The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Faces Chattanooga In First Road Test Of The Season
12/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UAB (4-7, 0-0 C-USA) at Chattanooga (6-6, 0-0 Southern Conference)
7 p.m. CT | McKenzie Arena | Chattanooga, Tenn.
TV: American Sports Network (in Birmingham WTTO CW21) | Radio: WUHT-FM 107.7
| Watch Online (ASN) | Game Notes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB's men's basketball team hits the road for its first true road test of the season when the Blazers face Chattanooga on Monday at 7 p.m. inside UTC's McKenzie Arena.
Monday's game will be televised by the American Sports Network with Dave Barnett (play-by-play) and Chris Walker (analyst) on the call. In Birmingham, the game on ASN will appear on WTTO CW 21. Fans can listen to the contest on the Blazer IMG Sports Network with David Crane (play-by-play) on the call. It will be broadcast locally on WUHT-FM 107.7.
For more information on the UAB men's basketball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter @UAB_MBB. For more on all Blazer sports teams, follow @UABAthletics.
UAB vs. Chattanooga Quick Hits
» UAB holds a 10-2 all-time series record against Chattanooga. The Blazers have won the last four meetings between the two teams, including last season's 67-52 win in Birmingham on Dec. 18, 2013.
» UAB enters Monday's game after falling to LSU, 79-70, last Thursday at Bartow Arena. Against the Tigers, UAB led for most of the game (23 minutes) and built as much as an 11-point lead in the first half.
» Monday's game against Chattanooga marks the Blazers' first true road game of the season. It is the latest UAB has played its first true road game of the season since the 1992-93 campaign, when the Blazers traveled to face Minnesota on Jan. 2, 1993 -- the 14th game of the season.
» UAB freshman forward William Lee has started in back-to-back games and is coming off his best performance of the season so far against LSU. Lee scored 13 points off of a 6-for10 shooting performance and hauled in five rebounds. The 13 points marked the first double-digit scoring effort of Lee's career.
» Blazer assistant coach Turner Battle makes a return to Chattanooga after he served on head coach Will Wade's staff last season.
» Each UAB player will wear different colored shoes -- a green shoe and a white shoe -- during every game this season. UAB's shoe combination is part of the Blazers Committed To A Cure initiative, which was created by coach Jerod Haase and his staff to raise awareness for pediatric cancer. The Blazers are encouraging fans to make donations to the Alabama Center For Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children's of Alabama by visiting www.childrensal.org.
UAB Notes
UAB Faces Strong Non-Conference Schedule
» UAB is coming off a 79-70 loss to LSU last Thursday, marking the Blazers' second loss to a Southeastern Conference opponent this season. In both losses, UAB held a lead with an 11-point advantage against the Tigers and a seven-point margin against Florida on Nov. 27.
» The Blazers faced three-straight ranked teams in three consecutive days at the 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis. It marked the first time in school history UAB has faced three-straight ranked opponents and the first time a team in NCAA Division I men's basketball has played a trio of ranked teams in consecutive days during the regular season since VCU accomplished that feat at the 2012 Battle 4 Atlantis (played No. 19 Memphis, No. 5 Duke and No. 13 Missouri).
Close Losses For UAB
» Of UAB's seven losses, five have come by nine points or fewer. The Blazers only double-digit losses this season have come against then No. 2 ranked Wisconsin, 72-43, on Nov. 26 and then No. 22 ranked UCLA, 88-76, on Nov. 28.
Lee Draws Two-Straight Starts
» Highly-touted freshman forward William Lee, who has been recovering from a knee injury, drew the first start of his Blazer career vs. UNC Asheville on Dec. 14 and has drawn two-straight starts. Lee, the 2014 High School Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year, finished with 13 points and five rebounds against the Tigers last Thursday.
Charity Stripe The Difference Vs. UNC Asheville
» UAB finished its Dec. 14th contest against UNC Asheville with clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch. The Blazers were a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final 2:49 against the Bulldogs. Sophomore guard Denzell Watts hit a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the final three minutes to seal the victory.
Blazers Depending On Youth
» Entering Monday's game against Chattanooga, Blazer underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) have accounted for 65.4 percent of UAB's scoring total this season. The 10 underclassmen have scored 481 of the Blazers' 735 points this season. Of UAB's top five leading scorers, three are sophomores and four are in their first season at UAB.
Brown Has Career Day Against Illinois State
» UAB junior guard Robert Brown had a career day against Illinois State on Dec. 7. The Clermont, Fla., native scored a career-high 27 points off of a 9-of-13 shooting performance from the field. Brown nailed 7-of-9 from 3-point range, which was just two shy of the school record nine made 3-point baskets set by Robert Vaden in 2008.
» Brown is currently UAB's leading scorer with 13.1 points per game and has scored in double figures in seven of UAB's 11 games this season.
Norton Running The Point
» Freshman point guard Nick Norton has had a strong start to his Blazer career through the first 11 regular season games. The Bloomington, Ill., native is first in Conference USA in assist-to-turnover ratio with 48 total assists and just 17 turnovers this season. Norton had a season-high 17-point effort against No. 22 UCLA in the Battle 4 Atlantis, and he is UAB's best 3-point shooter, hitting 16-of-36 (44 percent) from behind the arc.
