05-25-2007, 11:07 PM
Here are the Today in Blazer History from November 2005
11/25/05 Massachussetts
Are You ready for Basketball?
Tonight’s game marks the beginning of the 28th season of UAB basketball. The Blazers are 18-9 in season openers. The last time UAB lost the first game of the season was 1999 when the Blazers lost at Auburn 65-59. Mike Anderson has never lost a season opener at UAB. However, this is the first Mike Anderson team to open a season on the road.
The Date:
The Blazers are 4-3 in games played on November 25. UAB has played two very important games on this date. Today marks the 27th anniversary of UAB's very first win. On this date in 1978, one night after playing and losing their inaugural game to Nebraska, the Blazers played San Francisco State. While almost 15,000 showed up for the first game on Friday night, only a small crowd of 4550 came to watch the Blazers beat San Francisco State by the score of 67-51. This was probably because of the opponent and the fact that the Iron Bowl had been played earlier in the day. Coach Gene Bartow had no idea what to expect from San Francisco State since he had no scouting report. He did not know if they played a deliberate style of play or was a run and gun team. San Francisco State jumped out to a 9-4 lead, but the Blazers went on a 10-2 run and led the rest of the way. Darryl Braden was the leading scorer with 18 points and 6 rebounds. It was win #1 for the new program and plenty more to come.
Easily, the biggest game they have ever played on this date occurred in 1984 when they played in the finals of the Great Alaskan Shootout. In the past two days, UAB had defeated Tennessee 70-65, and #2 Illinois 59-52. Next up was the championship game and Kansas which was ranked #19. Kansas was coached by Larry Brown and had Danny Manning as a freshman. There were very few Blazer fans in Alaska to cheer on the Blazers. The newspaper reported that there were only two true UAB fans and a couple of Western Kentucky grads who were stationed in Alaska in the Air Force were the only fans cheering for UAB. . The Blazers had an early 9-0 run to take a 16-10 lead with 12:02 left in the first half, but Kansas went on a 14-1 run and led by seven with 8:42 to go in the half. Kansas had a 2 point lead at half time. The turning point in the game may have come at the 10:50 mark in the game when 7’1” Greg Dreiling of Kansas took a swing at Archie Johnson for UAB was was ejected from the game, with only 5 points and 6 rebounds. Archie Johnson was quoted as saying “I had my hands up on defense. All of a sudden, he grabbed me, I pushed him away and the ref said, ‘he’s gone. You want to go to.’ I backed away”. Kansas coach Larry Brown said Dreiling had been hit a couple of times in the face. With Dreiling out of the game, the middle was opened up for the Blazers. They took the lead with 28 seconds left in the game when Steve Mitchell converted a three point play and the score was 48-46 UAB. The Blazers held on to win the game 50-46 and in their sixth year of existence, had become champions of the Great Alaskan Shootout, which was a much more prestigious tournament than it is today. Steve Mitchell had 18 points and was named Most Valuable player. Jerome Mincy had 15 points and was also named to the all tournament team along with Danny Manning of Kansas, Maryland’s Len Bias and Adrian Branch and Ron Kellogg and Greg Dreiling of Kansas. . In the next AP poll, UAB went from unranked to 13th in the nation.
The Opponent:
This is the first meeting between the UAB and Massachussetts.
The Place: Springfield, MA
UAB is 0-2 in games played in Springfield, Massachussetts. In December 1992, the Blazers were invited to play in the Hall of Fame Classic along with South Carolina, Holy Cross and the host team, Massachussetts. This turned out to be a disasterous tournament for the Blazers. First up was South Carolina who was coming off an 11-17 year. The Blazers entered the game 10-1, having won ten straight and looking for a spot in the Top 25. However, eight of those wins had been at home, and the next four games were on the road. UAB jumped out to a quck lead, but squandered a 10 point first half lead and only led by four points at the half, 34-30. South Carolina came out in the second half and put pressure on the Blazers outside shooters. UAB tried to push the ball inside, but the inside players could not get it done. UAB led at the 12:20 mark by the score of 50-43, but the Gamecocks went on a 13-2 run over the next four minutes and UAB would not score another outside shot the rest of the game. With 1:08, South Carolina tied the game at 68 with a three point shot. UAB had the ball to go ahead, but a South Carolina player stripped the ball from Robert Shannon and went the distance for a layup. The Gamecocks then hit their free throws and won the game 75-68. Stanley Jackson set a tournament record with 32 points and passed Steve Mitchell’s career steal record with 190 steals. Robert Shannon finished with 14 points, but only two points in the second half.
