The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Basketball Takes Road Trip To Rutgers
12/14/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 14, 2012
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The UAB men's basketball team will play a road contest at Rutgers on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET inside the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, N.J.
UAB has recently been on an eight-day layoff due to final exams, with the Blazers last playing on Dec. 8, defeating South Alabama 92-78 at Bartow Arena. Rutgers took the court on Wednesday, defeating George Washington at home, 68-65.
UAB (5-5) at Rutgers (6-2)
Date: Sun., Dec. 16, 2012
Time: 11 a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET
Location: Piscataway, N.J.
Venue: Rutgers Athletic Center (8,000)
Multimedia
Video: RVision (scarletknights.com)
Radio: 107.7 WUHT-FM
Talent: David Crane (pxp), Bobby Frasor (analyst)
Live Stats: GameTracker (UABsports.com)
Twitter: @UABathletics
Inside The Series
First Meeting
Rutgers and UAB will meet for the first time on Sunday at the Rutgers Athletic Center. In fact, for the Blazers it will be their first opponent from the BIG East since falling at Notre Dame, 70-64, in the NIT on March 17, 2009.
The Scarlet Knights will play against the Blazers in Bartow Arena during the 2013-14 season.
The Coaches
UAB: Jerod Haase (Kansas, '97)
Record at UAB: 5-5, first season
Career Record: 5-5, first season
Jerod Haase is in his first season as head coach at UAB, after serving the last nine years on Roy Williams' staff at North Carolina and was a part of two NCAA National Championship teams (2005, 2009). Prior to his time with the Tar Heels, Haase worked under Williams at Kansas for four seasons and played at Kansas from 1994-97.
Rutgers: Mike Rice (Fordham, '91)
Record at Rutgers: 35-37, third season
Career Record: 108-68, sixth season
Mike Rice is in his third season leading the Scarlet Knights' basketball program. Prior to working at Rutgers, Rice had a successful three-year stint at Robert Morris, leading the squad to three straight 23-plus win seasons, three straight conference championships and two consecutive NCAA appearances.
On The Blazers
Last Time Out: UAB 92, South Alabama 78 at Bartow Arena (12/8)
UAB shot a blistering 57.1 percent from the floor and posted five players in double figures to defeat South Alabama and snap a two-game skid.
The Blazers were unselfish in the contest, dishing out a season-best 29 assists on 36 made baskets. Jordan Swing led the squad with 18 points, including a 4-for-5 effort from beyond the arc, while Fahro Alihodzic scored a career-high 17 points in the victory.
• UAB is averaging 77.6 points per game for the season, after eclipsing the 80-point mark for the fourth time this season in the win over South Alabama. The Blazers' point average ranks second in Conference USA. UAB has had difficulty keeping the opposition from scoring, allowing 74.1 points per game.
• Jordan Swing leads UAB, averaging 15.1 ppg, which ranks ninth in the league. Swing has been a sharp shooter from anywhere on the court, making 51 percent of his overall shots and shooting even better, 55.6 percent, from behind the arc. In fact, as of Dec. 9, Swing was tied for fifth in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage, making 25 of 45 attempts.
• Another offensive weapon for UAB has been junior college transfer Rod Rucker. In his first season at UAB, Rucker is second on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) and tops the Blazers in rebounds, averaging 7.5 boards per contest. Rucker has also shown a smooth shooting stroke, making 54.7 percent of his attempts on the year, good for sixth in C-USA.
• As a team, UAB is shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 72.4 percent from the foul line. An area that the Blazers have excelled at this season is shooting from beyond the arc. UAB is shooting 37.4 percent from downtown, making 76 of 203 attempts, ranking third in the conference. Beyond just shooting well, the Blazers have made the most 3-pointers in the conference, averaging 7.6 treys per game.
• Unselfish play has been another staple for the UAB offense this season, dishing out an average of 18 assists per contest. The Blazers' assist average not only tops C-USA, but is tied for the seventh most per game in the nation.
On The Scarlet Knights
Last Time Out: Rutgers 68, George Washington 65 at Rutgers Athletic Center (12/11)
Eli Carter poured in a game-high 19 points and Rutgers forced 23 George Washington turnovers to secure a three-point victory.
• Rutgers enters Sunday's contest on a two-game win streak and has earned victories in six of its last seven contests. At home this season, the Scarlet Knights are 3-1.
• For the season, Rutgers is averaging 72.8 points per game, led by the duo of Eli Carter (16.4 ppg) and Myles Mack (15.1 ppg). Both Carter and Mack are fantastic free throw shooters, making 88.4 percent and 94.7 percent, respectively. This season, Mack has only missed one foul shot attempt, going 18 for 19 at the line. In addition, Mack has been a strong shooter overall, making 58.7 percent of his attempts, ranking sixth in the BIG East.
• The Scarlet Knights' defense, like UAB, has had difficulty containing opponents from scoring. Rutgers is allowing 68.4 points per game, ranking 15th in the BIG East.
• Rutgers is shooting 46.4 percent overall from the floor, 30.9 percent from 3-point range and 70.3 percent from the line. On 3-pointers, only Mack (15) and Carter (13) have made more than two shots from beyond the arc this season.
• As a team, Rutgers is collecting 5.3 blocks per game, totaling 42 swats in eight contests. On the contrary, opponents have struggled to block the Scarlet Knights' offensive attack, registering only 18 rejections for the season.
• Wally Judge and Dane Miller are a pair of Rutgers' post players that UAB will need to contain on the glass. Judge and Miller are averaging 7.0 and 6.5 rebounds per game, respectively.
Unselfish Blazers
The Blazers showed their unselfish play against South Alabama (12/8), dishing out a season-high 29 assists on 36 made baskets in a 92-78 victory. Nine of the 11 players that saw game action for UAB recorded at least one assist, while Isiah Jones (8) and Terence Jones (7) combined for over half of the team's helpers.
The 29 assists tied for the third most in UAB history and marked the fourth time that assist total has been recorded by a Blazers' squad. The school record for assists is 37 set against Alabama State in a 118-85 victory on Dec. 30, 1989.
Furthermore, UAB is averaging a league-best 18 assists per game and as of Dec. 9, ranked tied for seventh in the nation in that statistic. Below is a list of the top 10 teams in the country in assists per game. Coincidentally, three teams UAB has played against this season -- North Carolina, Illinois State and Creighton -- are listed.
1. North Carolina - 20.1
2. Pittsburgh - 18.9
3. Maryland - 18.8
4. Notre Dame - 18.7
5. Santa Clara - 18.6
6. Syracuse - 18.5
7. UAB - 18.0
UC Irvine - 18.0
9. Illinois State - 17.9
10. Creighton - 17.6
Blazers Catch Fire From The Field
UAB shot a blistering 57.1 percent in the victory vs. South Alabama. UAB made 20 of 39 attempts (51.3 percent) in the first half, before shooting 66.7 percent in the second half (16 of 24). The Blazers' shooting percentage marked the highest in a game since making 60.5 percent last season against Southern Miss in a 71-61 victory at Bartow Arena (2/8/12).
TJ Nearing 1,000 Career Points
Senior Terence "T.J." Jones is just 36 points shy of reaching 1,000 career points in his collegiate career. Jones, who is in his first year with the Blazers, competed the last three years for Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, where he scored 874 total points, averaging 9.4 points per contest. Through 10 games this season, Jones has totaled 90 points.
