NCAAbbs

Here are the Today in Blazer History reports from January 2006


January 2, 2006 VCU
Birth of a Rivalry

The Date:
Our record on the second day of the year is 5-3. We are 4-2 at home on this date and last played on this date last year in a 100-80 win over Murray State.

The very first game played on this date was in 1982 against tonight’s opponent, Virginia Commonwealth. VCU's coach, J.D. Barnett's was going for his 100th win. Also, UAB was playing the 100th game of its young program. The Blazers were also riding a 20 game home winning streak, which dated back to 1980. Unfortunately, the streak ended against the Rams. The Blazers blew a six point lead in six minutes in the second half. They had a chance to go ahead with 18 seconds to go in the game, but Rolando Lamb of Virginia Commonwealth stole the ball from Oliver Robinson and made a shot to give the Rams a three point cushion. VCU won the game 55-54. Oliver Robinson led the Blazers with 17 points. Gene Bartow would make adjustments, inserting freshman Marvin Ray Johnson into the starting lineup, and the Blazers would not lose another conference game that year, finishing 9-1.

On this date in 1988, the Blazers hosted the UAB Classic. In this year’s tournament, Bartow had invited old friends and former UAB coaches. Participants included Bartow friend, Mack McCarthy and his Tennessee-Chattanooga team, former UAB assistant and Bartow right hand man, Lee Hunt and his Missouri Kansas City team, and former UAB assistant John Prince and his Jackson State team. First up for the Blazers was the game played on this date against Jackson State. John Prince was in his second year. He was 1-5 and UAB was 5-6 going into the game, having lost four of their last five. Leading scorer Michael Charles had been benched during the first half for missing a team meeting. However, he was not needed as the Blazers won the game 65-51 and gave UAB it's 200th win in the programs history. Larry Rembert led the Blazers with 19 points.

The last game to look at on this date occurred in 2003 when the Mississippi State Bulldogs came to Bartow to take on the Blazers. Mississippi State was ranked 8th in the country and came to Bartow Arena as the first visit to Bartow by a ranked opponent since Cincinnati had played there in 2000. An almost sellout crowd included basketball greats Jerry West and Gene Bartow as well as several hundred Bulldog fans. The Blazers were fired up to have a ranked SEC school in the house and their defense forced eleven turnovers in the first ten minutes. Jeffrey Collins tied the game at 14 on an awesome alley-oop pass from Mo Finley. However, Mario Austin scored five points in 45 seconds and had a steal to push the Bulldogs out to a 19-14 lead. This sparked a run that would eventually give Mississippi State a 17 point lead at the half. UAB could get no closer than 15 points in the second half, and Mississippi State won 68-52.Rick Stansbury said their goal was to shut point guard Eric Bush down. They met this goal because Bush had only two points and one assist in 36 minutes of play. Gabe Kennedy was hobbled by an ankle injury, and UAB had no inside presence, giving the Bulldogs a 43-28 rebounding edge. Mo Finley was held to just 2 points in the second half, but finished as UAB's high scorer with 15 points. State shot 55% to UAB's 36%.

The Opponent:
UAB and VCU have a long history together dating back to the early days of the Sun Belt. The Blazers hold a 19-15 edge in the series with Virginia Commonwealth. As conference rivals, UAB held a slight 16-14 advantage over the rams. Since both teams left the Sun Belt in 1991, UAB has won three of four games. The Blazers are 13-4 against VCU at home.

For those who were not around for the early days of the Sun Belt, the rivalry between the Blazers and the Rams was unmatched by any other school. Their fans hated Gene Bartow, and UAB fans hated JD Barnett, the VCU coach. Barnett is said to have been such an intense competitor that he would throw up before every game. To give a glimpse of the beginning of this fierce rivalry, you only have to look at the matchups between these teams in the Sun Belt tournament. Today in Blazer History, let’s look at the first five years of the Sun Belt tournament to see how a rivalry is born.

1980 was the first year that UAB competed in the Sun Belt Tournament, which was held that year in Charlotte. UAB had been seeded second and had beaten New Orleans and Jacksonville to advance to the finals against Virginia Commonwealth, the number one seed The two teams had split the regular season games, each winning at home. Virginia Commonwealth led at the half 50-40. The Blazers played well, shooting 54% and only had 9 turnovers for the game. Unfortunately, the Rams shot 62% and only had 10 turnovers. VCU won the championship game by the score of 105-88. Oliver Robinson had a then-career high 22 points. Keith McCord had 19 points and Larry Spicer had 17 points.