The next night, UAB faced Holy Cross, a team that gives no scholarships in the consolation game. Most figured that the Blazers would redeem themselves against Holy Cross. They didn't. Holy Cross set picks and gave had fakes that gave them high percentage shots. They shot 62% from the field in the second half. Holy Cross took the lead to stay with 6:13 in the game. The Blazers, trailing by three got a couple of turnovers in the final minute of the game, but could not convert. In the last minute, Holy Cross hit 7 of 8 free throws and won the game 90-83. Robert Shannon was the leading scorer with 20 points and Stanley Jackson had 15 points. Tthese two games started a five game losing streak, which is the longest in UAB history.
The Bench:
Travis Ford begins his first season at the University of Massachussetts after a successful tenure at Eastern Kentucky. He has never faced UAB in his coaching career or playing career at the University of Kentucky.
11/27/05 South Carolina State
The Date:
UAB has a strong record of 11-1 in games played on November 27. The only loss came in 2002 when UAB lost at UNLV by the score of 84-75. The Blazers traveled to the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas to take on Charlie Spoonhour and the Runnin’ Rebels. Although the Blazers led by three at the half, the Runnin Rebels shot 54.8% in the second half to win by nine points. UAB was led by freshman Demario Eddins with 15 points, and Mo Finley and Gabe Kennedy each scored 14 points. It was Coach Mike Anderson's first loss as the UAB head coach.
The most recent game occurred last year, and was the season opener for the Blazers. The opponent was Viriginia Commonwealth, who came into Birmingham with just one loss, to #1 Wake Forest by 14 points. The start time for the season opener was moved back 30 minutes to accomodate those fans returning from the Southern Miss football game. Those that arrived late missed the only part of the game that was close: the 0-0 tie. The Blazers jumped out to a 17-0 lead and at one point in the first half, led 26-2. They had a 31 point lead with four minutes to go in the half, and led 50-25 at half time. In the second half, VCU was able to get the lead down to 20 points a couple of times, but could not cut into the lead further. Donell Taylor led all scorers with 20 points, Demario Eddins had 16 as UAB won the game 79-55.
Another important event on this date, occurred 43 years ago today, when the founder, chief writer and bottle washer for “Today in Blazer History� was born. Come on, Blazers give me a big victory for my birthday.
The Opponent:
UAB has played South Carolina State twice before. On December 5, 1984, the Blazers beat the Bulldogs from Orangeburg, South Carolina by the score of 73-56. Steve Mitchell had 9 assists and 21 points to lead the Blazers to the win.
Two years later on December 20, 1986, the two teams played again with UAB winning this time 81-67. Eddie Collins led the Blazers with 23 points, and Dylan Howard tied a then school record of 18 rebounds. Tracy Foster had 17 points for the Blazers.
The Bench:
Second year coach Ben Betts Jr. has coached against the Blazers one other time. In 2003-2004, he was an assistant coach under Jeff Capel at VCU. UAB beat the Rams that year in Richmond by the score of 68-58. As an assistant, Betts is 0-1 against UAB and he has never faced them as a head coach.
[b]11/29/05 Western Kentucky
“UAB Fans have Too Much Class…” [/b]
The Date:
There is a lot of history to look at today, so grab your favorite beverage and enjoy a trip down Blazer memory lane. The Blazers are 8-2 in games played on November 29. This is the third straight year we have played on this date, defeating Richmond and Louisiana Tech the past two years. We are 7-0 at home on this date.
