01-23-2008, 09:07 AM
The Date
Another date that has not been kind to the Blazers. UAB is 2-4 in games played on this date. The two wins came at home and the four losses came on the road. The good news for the Blazers is that we play at home today. We have lost the last three games on this date, at Cincinnati in 1993, at Tulane in 2000 and at Memphis in 2002.
UAB @ Depaul – January 23, 1982
The biggest game played on this date was the first one. On this date in 1982, UAB traveled to Chicago to take on the fourth ranked Depaul Blue Demons. Coach Ray Meyer, the winningest active coach in basketball at the time, had just coached his 1000th game and Depaul was 15-1. The Blazers had a very respectable 13-4 record and was looking to get back into the Top 20. A win over the fourth ranked team would certainly have done the job.
This game was only the second time that UAB had appeared on national television. The first appearance had occurred in the 1981 NCAA tournament when UAB upset Kentucky. The game against the Blue Demons was supposed to have been played in Birmingham, but scheduling conflicts with the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center prevented it. When national TV showed interest in televising the game, Coach Gene Bartow tried to change the date of the game with the BJCC. However, the date in question was already reserved for a tennis tournament that never came to Birmingham.
The Blazers were their own worst enemy at the beginning of the game. On their first six possessions, they missed five shots and turned the ball over once. However, they soon settled down and even took a 6-4 lead at the 15:13 mark in the first half. This was to be the Blazers’ only lead. Depaul took the lead back on a Tyrone Corbin field goal. The Blazers stayed close and tied the game with 3:49 left in the first half on two Oliver Robinson free throws. The Blue Demons led 33-26 at the half, which was their largest lead of the half.
In the second half, Depaul began to take control of the game. They pushed the lead out to 13 points with 13:40 left, but the Blazers managed to cut the lead to six with only 3:10 left. Unfortunately, UAB’s shots stopped falling and Depaul hit their free throws late. The Blue Demons won the game 79-68. Coach Bartow believed that had they been able to play the game in Birmingham, the Blazers would have been able to pull the upset. Depaul was led by Terry Cummings with 24 points. UAB was led by Oliver Robinson with 25 points.
UAB vs. Virginia Commonwealth – January 23, 1991
The last win on this date occurred in 1991 against Virginia Commonwealth. In previous years, when these two teams met, regular season titles and conference championships were usually on the line. But both teams had lost some of their former spark and VCU came to Birmingham with a 10-9 record and 4-1 in the conference. The Blazers were 12-6 overall and 3-2 in the Sun Belt. VCU had won the previous match up against the Blazers 66-64 earlier in the season in Richmond. The Rams was coached by former Auburn coach Sonny Smith. A crowd of 5214 turned out at Bartow Arena to see what would be the last conference game between two fading Sun Belt titans.
Sonny Smith came into the game with a strategy to try and slow UAB’s scoring machine, Andy Kennedy down. His plan was to pull a defender off of Jack Kramer and double team Kennedy. The plan worked fairly well in the first half, as Kramer was 1-5 from the field in the first half. Inside, Elbert Rogers had been held in check for the first ten minutes of the game, but hit three long range jumpers to give UAB a 21-18 lead. Virginia Commonwealth went on a 9-2 run to take a 29-27 lead, but the Blazers came back with a 10-1 run and led 40-37 at the half.
The game was extremely close for 30 minutes. UAB led 58-57 with ten minutes to go in the game. Coach Gene Bartow called timeout, and the Blazers proceeded to outscore VCU 31-11 for the rest of the game. Sonny Smith called two timeouts during UAB’s run, but could not change the momentum. From the 10:09 mark until the 2:36 mark, the Blazers did much of their damage with second chance shots by Elbert Rogers and Stan Rose on the inside and Kramer hitting from the outside. Kramer was six of ten in the second half after going 1-5 in the first half. UAB won going away 89-68.
Despite being double-teamed, Andy Kennedy still got his 20 points on 8 of 18 from the field. Kramer had 11 assists to go along with his 19 points. Elbert Rogers had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Stanley Jackson had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Yes, three Blazers scored double doubles against VCU. It was a great way to end a once heated conference rivalry.
