03-13-2008, 07:15 AM
The Date
The Blazers are a perfect 4-0 in games played on March 13. Those games consist of three NCAA games and UAB’s biggest win ever in the CUSA tournament, over the #8 ranked Marquette in 2003. Today, we are going to look at these very important wins in UAB history.
UAB vs. Western Kentucky - March 13, 1981 – NCAAs – Tuscaloosa, AL
On this date in 1981, the UAB Blazers played their very first NCAA tournament game. The 21-8 Blazers earned an at-large bid and was assigned to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to play Western Kentucky. There was some controversy early on over UAB’s at-large bid. Cliff Ellis at South Alabama was very upset and cried to the media that they deserved to get into the tournament. South Alabama was 25-5 and finished tied for first in the Sun Belt, but was beaten badly by UAB in the semi finals by 27 points. Ellis said that UAB deserved a bid, but South Alabama did also. He then accused Sun Belt Chairman Vic Bubas, who was on the selection committee of playing favorites. He was quoted in the paper as saying “If South Alabama had a coach named Bartow and UAB had a coach named Ellis, South Alabama would have gotten in.”
The controversy did not bother Bartow and the Blazers as they prepared for their first NCAA game. Mayor Richard Arrington declared the day in Birmingham to be “Gene Bartow Day” and excitement filled the air as the Blazers made the short trip down I-59 to Tuscaloosa to play the Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky was 21-7 and coached by Clem Haskins, who had been named National Rookie Coach of the Year. This game took place a couple of years before Western Kentucky joined the Sun Belt. Most experts had them beating UAB, setting up an in-state matchup between Western Kentucky and Kentucky.
The day was special for another reason. It was Oliver Robinson’s birthday. After a 2-2 tie, UAB went on a run and their lead kept building. The Blazers led 39-25, and kept building the lead in the second half. Nothing could go wrong for the Blazers, a point that was made with seconds to go in the game. With a minute to go, and the score 91-68, Coach Bartow put rarely used sub, Bill McCammon in the game. With seconds left, UAB brought the ball up court, and McCammon took two steps past the midcourt line and hurled the ball toward the goal as the buzzer sounded. The basket counted, and the Blazers won their first NCAA game 93-68. The shot was an estimated 40 feet, and was the longest shot in UAB history until Tracy Foster let a longer one fly in the 1986 Sun Belt tournament.
Glenn Marcus led the Blazers with 22 points and Oliver Robinson had 16 points. Next up for the Blazers were the 8th ranked Kentucky Wildcats, who had been the preseason #1 and was led by the Twin Towers, Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin. The Blazers were about to turn the college basketball world on its side.
UAB vs. Indiana - March 13, 1982 – NCAA’s – Nashville, TN
Probably the biggest game on this date and perhaps one of the biggest in UAB’s history occurred in 1982 when the Blazers played defending national champion Indiana in the NCAA Tournament. UAB had won the Sun Belt Championship and entered the NCAA Tournament ranked #17 in the country. The Tournament had only 48 teams then, to the top four seeds in each region received first round byes. UAB was seeded fourth, its highest seed ever and received a first round bye. The Blazers needed to win its first game in order to get back to Birmingham to play in the Mideast Regional Final, held at Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center. In those days, the NCAA had no rules about teams playing on their home court.
The opponent was Bobby Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers, who had knocked the Blazers out of the tournament the previous year on the way to a national championship. Bobby Knight had said UAB was the best team his team had played in the 1981 tournament. This time they were 18-9 and had finished 4th in the Big 10.
Tickets for this game in Nashville were almost impossible to obtain because the NCAA Committee had set up Kentucky and Louisville in the same regional for a possible second round game. The Wildcats and Cardinals had not played since 1959 so the entire state of Kentucky was in a frenzy to find tickets. When tickets went on sale at Campbell Hall on Monday morning, there were several hundred people in line a chance to buy a limit of two tickets per person at $20 each. There were a couple of problems. UAB had received less than 250 tickets and some had to be taken out for the official UAB traveling party. Everyone except players, coaches and cheerleaders had to have a ticket. This means that UAB officials had to take tickets for the pep band, dance team and athletic department tickets out of their allotment of tickets. In the end, less than 50 people in line went home with their two tickets each. And some of those lucky few weren’t Blazer fans. Some Kentucky fans traveled down from Lexington to stand in line at UAB when they could not get tickets at their school. Since you could only buy two tickets, one Kentucky fan used her four children in order to get 10 tickets. Many Blazer fans went without tickets. In the end, the dream match up between Kentucky and Louisville did not happen because Kentucky was upset for the second year in a row, this time by Middle Tennessee State.