While not trying to dwell on the negative, we need to look at the two loses because they were big games played on this date. On this date in 1987, the Blazers had been invited to compete in the Great Alaskan Shootout. The trip was a bad trip all around as the Blazers arrived in Alaska six hours late due to plane problems, forcing a six hour lay over in Dallas and a two hour layover in Seattle. UAB struggled to win the opening game against Southwestern Texas State, and had lost in the second round to Syracuse, who was ranked #1 in the country with Rony Seikaly and Derrick Coleman. Next up on this date was the ninth ranked Michigan Wolverines, who had lost to #17 Arizona. The Blazers trailed by 13 (33-20) with 3:56 to go in the first half, but a career night by Larry Rembert helped the Blazers get back in the game. Rembert finished the game with 26 points on 11 of 19 field goals. In the second half, a shot by Reginald Turner put the Blazers up with 8:21 left in the game. A 16-4 run by UAB had helped the Blazers go from 10 down to 5 ahead. However, Michigan great Glen Rice hit two three-pointers down the stretch to keep the Wolverines close. UAB still led in the final minute. All American Gary Grant put Michigan ahead by one with two free throws with 35 seconds left. UAB brought the ball down, and called timeout with 12 seconds to go in the game. The pass was to the hot handed Rembert inside, but his shout would not fall. Michigan sealed the victory with one more free throw and Michigan won the game 78-76. Following Rembert’s 26 points was Michael Charles with 23 points who went 8 for 8 from the line. Glen Rice had 27 points for the Wolverines.
The second loss for this date also occurred in the Great Alaskan Shootout in 1997. That year, the Great Alaska Shootout featured seven teams that had previously won the Shootout, including North Carolina, Purdue, and UCLA. UAB was invited to join this prestigious gathering of teams because the Blazers had won the Great Alaska Shootout in 1984. On this date, UAB would play UCLA, ranked #6 in the nation. The Blazers had already lost to #5 Purdue in the first round two days earlier, as well as losing to #23 Indiana in Birmingham 9 days earlier. That’s three ranked teams in eleven days.The UCLA game was one of the biggest collapses UAB has ever had. UAB played a fantastic first half and led 42-26 at halftime. The lead was up to 18 points within the first minute and half of the second half. However, that was apparently all the Blazers could do as everything fell apart. UCLA freshman guard Baron Davis took control and scored 19 points in the second half, 28 for the game. UCLA stormed back to win 86-72. The Blazers could only managed to grab 7 rebounds in the second half, after getting 23 boards in the first half. UAB was led by Willie Mitchell with 19 points and Damon Cobb with 15 points.
And now, let’s look back at a happier moment. On this date in 1991, UAB and Auburn played the ninth game in their series, often called by Auburn fans and the media as “the game before The Game” This was UAB’s first game in the Civic Center in two years, since moving to Bartow Arena. This game also featured freshman Corey Jackson, from Auburn, starting his first game as point guard for the Blazers. It was a great debut for Corey as he and cousin Stanley Jackson combined for 30 points, six assists and 8 rebounds. Corey had 14 points and Stanley had 16 points. UAB led by eleven points at the half, and when Auburn challenged in the second half, Corey Jackson scored six consecutive points, all on layups. The Blazers were led by Elbert Rogers with 17 points and 10 rebounds as UAB won the game 88-74 before a crowd of 8,823.
The Opponent:
Tonight, we take on a historic rival from UAB’s old Sun Belt days. The Western Kentucky rivalry did not match the intensity of the VCU rivalry, but it was an intense one, nevertheless. UAB dominated the series with 18 wins and 8 losses, but the games were almost always close and hard fought. The conference series ended in 1991 when UAB jumped to the Great Midwest. Since then, the teams have played four times, the last time being in 1998. The teams have split the victories in those last four games.