The following year, the 1981 Sun Belt tournament was in Jacksonville, Florida. The regular season had ended in a three way tie between the Blazers, VCU and South Alabama for first place in the Sun Belt. UAB had won the first two games of the tournament over Charlotte and South Alabama with ease by 17 points and 27 points. The Blazers were playing in the finals of the conference tournament once again against Virginia Commonwealth. The two teams had split in the regular season. The championship again went to VCU as they defeated the Blazers 62-61 in overtime.

By 1982, the Blazers had established themselves as the premier team in the Sun Belt, having upset Kentucky in the previous year’s NCAA tournament. However, they still did not have a Sun Belt championship, losing to VCU in the two previous championship games. The Blazers had the home court advantage for the 1982 Sun Belt Tournament, being played at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center. UAB had made it to the championship game by getting a first round bye and defeating South Florida 66-56. Their opponent in the final game for the third straight year was the Rams. The result this year, would be different however, as the Blazers won 94-83 over VCU to claim their first Sun Belt Championship. The Blazers were led by Oliver Robinson who scored 24 points and was named Most Valuable Player.

The tournament returned to Birmingham in 1983 and again, the two teams would meet, however, this time in the semi finals for the first time. Entering the game, UAB was 7-2 in Sun Belt Conference tournament play and Virginia Commonwealth was 7-1. Both of UAB’s losses were to VCU, and VCU’s only loss was to UAB. VCU entered the game with a 15 game winning streak, including two wins over the Blazers in the regular season. This game appeared to be no different because the Blazers found themselves down by 10 points at halftime. In the second half, Tracy Foster hit five straight shots to cut the lead to five points. UAB was down by eight points with 13:41 to go, and Cliff Pruitt hit three straight shots and Foster hit two shots to give the Blazers a 10-0 run and the lead. The Blazers then held on the rest of the way, shooting 60% in the second half. Neither team could score from the 1:32 mark to the end of the game. Jerome Mincy blocked the go-ahead VCU shot with 32 seconds left and UAB won the game 61-59. Pruitt finished with 18 points after having only 2 points at the half. Foster also had only two points in the first half, but finished with 15 points. Mitchell had 13 points. Calvin Duncan, co-player of the year had 21 for VCU. UAB would go on to defeat South Florida in the finals to win the Sun Belt Championship.

The final game in this string of consecutive matchups between UAB and VCU occurred in 1984. Once again, because of the success of the Sun Belt Tournament in Birmingham, the BJCC was the host. The Blazers had finished a disappointing fifth out of eight teams in the regular season with a 8-6 mark. Meanwhile VCU had won the regular season with a 11-3 mark and was 23-7 overall. After UAB defeated South Alabama 76-68 in the quarterfinals, the Blazers met up with Sun Belt Coach of the Year, JD Barnett and his Rams in the semi finals. It was a closely fought game, but the Blazers pulled the upset over the top seed, winning yet another close game, 54-52. A key part of the win belonged to the enigma, Jack Gordon. The Memphis native was an inconsistent player to say the least. He played in 134 games for the Blazers, more than any other player, but would go for several games in a row, where he did not seem to show up to play. When he did show up, he could take over a game, and bring the crowd to their feet with a tremendous rebound or block. He refused to talk to the press, but Big Jack remained a crowd favorite. This game was one that he showed up for. He scored 10 crucial points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots. In a close game such as this one, his contribution was vital. The Blazers would move onto the finals and beat Old Dominion to win their third straight Sun Belt Championship.

After 1984, UAB and Virginia Commonwealth would only face each other one other time in the Sun Belt Tournament, in 1990, which the Blazers won. However, it was during those first five years of tournament play that established UAB’s best rivalry ever.

The Bench:
VCU coach, Jeff Capel is in his fourth season with the Rams. Entering this season he has an impressive record of 60-31 as a head coach. He and Mike Anderson were both candidates for the Auburn job two years ago. Speaking of Auburn, look for former Tiger great, Gerald White on the Rams sideline. He is an assistant coach for VCU. He played for the Tigers from 1984-1988.He has been an assistant there since Sonny Smith was head coach at VCU.