The Opponent
East Carolina is a fairly new conference rival for the Blazers. The Pirates was a football only member until the 2001-02 season, when they were admitted for basketball as well. UAB holds a 6-1 record against East Carolina and are 3-1 at home against the Pirates. UAB has a two game winning streak over ECU.
UAB vs. East Carolina - January 8, 2002
The first ever game against East Carolina in basketball occurred on January 8, 2002 at Bartow Arena. The Blazers came into the game with a disappointing 7-7 record. They were 0-1 in the conference after losing by 11 at home to Louisville.
The game was not a well played game and there was some dissension among the Blazers. PJ Arnold was in Coach Murry Bartow's doghouse. He was the leading scorer on the team, but had lost his starting position. He came into the game with 13 minutes in the first half, played five minutes and scored one point. He did not play in the second half. Murry Bartow said after the game that he was suffering from "poor shot selection". Cedric Davis started in Arnold's place and scored 8 straight points and had 8 rebounds.
UAB jumped out to a nine point lead in the first half, but ECU went on a 10-0 run and held a 1 point lead at halftime. However, the Pirates turned cold in the second half and shot only 29% from the field in the second half. UAB could not take advantage, building 10 point leads, but then allowing ECU back into the game. With just over six minutes left in the game, UAB led by one point. At that point, the Blazers scored the next six points to put the game away and win 63-54. Eric Batchelor came off the bench to lead the Blazers with 14 points. UAB shot only 38%, but held ECU to 32% in field goals. One bright spot in the game was free throw shooting by the Blazers. They shot a season best 89.5%, making 17 of 19 shots. Unfortunately, their win streak was short, as Murry's team would lose the next four games, including an embarrassing 50-36 loss at Southern Miss four days later.
UAB vs. East Carolina – February 16, 2005
The Blazers only loss to the Pirates occurred on February 16, 2005 in Bartow Arena. UAB entered that game on a two game losing streak and still adjusting to life without Ronell Taylor, who was injured in the Louisville game eleven days earlier. East Carolina 7-16 and 2-9 in the CUSA and had not won a road game all year.
The Blazers jumped out to a ten point lead in the first half on inside scoring by Marques Lewis. However, the Pirates adjusted by going to a zone, and UAB could not hit any outside shots. East Carolina made their comeback and tied the game at the half.
In the second half, UAB again jumped out to a 10 point lead, but Marques Lewis got in foul trouble and eventually fouled out. East Carolina refused to go away and took a 2 point lead at 59-57 when Moussa Badiane hit six straight points. UAB tied the game at 59, but the Pirates took the lead again on a Corey Rouse basket with three minutes to go. Japhet McNeil for the Pirates hit two free throws with 4.3 seconds to go to give the Pirates a 67-64 lead. UAB had one last shot. They moved the ball down quickly and Richard Jones got off a three point shot that fell well short with no time off the clock. However, Jones was fouled on the play and was given three free throws with no time left. He would have to hit all three to send the game to overtime. Jones was two for two earlier in the game. He stepped to the free throw line with no one on the line and promptly missed the first shot. The game was over. East Carolina had upset the Blazers 72-69.
Coach Anderson was obviously frustrated with Jones. When asked about the end of the game, he said “Some of our younger guys continue to grow up for us, and you'll see more and more of those guys. As I look at some of the playing time of some of the older guys and we're not getting it from some of the guys, especially during crunch time.” Marques Lewis was leading scorer for the Blazers with 17 points on 7 of 11 field goal shooting.
The Bench
East Carolina’s new coach is a familiar name to long time UAB fans. Mack McCarthy is the “acting” head coach at East Carolina and has a long history of playing the Blazers. McCarthy was a long time assistant to Sonny Smith, both at East Tennessee State and at Auburn. During the Auburn years, the Tigers and the Blazers played three times, and Auburn defeated the Blazers twice while McCarthy was an assistant.
In 1985, Mack McCarthy became head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga and faced off against the Blazers six times. UAB won all the games against the Moccasins, except for the last one in 1997, which McCarthy’s team won. After a stint as head coach at VCU, he has been the assistant coach at East Carolina for two years, before taking over as head coach for the Pirates. As a head coach, McCarthy is 1-5 against the Blazers.