The Blazers’ very first NCAA tournament game was against Western Kentucky on March 13, 1981 in Tuscaloosa. The Hilltoppers were not yet a member of the Sun Belt. It was a big day in Birmingham as the 3 year program prepared for their very first NCAA tournament 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 play the Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky was 21-7 and coached by Clem Haskins, who had been named National Rookie Coach of the Year. Most experts had WKU 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 Sun Belt tournament. Glenn Marcus led the Blazers with 22 points and Oliver Robinson had 16 points. Next up forUAB a spot on the proverbial map and a game with the 8th ranked Kentucky Wildcats, who had been the preseason #1.
I can’t talk about the Western Kentucky series and leave out the game that took place January 25, 1986. On that date, UAB traveled to Western Kentucky with an impressive 18-4 record, ranked #18 in the country. Western Kentucky was equally impressive with a 14-3 record. The Hilltoppers had won in Birmingham a week earlier in overtime. That game started a two game slide that dropped UAB from 12th in the polls to the 18th spot, and they would probably be out of the top 20 in the next poll. Bartow had blamed the "sickening loss" to Western Kentucky a week earlier on his players' "hot dog" plays. This was an important matchup. UAB wanted revenge and Western wanted to prove their earlier win was no fluke. The Hilltoppers had a sellout crowd of 13,000, their first sellout in several years. In the first half, Steve Mitchell was 7 of 9 from the field, but only 5 of 12 in the second half. WKU led at the half 44-36. At the 12 minute mark, this game earned its place in history as the Mars Bar game. All spectators had been given Mars candy bars upon entering the building. For some reason, some Hilltopper fans, who were apparently watching their diets, had not eaten theirs and when Clarence Martin, an Alabama native fouled out of the game, the court was showered with Mars candy bars. Many were aimed at the UAB bench and Gene Bartow was almost hit by one. After the crowd was warned, the Blazers stormed back in the game. Jerome Mincy took charge and pulled UAB into a tie at 65 with 3:42 to go in the game. The two teams traded baskets for the next few trips. James Ponder missed a shot that would have put UAB up with 48 seconds to play. Western Kentucky then hit 8 straight free throws in the last 48 seconds and the Hilltoppers won 81-75. Bartow was livid after the game about the candy bar incident. He voiced his displeasure in his post game radio show and refused to talk to the rest of the media. He had gotten upset the week before during the first Western Kentucky game because UAB students fans were waving their arms behind the basket trying to distract the Hilltopper free throws. "UAB fans have too much class to stoop to such tactics," he had said. The Blazers only two losses in conference were now to Western Kentucky. Steve Mitchell led the Blazers with 27 points, playing all 40 minutes and shooting 12 of 23 from the field. Jerome Mincy added 21 points and a dominating15 rebounds.
One last game to look at in this great series with the Hilltoppers occurred in the championship game of the Sun Belt Tournament in 1987. Bowling Green, Kentucky and the campus of Western Kentucky was the site of this tournament. UAB had made it to the championship game by beating South Alabama in the first round and Jacksonville in the semi finals. The championship game pitted the Blazers against the regular season champs, Western Kentucky who had a very impressive record of 29-9. During the first half, UAB survived a fast pace game in which the Hilltoppers shot 57%. At the half, UAB was down by 1, 33-32. In the second half, UAB took control and won the game by making big play after big play. The final score of 72-60 was decided with a thunderous dunk by Michael Charles at the buzzer. Tracy Foster would cap the greatest week of his playing career by leading the team with 23 points. He had scored 28 points against Jacksonville the day before. Foster would be named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. James Ponder would join him on the All Tournament Team. It was the last conference tournament that UAB has won.
The Bench:
Western Kentucky coach Darrin Horn is in his third year as coach of the Hilltoppers. He has faced UAB both as a player and as an assistant coach. As a player at Western Kentucky from 1991-1995, he played against the Blazers twice in the 1993-94 season and in the 1994-95 season. His team won one and the Blazers won one. After graduation from WKU, he became an assistant coach with Western Kentucky and faced the Blazers in December 1995, a game that his team won. Horn had a lot more games against the Blazers when he was an assistant coach at Marquette from 1999-2003. He was 3-2 against UAB at that school. Overall, as a player and assistant coach, he is 5-3 against the Blazers.