Another interesting thing about this tournament was a report that the selection committee had for the first time used a formula that assigns a power ranking based on a team’s won-loss record, strength of schedule and strength of their opponents schedule. The Selection Committee stressed that the formula was only a factor in the process and they did not rely strictly on a computer to make their choices for the tournament. Of course, we know that formula today as the RPI and it is still debated as to what weight it holds with the committee.
This game with Indiana was not as close as the final score seemed to indicate. The Blazers jumped out to a 26-7 lead with 11:25 left to go in the first half. The Hoosiers leading scorer, Ted Kitchell was held to eight points on 3 of 14 shooting. After Norman Anchrum blocked Kitchell’s first three shots, he started trying to hit from outside, with no success. The Blazers led 40-22 at the half.
In the second half, the Hoosiers never led, but the game got closer. UAB only hit three field goals in the final 11:40 of the game and one of those was Anchrum’s dunk with five seconds left on the clock. However, in the final eleven minutes, UAB hit 16 of 21 free throws and after they started shooting one and ones, they only missed two free throws. Indiana shot 58% in the second half, but it was not enough. The Blazers won 80-70 and were heading home for the Sweet 16. UAB was led in scoring by Oliver Robinson with 23 points. Chris Giles had 17 and Luellen Foster had 13 points. Anchrum also finished in double figures with 11 points.
UAB vs. Marquette – March 13, 2003 – CUSA Tournament – Louisville Ky.
The last game played on this date was in the quarterfinals of the CUSA tournament against Marquette. UAB entered the Conference USA tournament needing a boost to get into post season play. They were 16-11, but had lost their last three games. After an opening day win against Charlotte, the Blazers were faced with playing the #8 ranked Marquette, with a 23-4 record and led by Dwayne Wade. Mike Anderson was in his first year at UAB and it was in this tournament when his Fastest 40 Minutes of Basketball style really kicked in.
UAB led by four points at half time, but Marquette took their first lead of the second half with 2:20 when Travis Diener hit a three pointer to make the score 74-73. The lead changed hands several times. The amazing combo of Eric Bush and Morris Finley took over the game. With 50.6 seconds left, Marquette player Robert Jackson stepped on the baseline and turned the ball over to the Blazers. Bush drove the lane and made an acrobatic shot with 29 seconds left to put the Blazers up 79-76. Morris Finley then stole a pass from Dwayne Wade and was fouled, sealing the victory 83-76 for the Blazers. Finley led the Blazers with 23 points, Eric Bush had 17 points, and Demario Eddins had 16 and five steals. Who can forget senior Eric Bush dancing on the table after the game?
The Blazers forced Marquette into 30 turnovers and had 20 steals. Both were CUSA tournament records. Another record was set by Dwayne Wade when he committed 10 turnovers. Eric Bush set a record with 6 steals. Marquette would learn from that game and advance to the Final Four that year. The Blazers would lose in the championship game to Louisville, but their run in the CUSA tournament earned them an NIT bid and served notice to the rest of CUSA that UAB was back and that Mike Anderson and his Blazers were going to be a force in the coming season.
The Opponent
After their win yesterday over East Carolina, Tulsa is now 2-2 in the CUSA Tournament. In 2006, they lost their opening game as a six seed. Last year as a five seed, they won their first game over East Carolina, but lost in the second round to Tulane.
The Blazers are 5-3 against Tulsa and have one the last three games. The two teams have never met in a conference tournament, but have met once on a neutral court. This was the first game ever played between the two teams.
UAB vs. Tulsa – December 28, 1990 – All College Tournament, Oklahoma City, OK
The only neutral site game between UAB and Tulsa occurred on December 28, 1990 in the All College Tournament in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was a renewal of an old rivalry in a sense because JD Barnett, former coach of Virginia Commonwealth was the coach of Tulsa. Of course, Barnett had been the opposing coach in the heated rivalry with VCU. Gene Bartow had joked, “I still send him a bill each year for the blackboard he put his fist through.” He added “but our wives still like each other.” Barnett had been at Tulsa for five years and had a 93-66 record. In six seasons at VCU, Barnett was 10-7 against UAB.