January 5, 2006 – Valdosta State
“Samson in a Crew Cut”

The Date:
On this date, the Blazers (UAB) are 7-4. UAB is 6-2 at home on this date with the two losses coming in 1997 to Tulane and in 2002 to Louisville. UAB has lost three of its last four games on this date, but won last time, last year, against Southern Miss.

The first game played on January 5 occurred in 1979 at Georgia State. In this game, UAB lost its first ever Sun Belt Conference game. They had beaten Georgia State 100-81 in Birmingham earlier in the season. UAB led by four points with 2:10 left in the game, but Georgia State scored four points in three seconds to tie the game. Chris Falker hit a free throw and missed the second. Jackie Davis got the rebound, and put it back in the basket. UAB had the ball with 45 seconds to go, but turned the ball over, sealing the victory for Georgia State. Larry Spicer led the Blazers with 14 points.

On this date in 1987, UAB opened the Sun Belt Conference season against Old Dominion. UAB was 8-3 entering the game. ODU was 3-7. Sun Belt Player of the Year, Kenny Gattison had graduated. With 16 seconds left on the clock and UAB up by only one point, Tracy Foster was about to shoot two free throws. He stood at mid court talking to James Ponder about where to eat after the game. They decided on Arby's. He calmly stepped to the line and hit both free throws to seal the victory. "You don't want to think about a free throw in a situation like that." UAB had squandered a 14 point lead and Old Dominion tied the game at 49 with 8:48 to go on a 23-9 run. Eddie Collins missed his first free throw after making 16 straight, breaking a school record of 14. His second free throw put UAB up 50-49. In this game, James Ponder showed why he was one of UAB’s greatest unsung players. He had resprained his ankle in the first half. However in the second half, he leapt over the scorer’s table in the second half, going after a loose ball. He was also the leading scorer with 20 points although he played the game on an ankle he had resprained in the first half. . Eddie Collins and Tracy Foster each had 13. Michael Charles did not play with a sore back. After Foster's free throws, ODU shot a 3 point air ball, and Ponder rebounded, but was fouled. He added a free throw to get the final score.

The loss to Tulane in 1997 was the second worst home loss that UAB has ever suffered. It was also the site of one of the stranger episodes of Murry Bartow’s career at UAB. As warm-ups for the game began, it was obvious that something was amiss. Chad Jones, Norman Williams and Torrey Ward were dressed out and on the court for warm-ups but observers noticed that they somehow looked different. Will Bailey was in street clothes, although no injury had been announced. James Bristow and Hal Lewis were nowhere to be found. What did these six players have in common? All wore some form of facial hair. Murry Bartow was in his first season, and while Murry sometimes received criticism for not being enough of a disciplinarian, apparently this was not the case in his first year. Bartow had decided that no one on the team was to have facial hair. These guys did not have long ZZTop flowing beards, but small mustaches and James Bristow had a neatly trimmed beard. Chad Jones, Norman Williams and Torrey Ward complied with the new rule, but Bristow, Lewis and Bailey did not. These three players were not allowed to play in the first half of the game. However, as the second half started, Bristow, Lewis and Bailey came out dressed to play with baby smooth, freshly shaven faces. Cary Estes reported in the Birmingham Post Herald that they played in the second half, but the entire team “played like Samson in a crew cut.” Murry Bartow was quoted as saying "It is a simple matter. I require all the players to be clean shaven. They sat out until they were. It was just a team violation. It was something I wanted done. They’re going to do it the way I want it done." His new rule apparently was not permanent. The next year's media guide shows no less than six players with some sort of facial hair. Unfortunately, the team was apparently more interested in primping than practicing that week. The return of the three players at halftime did not help UAB in the second half. UAB was down by seven points at the half, but Tulane shot 60% in the second half to put the Blazers away. UAB could not get any help from its star, Carlos Williams who was playing with a bandaged hand, and sat out most of the second half. Tulane won the game 86-61. At one point, the Green Wave led by 32 points. UAB had lost to Louisville two days earlier on Friday by14 points, so in one weekend, the Blazers had suffered its worst and third worst loss in Arena history to that point. It was the first time the Blazers had lost consecutive home games in ten years. Carlos Williams who finished with only five points summed it up when he said “We don’t have confidence in each other and the team”. Jerold Honeycutt for the Green Wave led the way with 20 points. Torrey Ward finsihed with 13 for the Blazers.