11/25/05 Massachussetts
Are You ready for Basketball?
Tonight’s game marks the beginning of the 28th season of UAB basketball. The Blazers are 18-9 in season openers. The last time UAB lost the first game of the season was 1999 when the Blazers lost at Auburn 65-59. Mike Anderson has never lost a season opener at UAB. However, this is the first Mike Anderson team to open a season on the road.
The Date:
The Blazers are 4-3 in games played on November 25. UAB has played two very important games on this date. Today marks the 27th anniversary of UAB's very first win. On this date in 1978, one night after playing and losing their inaugural game to Nebraska, the Blazers played San Francisco State. While almost 15,000 showed up for the first game on Friday night, only a small crowd of 4550 came to watch the Blazers beat San Francisco State by the score of 67-51. This was probably because of the opponent and the fact that the Iron Bowl had been played earlier in the day. Coach Gene Bartow had no idea what to expect from San Francisco State since he had no scouting report. He did not know if they played a deliberate style of play or was a run and gun team. San Francisco State jumped out to a 9-4 lead, but the Blazers went on a 10-2 run and led the rest of the way. Darryl Braden was the leading scorer with 18 points and 6 rebounds. It was win #1 for the new program and plenty more to come.
Easily, the biggest game they have ever played on this date occurred in 1984 when they played in the finals of the Great Alaskan Shootout. In the past two days, UAB had defeated Tennessee 70-65, and #2 Illinois 59-52. Next up was the championship game and Kansas which was ranked #19. Kansas was coached by Larry Brown and had Danny Manning as a freshman. There were very few Blazer fans in Alaska to cheer on the Blazers. The newspaper reported that there were only two true UAB fans and a couple of Western Kentucky grads who were stationed in Alaska in the Air Force were the only fans cheering for UAB. . The Blazers had an early 9-0 run to take a 16-10 lead with 12:02 left in the first half, but Kansas went on a 14-1 run and led by seven with 8:42 to go in the half. Kansas had a 2 point lead at half time. The turning point in the game may have come at the 10:50 mark in the game when 7’1” Greg Dreiling of Kansas took a swing at Archie Johnson for UAB was was ejected from the game, with only 5 points and 6 rebounds. Archie Johnson was quoted as saying “I had my hands up on defense. All of a sudden, he grabbed me, I pushed him away and the ref said, ‘he’s gone. You want to go to.’ I backed away”. Kansas coach Larry Brown said Dreiling had been hit a couple of times in the face. With Dreiling out of the game, the middle was opened up for the Blazers. They took the lead with 28 seconds left in the game when Steve Mitchell converted a three point play and the score was 48-46 UAB. The Blazers held on to win the game 50-46 and in their sixth year of existence, had become champions of the Great Alaskan Shootout, which was a much more prestigious tournament than it is today. Steve Mitchell had 18 points and was named Most Valuable player. Jerome Mincy had 15 points and was also named to the all tournament team along with Danny Manning of Kansas, Maryland’s Len Bias and Adrian Branch and Ron Kellogg and Greg Dreiling of Kansas. . In the next AP poll, UAB went from unranked to 13th in the nation.
The Opponent:
This is the first meeting between the UAB and Massachussetts.
The Place: Springfield, MA
UAB is 0-2 in games played in Springfield, Massachussetts. In December 1992, the Blazers were invited to play in the Hall of Fame Classic along with South Carolina, Holy Cross and the host team, Massachussetts. This turned out to be a disasterous tournament for the Blazers. First up was South Carolina who was coming off an 11-17 year. The Blazers entered the game 10-1, having won ten straight and looking for a spot in the Top 25. However, eight of those wins had been at home, and the next four games were on the road. UAB jumped out to a quck lead, but squandered a 10 point first half lead and only led by four points at the half, 34-30. South Carolina came out in the second half and put pressure on the Blazers outside shooters. UAB tried to push the ball inside, but the inside players could not get it done. UAB led at the 12:20 mark by the score of 50-43, but the Gamecocks went on a 13-2 run over the next four minutes and UAB would not score another outside shot the rest of the game. With 1:08, South Carolina tied the game at 68 with a three point shot. UAB had the ball to go ahead, but a South Carolina player stripped the ball from Robert Shannon and went the distance for a layup. The Gamecocks then hit their free throws and won the game 75-68. Stanley Jackson set a tournament record with 32 points and passed Steve Mitchell’s career steal record with 190 steals. Robert Shannon finished with 14 points, but only two points in the second half.