Another date that has not been kind to the Blazers. UAB is 2-4 in games played on this date. The two wins came at home and the four losses came on the road. The good news for the Blazers is that we play at home today. We have lost the last three games on this date, at Cincinnati in 1993, at Tulane in 2000 and at Memphis in 2002.
UAB @ Depaul – January 23, 1982
The biggest game played on this date was the first one. On this date in 1982, UAB traveled to Chicago to take on the fourth ranked Depaul Blue Demons. Coach Ray Meyer, the winningest active coach in basketball at the time, had just coached his 1000th game and Depaul was 15-1. The Blazers had a very respectable 13-4 record and was looking to get back into the Top 20. A win over the fourth ranked team would certainly have done the job.
This game was only the second time that UAB had appeared on national television. The first appearance had occurred in the 1981 NCAA tournament when UAB upset Kentucky. The game against the Blue Demons was supposed to have been played in Birmingham, but scheduling conflicts with the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center prevented it. When national TV showed interest in televising the game, Coach Gene Bartow tried to change the date of the game with the BJCC. However, the date in question was already reserved for a tennis tournament that never came to Birmingham.
The Blazers were their own worst enemy at the beginning of the game. On their first six possessions, they missed five shots and turned the ball over once. However, they soon settled down and even took a 6-4 lead at the 15:13 mark in the first half. This was to be the Blazers’ only lead. Depaul took the lead back on a Tyrone Corbin field goal. The Blazers stayed close and tied the game with 3:49 left in the first half on two Oliver Robinson free throws. The Blue Demons led 33-26 at the half, which was their largest lead of the half.
In the second half, Depaul began to take control of the game. They pushed the lead out to 13 points with 13:40 left, but the Blazers managed to cut the lead to six with only 3:10 left. Unfortunately, UAB’s shots stopped falling and Depaul hit their free throws late. The Blue Demons won the game 79-68. Coach Bartow believed that had they been able to play the game in Birmingham, the Blazers would have been able to pull the upset. Depaul was led by Terry Cummings with 24 points. UAB was led by Oliver Robinson with 25 points.
UAB vs. Virginia Commonwealth – January 23, 1991
The last win on this date occurred in 1991 against Virginia Commonwealth. In previous years, when these two teams met, regular season titles and conference championships were usually on the line. But both teams had lost some of their former spark and VCU came to Birmingham with a 10-9 record and 4-1 in the conference. The Blazers were 12-6 overall and 3-2 in the Sun Belt. VCU had won the previous match up against the Blazers 66-64 earlier in the season in Richmond. The Rams was coached by former Auburn coach Sonny Smith. A crowd of 5214 turned out at Bartow Arena to see what would be the last conference game between two fading Sun Belt titans.
Sonny Smith came into the game with a strategy to try and slow UAB’s scoring machine, Andy Kennedy down. His plan was to pull a defender off of Jack Kramer and double team Kennedy. The plan worked fairly well in the first half, as Kramer was 1-5 from the field in the first half. Inside, Elbert Rogers had been held in check for the first ten minutes of the game, but hit three long range jumpers to give UAB a 21-18 lead. Virginia Commonwealth went on a 9-2 run to take a 29-27 lead, but the Blazers came back with a 10-1 run and led 40-37 at the half.
The game was extremely close for 30 minutes. UAB led 58-57 with ten minutes to go in the game. Coach Gene Bartow called timeout, and the Blazers proceeded to outscore VCU 31-11 for the rest of the game. Sonny Smith called two timeouts during UAB’s run, but could not change the momentum. From the 10:09 mark until the 2:36 mark, the Blazers did much of their damage with second chance shots by Elbert Rogers and Stan Rose on the inside and Kramer hitting from the outside. Kramer was six of ten in the second half after going 1-5 in the first half. UAB won going away 89-68.
Despite being double-teamed, Andy Kennedy still got his 20 points on 8 of 18 from the field. Kramer had 11 assists to go along with his 19 points. Elbert Rogers had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Stanley Jackson had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Yes, three Blazers scored double doubles against VCU. It was a great way to end a once heated conference rivalry.
