 2002-03 and 1973-74.
• Head coach Greg McDermott is in his second season at Creighton and owns a record of 25-16 (.610). McDermott owns a 174-147 record in his 11th season on the Division I sidelines. He has a 305-211 career mark as he enters his 18th season as a head coach, which includes five trips to the NCAA Tournament.
UAB In Season Openers
• UAB has a record of 23-10 in season-opening contests, including a 4-1 mark under head coach Mike Davis. The Blazers have won their last four season-openers, two on the road and two at home.
• The Blazers have won nine consecutive season-opening home contests. The last time UAB dropped its first home game came on Nov. 24, 2001 to Richmond (L, 60-59).
UAB Basketball Begins 34th Season
• The UAB men's basketball team is set to begin its 34th season with the 2011-12 campaign.
• The Blazers have been one of the more successful programs on the national scene. UAB boasts an overall record of 665-384 (.634) and has earned postseason berths in the NCAA Tournament (14) or NIT (11) in 25 of its 33 years in program history.
• UAB has made eight postseason appearances over the past nine years, including four NCAA Tournaments (2004, 2005, 2006, 2011) and four NITs (2003, 2008, 2009, 2010).
• The Blazers made a Sweet 16 appearance in 2004 after defeating the tournament's No. 1 overall seed, Kentucky, marking the third Sweet 16 appearance in school history.
• UAB has averaged over 20 wins per season (20.1) and has recorded 21 20-win seasons.
Non-Conference Home Streak On The Line
• With a 79-44 win over George Washington on Dec. 27, 2010, UAB stretched its regular-season home win streak against non-conference opponents to 38 consecutive games.
• The last time UAB dropped a non-league regular-season game on its 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. He is 32-0 in non-conference games played during the regular season at Bartow Arena.
Home Sweet Home
• UAB's Bartow Arena has always been a tough place for opponents to play, 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 54-8 (.871) at home.
Highlights From Last Game
• The UAB men's basketball team used solid defense and strong work on the boards to win its second and final exhibition game, defeating Auburn Montgomery 64-36 Saturday night at Bartow Arena.
• UAB associate head coach Donnie Marsh coached the contest in place of head coach Mike Davis. Davis, who was on the bench, did not coach the game due to a family matter he has been dealing with.
• Junior guard Jekore Tyler came off the bench to lead the Blazers with 14 points, while junior forward Ovie Soko finished the night with a game-high 17 rebounds.
• The Blazers were playing without Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year Cameron Moore, who missed the game as he was serving a one-game suspension for violation of the team's academic policy.
Beating Final Four Teams
• In each of the last two seasons, UAB has accomplished a feat not many teams can claim. The Blazers have been victorious over an NCAA Final Four team in each year, defeating Butler during the 2009-10 season (67-57 on Dec. 22, 2009) and VCU during the 2010-11 campaign (68-65 on Dec. 21, 2010), winning with both contests at Bartow Arena.
• UAB is one of only five teams in the nation that has defeated a Final Four team in each of the last two seasons. Also joining the Blazers in the accomplishment are North Carolina (defeated Michigan State in 2009 and Kentucky in 2010), Pitt (defeated West Virginia in 2009 and UConn in 2010), Notre Dame (defeated West Virginia in 2009 and UConn in 2010) and Syracuse (defeated West Virginia in 2009 and UConn in 2010).
One Of The Winningest Programs Since 2002-03
• Dating back to the 2002-03 campaign, UAB ranks as one of the winningest programs in the nation.
• Over that nine-year span, the Blazers have totalled 196 victories (averages out to 21.8 wins per season). That number ranks 26th in the country in terms of total victories.
• Kansas tops the list with 267, followed by Duke (263), Memphis (258), North Carolina (244) and Pittsburgh (244).
• The Tigers and the Blazers are the only two Conference USA teams to appear on the top-50 list of teams.
Blazers Will Need To Make Up For Key Personnel Losses
• Despite returning seven letterwinners from last season's NCAA Tournament team, UAB head coach Mike Davis and his staff will have to replace a pair of departed senior leaders in point guard Aaron Johnson and shooting guard Jamarr Sanders.
• Both Johnson and Sanders were first-team all-conference performers in 2010-11, with Johnson also earning the Conference USA Player of the Year award.
• Combined, the duo averaged 29.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 9.6 assists per contest a year ago. That equates to approximately 43 percent of the scoring, 21 percent of the rebounding and 71 percent of the assists of UAB's total output last season.
Four-Year Success Story
• UAB head coach Mike Davis has led UAB to one of the program's best four-year stretches in terms of number of wins in school history.
• Over the past four seasons, the Blazers have compiled a record of 92-41 (.692). It ranks second in program history in terms of wins over a four-year period. The school record for wins in a four-year stretch is 94, set during the 1983-87 seasons.
• Over the past four seasons, the Blazers have had at least 20 wins overall and 11 wins in C-USA play in each campaign. UAB also recorded 20 regular-season wins for a fourth straight season, marking the first time in school history it has achieved that feat.
• Point guard Aaron Johnson was the only Blazer associated with all 92 victories over the four-year stretch, which ranks as the second-most wins by a single-player in school history. Former UAB great Archie Johnson, who played from 1983-87, leads all UAB players with 94 victories during his four-year career at UAB.
• With 34 true road wins since 2007, Davis has led the Blazers to the most road victories of any four-year stretch in school history. He is also the first coach to record at least 11 wins in conference play in four consecutive years.
Three-Point Streak Still Going
• The Blazers continue to enjoy much success from behind the arc. So much so, that UAB has made at least one three-pointer in 493 consecutive games.
• The last time the Blazers played a game without a trey was on Dec. 18, 1996, against Chattanooga. UNLV currently holds the NCAA mark with a three-pointer made in 805 consecutive games. The Runnin' Rebels have hit at least one three-pointer in every game since the NCAA adopted the three-point line in 1986.
We Are The Champions!
• With the 66-48 win over East Carolina on March 5th in the 2010-11 regular-season finale, UAB clinched the program's first-ever outright Conference USA regular season title. It marked just the second championship since the formation of the league in 1995-96 (the Blazers were co-champions in 2003-04).
• The last time a UAB team captured an outright conference title came during the 1989-90 season. That year, the Blazers finished 12-2 in the Sun Belt Conference to claim the outright regular-season championship.