In this game against Tulsa, UAB’s best player, Elbert Rogers did not start because he had violated team curfew the night before. Tulsa jumped out to a 12-2 start, and Rogers entered the game at the 15:05 mark. UAB immediately got back in the game with two baskets by Stanley Jackson and two three pointers by Andy Kennedy. UAB was down by two, 23-21, with 9 minutes left. This game was a game of runs. Both teams would get double digit leads throughout the game, only to have the other team comeback. Gene Bartow would spark UAB to a 12-0 run after he received a technical, but Tulsa would overcome a ten point lead by hitting four three pointers in three minutes in the second half.
The deciding play in the game came with 1:43 to go in the gam. The Blazers were down 86-84 and Tulsa had the ball out of bounds. Jack Kramer almost stole the inbounds pass, but Tulsa’s Reggie Shields got the ball and slammed it home, getting fouled on the play. Shields converted the three point play, and the Blazers found themselves down 89-84. UAB could not overcome the deficit. Tulsa had hit 10 free throws in a row, while UAB missed 9 of their last 20 foul shots. Tulsa won the game 92-86. Coach Bartow said his team had “some incredible, incredible problems trying to win games at the end.” The Blazers were now 7-4. Andy Kennedy led the Blazers in scoring with 27 points and Elbert Rogers had a career high 26 points. Jack Kramer scored a double double with 14 points and 11 assists.
The Place – Memphis in Conference Tournaments
This is the seventh conference tournament in which the Blazers have played in Memphis, Tennessee. The first tournament was the 1993 Great Midwest Conference Tournament. All other conference tournaments have been CUSA tournaments, including the inaugural CUSA tournament in 1996. And as we know, the last three Conference USA tournaments have been played in the Bluff City at the Fed Ex Forum.
UAB is 3-6 in tournament games in Memphis. However, in the last three tournaments at the Fed Ex Forum, UAB is 3-3. The Blazers were 0-3 in the Pyramid in conference tournaments.
The Blazers are a perfect 4-0 in games played on March 13. Those games consist of three NCAA games and UAB’s biggest win ever in the CUSA tournament, over the #8 ranked Marquette in 2003. Today, we are going to look at these very important wins in UAB history.
UAB vs. Western Kentucky - March 13, 1981 – NCAAs – Tuscaloosa, AL
On this date in 1981, the UAB Blazers played their very first NCAA tournament game. The 21-8 Blazers earned an at-large bid and was assigned to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to play Western Kentucky. There was some controversy early on over UAB’s at-large bid. Cliff Ellis at South Alabama was very upset and cried to the media that they deserved to get into the tournament. South Alabama was 25-5 and finished tied for first in the Sun Belt, but was beaten badly by UAB in the semi finals by 27 points. Ellis said that UAB deserved a bid, but South Alabama did also. He then accused Sun Belt Chairman Vic Bubas, who was on the selection committee of playing favorites. He was quoted in the paper as saying “If South Alabama had a coach named Bartow and UAB had a coach named Ellis, South Alabama would have gotten in.”
The controversy did not bother Bartow and the Blazers as they prepared for their first NCAA game. Mayor Richard Arrington declared the day in Birmingham to be “Gene Bartow Day” and excitement filled the air as the Blazers made the short trip down I-59 to Tuscaloosa to play the Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky was 21-7 and coached by Clem Haskins, who had been named National Rookie Coach of the Year. This game took place a couple of years before Western Kentucky joined the Sun Belt. Most experts had them beating UAB, setting up an in-state matchup between Western Kentucky and Kentucky.
The day was special for another reason. It was Oliver Robinson’s birthday. After a 2-2 tie, UAB went on a run and their lead kept building. The Blazers led 39-25, and kept building the lead in the second half. Nothing could go wrong for the Blazers, a point that was made with seconds to go in the game. With a minute to go, and the score 91-68, Coach Bartow put rarely used sub, Bill McCammon in the game. With seconds left, UAB brought the ball up court, and McCammon took two steps past the midcourt line and hurled the ball toward the goal as the buzzer sounded. The basket counted, and the Blazers won their first NCAA game 93-68. The shot was an estimated 40 feet, and was the longest shot in UAB history until Tracy Foster let a longer one fly in the 1986 Sun Belt tournament.