The Opponent
East Carolina is a fairly new conference rival for the Blazers. The Pirates was a football only member until the 2001-02 season, when they were admitted for basketball as well. UAB holds a 6-1 record against East Carolina and are 3-1 at home against the Pirates. UAB has a two game winning streak over ECU.
UAB vs. East Carolina - January 8, 2002
The first ever game against East Carolina in basketball occurred on January 8, 2002 at Bartow Arena. The Blazers came into the game with a disappointing 7-7 record. They were 0-1 in the conference after losing by 11 at home to Louisville.
The game was not a well played game and there was some dissension among the Blazers. PJ Arnold was in Coach Murry Bartow's doghouse. He was the leading scorer on the team, but had lost his starting position. He came into the game with 13 minutes in the first half, played five minutes and scored one point. He did not play in the second half. Murry Bartow said after the game that he was suffering from "poor shot selection". Cedric Davis started in Arnold's place and scored 8 straight points and had 8 rebounds.
UAB jumped out to a nine point lead in the first half, but ECU went on a 10-0 run and held a 1 point lead at halftime. However, the Pirates turned cold in the second half and shot only 29% from the field in the second half. UAB could not take advantage, building 10 point leads, but then allowing ECU back into the game. With just over six minutes left in the game, UAB led by one point. At that point, the Blazers scored the next six points to put the game away and win 63-54. Eric Batchelor came off the bench to lead the Blazers with 14 points. UAB shot only 38%, but held ECU to 32% in field goals. One bright spot in the game was free throw shooting by the Blazers. They shot a season best 89.5%, making 17 of 19 shots. Unfortunately, their win streak was short, as Murry's team would lose the next four games, including an embarrassing 50-36 loss at Southern Miss four days later.
UAB vs. East Carolina – February 16, 2005
The Blazers only loss to the Pirates occurred on February 16, 2005 in Bartow Arena. UAB entered that game on a two game losing streak and still adjusting to life without Ronell Taylor, who was injured in the Louisville game eleven days earlier. East Carolina 7-16 and 2-9 in the CUSA and had not won a road game all year.
The Blazers jumped out to a ten point lead in the first half on inside scoring by Marques Lewis. However, the Pirates adjusted by going to a zone, and UAB could not hit any outside shots. East Carolina made their comeback and tied the game at the half.
In the second half, UAB again jumped out to a 10 point lead, but Marques Lewis got in foul trouble and eventually fouled out. East Carolina refused to go away and took a 2 point lead at 59-57 when Moussa Badiane hit six straight points. UAB tied the game at 59, but the Pirates took the lead again on a Corey Rouse basket with three minutes to go. Japhet McNeil for the Pirates hit two free throws with 4.3 seconds to go to give the Pirates a 67-64 lead. UAB had one last shot. They moved the ball down quickly and Richard Jones got off a three point shot that fell well short with no time off the clock. However, Jones was fouled on the play and was given three free throws with no time left. He would have to hit all three to send the game to overtime. Jones was two for two earlier in the game. He stepped to the free throw line with no one on the line and promptly missed the first shot. The game was over. East Carolina had upset the Blazers 72-69.
Coach Anderson was obviously frustrated with Jones. When asked about the end of the game, he said “Some of our younger guys continue to grow up for us, and you'll see more and more of those guys. As I look at some of the playing time of some of the older guys and we're not getting it from some of the guys, especially during crunch time.” Marques Lewis was leading scorer for the Blazers with 17 points on 7 of 11 field goal shooting.
The Bench
East Carolina’s new coach is a familiar name to long time UAB fans. Mack McCarthy is the “acting” head coach at East Carolina and has a long history of playing the Blazers. McCarthy was a long time assistant to Sonny Smith, both at East Tennessee State and at Auburn. During the Auburn years, the Tigers and the Blazers played three times, and Auburn defeated the Blazers twice while McCarthy was an assistant.
In 1985, Mack McCarthy became head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga and faced off against the Blazers six times. UAB won all the games against the Moccasins, except for the last one in 1997, which McCarthy’s team won. After a stint as head coach at VCU, he has been the assistant coach at East Carolina for two years, before taking over as head coach for the Pirates. As a head coach, McCarthy is 1-5 against the Blazers.