The next night, UAB faced Holy Cross, a team that gives no scholarships in the consolation game. Most figured that the Blazers would redeem themselves against Holy Cross. They didn't. Holy Cross set picks and gave had fakes that gave them high percentage shots. They shot 62% from the field in the second half. Holy Cross took the lead to stay with 6:13 in the game. The Blazers, trailing by three got a couple of turnovers in the final minute of the game, but could not convert. In the last minute, Holy Cross hit 7 of 8 free throws and won the game 90-83. Robert Shannon was the leading scorer with 20 points and Stanley Jackson had 15 points. Tthese two games started a five game losing streak, which is the longest in UAB history.
The Bench:
Travis Ford begins his first season at the University of Massachussetts after a successful tenure at Eastern Kentucky. He has never faced UAB in his coaching career or playing career at the University of Kentucky.
11/27/05 South Carolina State
The Date:
UAB has a strong record of 11-1 in games played on November 27. The only loss came in 2002 when UAB lost at UNLV by the score of 84-75. The Blazers traveled to the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas to take on Charlie Spoonhour and the Runnin’ Rebels. Although the Blazers led by three at the half, the Runnin Rebels shot 54.8% in the second half to win by nine points. UAB was led by freshman Demario Eddins with 15 points, and Mo Finley and Gabe Kennedy each scored 14 points. It was Coach Mike Anderson's first loss as the UAB head coach.
The most recent game occurred last year, and was the season opener for the Blazers. The opponent was Viriginia Commonwealth, who came into Birmingham with just one loss, to #1 Wake Forest by 14 points. The start time for the season opener was moved back 30 minutes to accomodate those fans returning from the Southern Miss football game. Those that arrived late missed the only part of the game that was close: the 0-0 tie. The Blazers jumped out to a 17-0 lead and at one point in the first half, led 26-2. They had a 31 point lead with four minutes to go in the half, and led 50-25 at half time. In the second half, VCU was able to get the lead down to 20 points a couple of times, but could not cut into the lead further. Donell Taylor led all scorers with 20 points, Demario Eddins had 16 as UAB won the game 79-55.
Another important event on this date, occurred 43 years ago today, when the founder, chief writer and bottle washer for “Today in Blazer History� was born. Come on, Blazers give me a big victory for my birthday.
The Opponent:
UAB has played South Carolina State twice before. On December 5, 1984, the Blazers beat the Bulldogs from Orangeburg, South Carolina by the score of 73-56. Steve Mitchell had 9 assists and 21 points to lead the Blazers to the win.
Two years later on December 20, 1986, the two teams played again with UAB winning this time 81-67. Eddie Collins led the Blazers with 23 points, and Dylan Howard tied a then school record of 18 rebounds. Tracy Foster had 17 points for the Blazers.
The Bench:
Second year coach Ben Betts Jr. has coached against the Blazers one other time. In 2003-2004, he was an assistant coach under Jeff Capel at VCU. UAB beat the Rams that year in Richmond by the score of 68-58. As an assistant, Betts is 0-1 against UAB and he has never faced them as a head coach.
[b]11/29/05 Western Kentucky
“UAB Fans have Too Much Class…” [/b]
The Date:
There is a lot of history to look at today, so grab your favorite beverage and enjoy a trip down Blazer memory lane. The Blazers are 8-2 in games played on November 29. This is the third straight year we have played on this date, defeating Richmond and Louisiana Tech the past two years. We are 7-0 at home on this date.