The Opponent:
The Blazers have never played the Blazers. That’s right, the Valdosta State Blazers of the Division II Gulf South Conference. This is the first regular season non Division I game since 2002, when UAB played West Alabama. UAB has only lost once to a non Division I opponent, on November 26, 1994, when they lost 95-90 in overtime to American-Puerto Rico in the Puerto Rico Shootout.

The Bench:
This game was scheduled because UAB needed a game to round out their schedule, having failed to attract any bigger names to a series with UAB. Valdosta State probably agreed to a game, because of its connection to Jeff Daniels, UAB’s Director of Basketball Operations. For the last two years, Daniels was the Associate Head Coach at Valdosta State. He left Valdosta State when his head coach, Jim Yarbrough left to go to Southeastern Louisiana.

Mike Helfer is in his first year as head coach of the uhh…Blazers. He has never coached against our Blazers.

January 11, 2006 – Tulsa
The Heartland of Basketball

The Date:
Only four games have been played on this date and the Blazers are 3-1 in those games. We have only played one game at home on this date, a victory over North Carolina Charlotte in 1982.

UAB’s only loss on this date came in 1992 in Milwaukee against Marquette. It was the Blazers’ first game against Marquette and the first road game of the new Great Midwest Conference for the Blazers. Gene Bartow was excited about this trip and the beginning of conference play in the Great Midwest. In an interview before this game, the Missouri native admitted to being happy to be back in the heartland of basketball, playing games in Chicago, Memphis, Milwaukee and St. Louis. “The only ties I had in the cities of the Sun Belt were somebody who wanted to throw something at me or spit on me. I’m looking forward to this league.” He saw the Great Midwest as a conference of big arenas verses the Sun Belt with “a handful of fans in dreary buildings”. In this first game against Marquette, the Blazers entered the game 14-2 against a 9-3 Marquette team. UAB spotted Marquette 10 points to open the game as the Warriors jumped out to a 10-0 start. Bartow called timeout and then Stanley Jackson hit two three pointers six seconds a part to make the score 10-6. The score was close to the half, but UAB went ahead 34-32 on a Reginald Allen basket at the halftime buzzer. In the second half, UAB led 50-48 with 6:24 left. At that point, Marquette went on a 9-0 run and led 57-50 with 2:58 to go. The Blazers had gone 3:23 without scoring. The Warriors hit their free throws, and UAB could get no closer. UAB was outscored in the last six minutes 18-4 as Marquette won the game 66-54. After the game, Marquette coach Kevin O’Neill stated his second half strategy was to shut Stanley Jackson down. Stamp Jackson had 13 points in the first half, but O’Neill put Will Gates on him in the second half and held him to just four points. Will Gates would become famous a couple of years later as the star of the documentary “Hoop Dreams”. Jackson was the leading Blazer scorer with 17 points. Elbert Rogers had 14 and Reginald Allen had 11. The Blazers shot 36.5% from the field to Marquette’s 47%.

We leave this game to go to another conference first. On this date in 1997, the Blazers played at Houston. This was Houston’s first ever CUSA game. Houston had joined CUSA a year after the conference was formed and UAB was their first conference test. It was also the first meeting between the two schools. UAB entered the game with a 9-7 record, but was 0-3 in CUSA play. Houston was 8-4 overall. The Blazers started poorly and trailed by five at half time, mainly because UAB’s go to guy, Carlos Williams was 3 for 10 from the field and 0-3 from the free throw line in the first half. In the second half, Williams found his touch and was 6-13 from the field, 9-12 from the line for 21 second half points. At the 6:54 mark, Williams hit two free throws to put the Blazers ahead to stay. Coach Murry Bartow’s plan at the end of the game was to take time off the clock by working the shot clock down to ten seconds before shooting each possession. Houston’s coach Alvin Brooks said that “UAB had to play five seconds of defense and we had to play 35 seconds of defense”. The Blazers won 69-66. Carlos Williams led the Blazers with 27 points and 9 rebounds. James Bristow had 25 points and Chad Jones had 12 points, including two free throws with 17 seconds left that gave UAB a four point cushion to win the game. Houston would have a rough introduction to Conference USA. Over their first two years, they would win a total of five conference games.