Glenn Marcus led the Blazers with 22 points and Oliver Robinson had 16 points. Next up for the Blazers were the 8th ranked Kentucky Wildcats, who had been the preseason #1 and was led by the Twin Towers, Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin. The Blazers were about to turn the college basketball world on its side.
UAB vs. Indiana - March 13, 1982 – NCAA’s – Nashville, TN
Probably the biggest game on this date and perhaps one of the biggest in UAB’s history occurred in 1982 when the Blazers played defending national champion Indiana in the NCAA Tournament. UAB had won the Sun Belt Championship and entered the NCAA Tournament ranked #17 in the country. The Tournament had only 48 teams then, to the top four seeds in each region received first round byes. UAB was seeded fourth, its highest seed ever and received a first round bye. The Blazers needed to win its first game in order to get back to Birmingham to play in the Mideast Regional Final, held at Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center. In those days, the NCAA had no rules about teams playing on their home court.
The opponent was Bobby Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers, who had knocked the Blazers out of the tournament the previous year on the way to a national championship. Bobby Knight had said UAB was the best team his team had played in the 1981 tournament. This time they were 18-9 and had finished 4th in the Big 10.
Tickets for this game in Nashville were almost impossible to obtain because the NCAA Committee had set up Kentucky and Louisville in the same regional for a possible second round game. The Wildcats and Cardinals had not played since 1959 so the entire state of Kentucky was in a frenzy to find tickets. When tickets went on sale at Campbell Hall on Monday morning, there were several hundred people in line a chance to buy a limit of two tickets per person at $20 each. There were a couple of problems. UAB had received less than 250 tickets and some had to be taken out for the official UAB traveling party. Everyone except players, coaches and cheerleaders had to have a ticket. This means that UAB officials had to take tickets for the pep band, dance team and athletic department tickets out of their allotment of tickets. In the end, less than 50 people in line went home with their two tickets each. And some of those lucky few weren’t Blazer fans. Some Kentucky fans traveled down from Lexington to stand in line at UAB when they could not get tickets at their school. Since you could only buy two tickets, one Kentucky fan used her four children in order to get 10 tickets. Many Blazer fans went without tickets. In the end, the dream match up between Kentucky and Louisville did not happen because Kentucky was upset for the second year in a row, this time by Middle Tennessee State.
Another interesting thing about this tournament was a report that the selection committee had for the first time used a formula that assigns a power ranking based on a team’s won-loss record, strength of schedule and strength of their opponents schedule. The Selection Committee stressed that the formula was only a factor in the process and they did not rely strictly on a computer to make their choices for the tournament. Of course, we know that formula today as the RPI and it is still debated as to what weight it holds with the committee.
This game with Indiana was not as close as the final score seemed to indicate. The Blazers jumped out to a 26-7 lead with 11:25 left to go in the first half. The Hoosiers leading scorer, Ted Kitchell was held to eight points on 3 of 14 shooting. After Norman Anchrum blocked Kitchell’s first three shots, he started trying to hit from outside, with no success. The Blazers led 40-22 at the half.
In the second half, the Hoosiers never led, but the game got closer. UAB only hit three field goals in the final 11:40 of the game and one of those was Anchrum’s dunk with five seconds left on the clock. However, in the final eleven minutes, UAB hit 16 of 21 free throws and after they started shooting one and ones, they only missed two free throws. Indiana shot 58% in the second half, but it was not enough. The Blazers won 80-70 and were heading home for the Sweet 16. UAB was led in scoring by Oliver Robinson with 23 points. Chris Giles had 17 and Luellen Foster had 13 points. Anchrum also finished in double figures with 11 points.
UAB vs. Marquette – March 13, 2003 – CUSA Tournament – Louisville Ky.
The last game played on this date was in the quarterfinals of the CUSA tournament against Marquette. UAB entered the Conference USA tournament needing a boost to get into post season play. They were 16-11, but had lost their last three games. After an opening day win against Charlotte, the Blazers were faced with playing the #8 ranked Marquette, with a 23-4 record and led by Dwayne Wade. Mike Anderson was in his first year at UAB and it was in this tournament when his Fastest 40 Minutes of Basketball style really kicked in.