While not trying to dwell on the negative, we need to look at the two loses because they were big games played on this date. On this date in 1987, the Blazers had been invited to compete in the Great Alaskan Shootout. The trip was a bad trip all around as the Blazers arrived in Alaska six hours late due to plane problems, forcing a six hour lay over in Dallas and a two hour layover in Seattle. UAB struggled to win the opening game against Southwestern Texas State, and had lost in the second round to Syracuse, who was ranked #1 in the country with Rony Seikaly and Derrick Coleman. Next up on this date was the ninth ranked Michigan Wolverines, who had lost to #17 Arizona. The Blazers trailed by 13 (33-20) with 3:56 to go in the first half, but a career night by Larry Rembert helped the Blazers get back in the game. Rembert finished the game with 26 points on 11 of 19 field goals. In the second half, a shot by Reginald Turner put the Blazers up with 8:21 left in the game. A 16-4 run by UAB had helped the Blazers go from 10 down to 5 ahead. However, Michigan great Glen Rice hit two three-pointers down the stretch to keep the Wolverines close. UAB still led in the final minute. All American Gary Grant put Michigan ahead by one with two free throws with 35 seconds left. UAB brought the ball down, and called timeout with 12 seconds to go in the game. The pass was to the hot handed Rembert inside, but his shout would not fall. Michigan sealed the victory with one more free throw and Michigan won the game 78-76. Following Rembert’s 26 points was Michael Charles with 23 points who went 8 for 8 from the line. Glen Rice had 27 points for the Wolverines.
The second loss for this date also occurred in the Great Alaskan Shootout in 1997. That year, the Great Alaska Shootout featured seven teams that had previously won the Shootout, including North Carolina, Purdue, and UCLA. UAB was invited to join this prestigious gathering of teams because the Blazers had won the Great Alaska Shootout in 1984. On this date, UAB would play UCLA, ranked #6 in the nation. The Blazers had already lost to #5 Purdue in the first round two days earlier, as well as losing to #23 Indiana in Birmingham 9 days earlier. That’s three ranked teams in eleven days.The UCLA game was one of the biggest collapses UAB has ever had. UAB played a fantastic first half and led 42-26 at halftime. The lead was up to 18 points within the first minute and half of the second half. However, that was apparently all the Blazers could do as everything fell apart. UCLA freshman guard Baron Davis took control and scored 19 points in the second half, 28 for the game. UCLA stormed back to win 86-72. The Blazers could only managed to grab 7 rebounds in the second half, after getting 23 boards in the first half. UAB was led by Willie Mitchell with 19 points and Damon Cobb with 15 points.
And now, let’s look back at a happier moment. On this date in 1991, UAB and Auburn played the ninth game in their series, often called by Auburn fans and the media as “the game before The Game” This was UAB’s first game in the Civic Center in two years, since moving to Bartow Arena. This game also featured freshman Corey Jackson, from Auburn, starting his first game as point guard for the Blazers. It was a great debut for Corey as he and cousin Stanley Jackson combined for 30 points, six assists and 8 rebounds. Corey had 14 points and Stanley had 16 points. UAB led by eleven points at the half, and when Auburn challenged in the second half, Corey Jackson scored six consecutive points, all on layups. The Blazers were led by Elbert Rogers with 17 points and 10 rebounds as UAB won the game 88-74 before a crowd of 8,823.
The Opponent:
Tonight, we take on a historic rival from UAB’s old Sun Belt days. The Western Kentucky rivalry did not match the intensity of the VCU rivalry, but it was an intense one, nevertheless. UAB dominated the series with 18 wins and 8 losses, but the games were almost always close and hard fought. The conference series ended in 1991 when UAB jumped to the Great Midwest. Since then, the teams have played four times, the last time being in 1998. The teams have split the victories in those last four games.