The Opponent:
And now we come to another first conference game. It is Tulsa’s first ever conference game in CUSA. Although the two schools are meeting for the first time in a conference game, they have met five times previously. Tulsa has won three games and UAB has won twice.

The first 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.” Maybe he wasn’t joking. 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. VCU was the only school to have a winning record 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. With 1:43 to go in the game, the Blazers were down 86-84. Jack Kramer almost stole the inbounds pass, but Tulsa’s Reggie Shields got the ball and slammed it home, getting fouled on the play. The Blazers found themselves down 89-84 and 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.

Earlier this year, Squeaky Johnson set the record for most steals in a game when he nabbed 12 steals against South Carolina State. The record he broke was set by Damon Cobb against Tulsa on November 22, 1998. UAB was coming off a 91-54 thrashing by Indiana. Cobb had 9 steals and scored 27 points hitting 5 of 8 from the three point line. He had missed seven out of seven three pointers against Indiana. Cobb also went 12 of 12 from the free throw, and was 16 of 16 from the line in two games. The game was tied early at 15, but UAB went on a 11-0 run. Tulsa cut it to seven points with 7:48 left in the game, but UAB scored the next seven points highlighted by a Damon Cobb steal and court-length pass to Eric Holmes for the layup. The Blazers beat Tulsa in Birmingham by the score of 78-61 despite being short handed. Myron Ransom did not play due to a thumb injury and Fred Williams had been suspended for the first half. Coach Murry Bartow would not say what his infraction was.

The Bench
Tulsa has previously been known as a coaching factory because same great coaches have got their starts as head of the Golden Hurricane program. From Nolan Richardson to Tubby Smith, many coaches have made their jump to bigger programs from Tulsa. Is Doug Wojcik the next big name in coaching? Wojcik is in his first year as a head coach, but he has been an assistant coach for 15 years under the tutelage of head coaches, Don Devoe, Matt Doherty and Tom Izzo. Wojcik has never played or coached against the Blazers.

On the other hand, Mike Anderson is very familiar with Tulsa. He is a 1982 graduaate of the University of Tulsa got his coaching start under Nolan Richardson at Tulsa. Anderson was a two year starter for the Golden Hurricanes and averaged 12 points a game. It is the first time since becoming a head coach, that he has faced one of his former teams.

1/14/06 @ Marshall
The Marshall Plan

The Date:
January 14th is not a good day. We have played four games on this date and only won one game. We have two losses at Depaul, a loss to Charlotte and a win over South Florida. Unfortunately, the losses have been big.

On this date in 1984, the Blazers were off to their best start ever at 14-2. However, they faced their biggest challenge of the year in the #3 ranked DePaul Blue Demons, undefeated and playing at home. DePaul was led by Tyrone Corbin. The Blazers entered the game shorthanded. Steve Mitchell had injured his shoulder and had not practiced all week. He was not expected to play. The game was not close. The Blue Demons had a 19 point lead by halftime. Jerome Mincy went 0-4 in the first half and sat the bench in the second half. Coach Gene Bartow said that he went with players who were producing in the second half. One of those players was McKinley Singleton who scored 24 points, but his offense was not enough. DePaul hit 40 of their 62 field goals, shooting an amazing 64%. Tyrone Corbin had 25 points and 9 rebounds. Bartow even put Mitchell in the game for eight minutes, but he could only manage two points on his injured shoulder. The Blue Demons easily won 98-63. At the time, it was the worst loss in Blazer history, and still ranks among the five worst losses for UAB.

Also on this date IN 1989, the Blazers traveled to Tampa to play the South Florida Bulls. UAB was 9-4 entering the game and South Florida was 4-5. UAB, as they usually do in Tampa played poorly to start the game. The Blazers did not score until the 15:33 mark in the first half. With 13:46, the Bulls led 12-4. Alan Ogg received jeers and catcalls from the South Florida student section as he got his second foul four minutes into the game. Ogg often was the target of opposing student sections on the road and in some games, it had an affect on his play. This time, he said he let it fire him up. UAB finally got fired up as well. From the 13:46 mark, UAB outscored the Bulls 15-4 and took the lead for good. In the second half, South Florida had their own slump and did not score for the first five minutes of the second half. UAB took an eleven point lead. That lead was like a yo-yo as it went up and down. With 14 minutes to go, the Blazers were up by 12. That lead dropped to four with 12:29 to go. It went back up by 12 with 8:53 to go, but was back down to 4 at the 5:26 mark. The lead was at four with 2:09 to go. UAB’s Jack Kramer had a chance to increase the lead, but missed the front end of a one and one. After South Florida cut the lead to three with 1:57 to go, Kramer redeemed himself by hitting a three point shot and then hitting two free throws with 38 seconds to go. The Blazers won 73-61. Kramer led the team with 15 points. Reginald Turner and Alan Ogg each had 14 points and Andy Kennedy had 13 points.