UAB led by four points at half time, but Marquette took their first lead of the second half with 2:20 when Travis Diener hit a three pointer to make the score 74-73. The lead changed hands several times. The amazing combo of Eric Bush and Morris Finley took over the game. With 50.6 seconds left, Marquette player Robert Jackson stepped on the baseline and turned the ball over to the Blazers. Bush drove the lane and made an acrobatic shot with 29 seconds left to put the Blazers up 79-76. Morris Finley then stole a pass from Dwayne Wade and was fouled, sealing the victory 83-76 for the Blazers. Finley led the Blazers with 23 points, Eric Bush had 17 points, and Demario Eddins had 16 and five steals. Who can forget senior Eric Bush dancing on the table after the game?
The Blazers forced Marquette into 30 turnovers and had 20 steals. Both were CUSA tournament records. Another record was set by Dwayne Wade when he committed 10 turnovers. Eric Bush set a record with 6 steals. Marquette would learn from that game and advance to the Final Four that year. The Blazers would lose in the championship game to Louisville, but their run in the CUSA tournament earned them an NIT bid and served notice to the rest of CUSA that UAB was back and that Mike Anderson and his Blazers were going to be a force in the coming season.
The Opponent
After their win yesterday over East Carolina, Tulsa is now 2-2 in the CUSA Tournament. In 2006, they lost their opening game as a six seed. Last year as a five seed, they won their first game over East Carolina, but lost in the second round to Tulane.
The Blazers are 5-3 against Tulsa and have one the last three games. The two teams have never met in a conference tournament, but have met once on a neutral court. This was the first game ever played between the two teams.
UAB vs. Tulsa – December 28, 1990 – All College Tournament, Oklahoma City, OK
The only neutral site game between UAB and Tulsa occurred on December 28, 1990 in the All College Tournament in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was a renewal of an old rivalry in a sense because JD Barnett, former coach of Virginia Commonwealth was the coach of Tulsa. Of course, Barnett had been the opposing coach in the heated rivalry with VCU. Gene Bartow had joked, “I still send him a bill each year for the blackboard he put his fist through.” He added “but our wives still like each other.” Barnett had been at Tulsa for five years and had a 93-66 record. In six seasons at VCU, Barnett was 10-7 against UAB.
In this game against Tulsa, UAB’s best player, Elbert Rogers did not start because he had violated team curfew the night before. Tulsa jumped out to a 12-2 start, and Rogers entered the game at the 15:05 mark. UAB immediately got back in the game with two baskets by Stanley Jackson and two three pointers by Andy Kennedy. UAB was down by two, 23-21, with 9 minutes left. This game was a game of runs. Both teams would get double digit leads throughout the game, only to have the other team comeback. Gene Bartow would spark UAB to a 12-0 run after he received a technical, but Tulsa would overcome a ten point lead by hitting four three pointers in three minutes in the second half.
The deciding play in the game came with 1:43 to go in the gam. The Blazers were down 86-84 and Tulsa had the ball out of bounds. Jack Kramer almost stole the inbounds pass, but Tulsa’s Reggie Shields got the ball and slammed it home, getting fouled on the play. Shields converted the three point play, and the Blazers found themselves down 89-84. UAB could not overcome the deficit. Tulsa had hit 10 free throws in a row, while UAB missed 9 of their last 20 foul shots. Tulsa won the game 92-86. Coach Bartow said his team had “some incredible, incredible problems trying to win games at the end.” The Blazers were now 7-4. Andy Kennedy led the Blazers in scoring with 27 points and Elbert Rogers had a career high 26 points. Jack Kramer scored a double double with 14 points and 11 assists.
The Place – Memphis in Conference Tournaments
This is the seventh conference tournament in which the Blazers have played in Memphis, Tennessee. The first tournament was the 1993 Great Midwest Conference Tournament. All other conference tournaments have been CUSA tournaments, including the inaugural CUSA tournament in 1996. And as we know, the last three Conference USA tournaments have been played in the Bluff City at the Fed Ex Forum.
UAB is 3-6 in tournament games in Memphis. However, in the last three tournaments at the Fed Ex Forum, UAB is 3-3. The Blazers were 0-3 in the Pyramid in conference tournaments.