The Blazers’ very first NCAA tournament game was against Western Kentucky on March 13, 1981 in Tuscaloosa. The Hilltoppers were not yet a member of the Sun Belt. It was a big day in Birmingham as the 3 year program prepared for their very first NCAA tournament 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 play the Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky was 21-7 and coached by Clem Haskins, who had been named National Rookie Coach of the Year. Most experts had WKU 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 Sun Belt tournament. Glenn Marcus led the Blazers with 22 points and Oliver Robinson had 16 points. Next up forUAB a spot on the proverbial map and a game with the 8th ranked Kentucky Wildcats, who had been the preseason #1.
I can’t talk about the Western Kentucky series and leave out the game that took place January 25, 1986. On that date, UAB traveled to Western Kentucky with an impressive 18-4 record, ranked #18 in the country. Western Kentucky was equally impressive with a 14-3 record. The Hilltoppers had won in Birmingham a week earlier in overtime. That game started a two game slide that dropped UAB from 12th in the polls to the 18th spot, and they would probably be out of the top 20 in the next poll. Bartow had blamed the "sickening loss" to Western Kentucky a week earlier on his players' "hot dog" plays. This was an important matchup. UAB wanted revenge and Western wanted to prove their earlier win was no fluke. The Hilltoppers had a sellout crowd of 13,000, their first sellout in several years. In the first half, Steve Mitchell was 7 of 9 from the field, but only 5 of 12 in the second half. WKU led at the half 44-36. At the 12 minute mark, this game earned its place in history as the Mars Bar game. All spectators had been given Mars candy bars upon entering the building. For some reason, some Hilltopper fans, who were apparently watching their diets, had not eaten theirs and when Clarence Martin, an Alabama native fouled out of the game, the court was showered with Mars candy bars. Many were aimed at the UAB bench and Gene Bartow was almost hit by one. After the crowd was warned, the Blazers stormed back in the game. Jerome Mincy took charge and pulled UAB into a tie at 65 with 3:42 to go in the game. The two teams traded baskets for the next few trips. James Ponder missed a shot that would have put UAB up with 48 seconds to play. Western Kentucky then hit 8 straight free throws in the last 48 seconds and the Hilltoppers won 81-75. Bartow was livid after the game about the candy bar incident. He voiced his displeasure in his post game radio show and refused to talk to the rest of the media. He had gotten upset the week before during the first Western Kentucky game because UAB students fans were waving their arms behind the basket trying to distract the Hilltopper free throws. "UAB fans have too much class to stoop to such tactics," he had said. The Blazers only two losses in conference were now to Western Kentucky. Steve Mitchell led the Blazers with 27 points, playing all 40 minutes and shooting 12 of 23 from the field. Jerome Mincy added 21 points and a dominating15 rebounds.
One last game to look at in this great series with the Hilltoppers occurred in the championship game of the Sun Belt Tournament in 1987. Bowling Green, Kentucky and the campus of Western Kentucky was the site of this tournament. UAB had made it to the championship game by beating South Alabama in the first round and Jacksonville in the semi finals. The championship game pitted the Blazers against the regular season champs, Western Kentucky who had a very impressive record of 29-9. During the first half, UAB survived a fast pace game in which the Hilltoppers shot 57%. At the half, UAB was down by 1, 33-32. In the second half, UAB took control and won the game by making big play after big play. The final score of 72-60 was decided with a thunderous dunk by Michael Charles at the buzzer. Tracy Foster would cap the greatest week of his playing career by leading the team with 23 points. He had scored 28 points against Jacksonville the day before. Foster would be named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. James Ponder would join him on the All Tournament Team. It was the last conference tournament that UAB has won.
The Bench:
Western Kentucky coach Darrin Horn is in his third year as coach of the Hilltoppers. He has faced UAB both as a player and as an assistant coach. As a player at Western Kentucky from 1991-1995, he played against the Blazers twice in the 1993-94 season and in the 1994-95 season. His team won one and the Blazers won one. After graduation from WKU, he became an assistant coach with Western Kentucky and faced the Blazers in December 1995, a game that his team won. Horn had a lot more games against the Blazers when he was an assistant coach at Marquette from 1999-2003. He was 3-2 against UAB at that school. Overall, as a player and assistant coach, he is 5-3 against the Blazers.