Also on this date in 2003, new Blazer coach Mike Anderson coached his first home CUSA game against the Charlotte 49ers. UAB had played their first two CUSA games on the road, and had come away victorious in each. Charlotte had not won on the road all season. However, the 49ers jumped out to a 37-29 halftime lead. UAB battled back in the second half and cut the lead to 48-45 with 12:11 left in the game. Charlotte’s Eddie Basden answered with a layup and was fouled on the play. He hit his free throw and momentum swung back to the 49ers. His points sparked a 18-2 run that put Charlotte up by 19 with 7:48 left. The damage was done by one aptly named Demon Brown, who hit three of his nine three pointers during the scoring run. The Blazers could get no closer than 15 points and Charlotte would hand Mike Anderson his first CUSA loss and his worst loss ever at Bartow Arena. The 49ers won by the score of 78-58. Demon Brown’s nine three pointers was one short of the CUSA record. He scored 32 points and was 9 of 18 from the field. He even hit all five of his free throws. The Blazers on the other hand only hit five of 23 three pointers. Jeffrey Collins would lead the Blazers in scoring with 16 points.

The Opponent:
The Blazers have only played Marshall two times, each in the past two years. Many fans remember the first time we played the Thundering Herd on December 30, 2003. The Blazers were coming off a loss to LSU in the Sugar Bowl classic and was looking forward to an easy cupcake game at home before the new years. The Thundering Herd would win only 12 games that year, but they came into Bartow looking for a victory. The game was tied 66-66 when UAB’s Gabe Kennedy missed a short shot and the rebound fell out of bounds to Marshall with 15.4 seconds remaining in the game. Marshall’s Tre Whitted was almost tied up, but called a timeout with two seconds left. Marshall took the ball out of bounds, and got it to the Herd's Mark Patton on the left side of the foul lane. As he turned toward the basket, a foul was called. It appeared to many that the foul happened after time ran out, but the referees, in an effort to welcome Marshall to CUSA put 0.4 seconds on the clock. After a UAB timeout, Patton hit both free throws to win the game 68-66. UAB was led in scoring by Gabe Kennedy with 20 points. Coach Anderson was quoted as saying that the Blazers were "a half step behind all night". It would be one a low point in a great year.

The Place: Huntingdon, WV
UAB avenged that loss last season on December 4 when they traveled to Huntingdon, West Virginia to play the only game they have ever played there. In this last non conference game with the Thundering Herd, Marshall jumped out to a eight point lead, but UAB used it’s full court press to close the gap and tie the game at 40 entering the half. UAB then scored the first eight points of the second half and led throughout the second half. The Thundering Herd cut the lead to two, 80-78 with 44 seconds to go in the game. Marshall had a chance to tie the game with two seconds to go, but an A.W. Hamilton jumper missed from 14 feet. Donell Taylor hit a free throw to give the Blazers a three point victory.

In summary, Marshall has beaten us in Birmingham by two points and UAB has won by three in Huntingdon. Hopefully, this is not a precursor to a heated rivalry between the two schools in which both schools get their share of victories.

The Bench:
Ron Jirsa, coach at Marshall is 1-1 against the Blazers as a head coach. He was given his first coaching job by JD Barnett at VCU. He was a graduate assistant at Virginia Commonwealth in 1984-1985. That season, VCU and UAB each won one game. Jirsa was a member of the coaching staff that left VCU for Tulsa in 1985. That staff also included Tubby Smith. Jirsa was an assistant under Tubby Smith from 1991-1994. They played UAB in 1991 and Tulsa won. Jirsa’s overall coaching record against UAB is 3-2.

1/18/06 @ Rice
Jeff Hodge – Part One

The Date: 3-5
January 18 is yet another date in which the Blazers have a losing record. We are 3-5 in games played on this date. UAB is 1-5 on the road on this date. Our last game on this date was in 2003, a home win over Southern Miss.

In our last Today in Blazer History, I recalled the embarrassing 98-63 loss that UAB suffered at the hands of DePaul in 1984. Well, today’s date also has one of those horrible losses. On this date in 1989, the Blazers traveled to Mobile to take on South Alabama in an important Sun Belt game. UAB was 11-4 and 3-1 in Sun Belt play. South Alabama was 8-4 and 2-0 in Sun Belt play. They were led by the dangerous guard duo of Jeff Hodge and Junie Lewis. Hodge, a Birmingham native always played his best games against UAB who did not recruit him. UAB was playing its fifth game in 9 days, and the weary Blazers were no match for the Jaguars. South Alabama shot 62% (46 of 74) and hit 20 of their 22 free throws. They stole the ball 12 times to UAB’s two steals in route to a humiliating 114-84. 114 points is the most that has ever been scored on a Blazer team, topping the record set earlier that year by Tennessee with 111 points. Apparently UAB;s team that year did not play defense. The Blazers scored two points more than it’s average, and still lost by 30. Don’t be mislead. This was a good UAB team that would make the Final Four of the NIT. It’s just that South Alabama and Jeff Hodge always had their best games against the Blazers In Birmingham that year, he would score 26 points, but UAB would win 93-91. The two teams met in the Sun Belt Tournament semi finals in 1989 and Hodge would score 33 points against UAB as his team won 103-84. In this game in Mobile, he would score 31 points, making 14-16 shots from the field. He said after the game “Everytime we play UAB, I come out to play my best game ever. I felt I should have been part of that program. I wanted to go to UAB, but they didn’t recruit me.” A decision I’m sure Gene Bartow regretted. Jeff Hodge will appear in more Blazer History reports this year.

Enough of depressing losses. Let’s look at a game in which UAB won. On this date in 1992, the Blazers traveled out of conference and division to play Southwest Baptist of Bolivar, Missouri. UAB was originally supposed to have two weeks off between Great Midwest games against Marquette and Cincinnati, but Bartow wanted a game in between. He called friends in Missouri and scheduled the Bearcats. Southwest Baptist had a reputation of a run and gun school, and had went 29-3 the year before and had reached the Division II Final Four. Prior to the game, Southwest Baptist had suspended the coach and senior guard Glenn Stanley due to a pending NCAA investigation in which a booster had allegedly had co-sighned a car loan for Stanley who averaged 22.1 points and 9.6 rebounds a game. Southwest Baptist was playing its second game in two days. A steady snow was falling in Birmingham, so only 1,147 showed up at the game. The fans that stayed away missed the debut of UAB’s new blazk Karl Malone shoe, the “Catapult” by LA Gear. Bartow said that the last time he had a team wear black high tops was when he was a high school coach in Missouri. “We won a state championship in them.” Black hightops were the latest fashion trend in basketball, as many schools were following the lead of UNLV. Coach Bartow was looking forward to a relaxing game in which he could experiment with different lineups. “I could coach another ten years if all the games were like this one. It’s the Marquette, DePaul and Memphis games that wear you donw.” UAB jumped out to a 10-2 lead, but the Bearcats started hitting three point shots and cut the lead to 25-21. UAB led by seven, 40-33 at the half. The Blazers jumped out on a 10-0 run in the first six minutes of the second half. Southwest Baptist managed to cut the lead to nine with 9:02 left , but Reginald Allen hit a three pointer, and a steal and layup by Elbert Rogers made the score 59-45, and the Bearcats never threatened again. UAB won 82-66. Stanley Jackson led with 23 points. Elbert Rogers had 16 points.

The Opponent:
The Blazers have played new CUSA member on one previous occasion. On December 29, 1980, UAB and Rice played in the first round of the UAB Classic. Coach Gene Bartow was upset about attendance came to the game. All tickets for the lower level of the Birmingham Jefferson Coliseum had been sold, but only 6000 bothered to come to the game. The Owls were led by future NBA star, Ricky Pierce. Chris Giles was assigned to him and shut him down in the first half. UAB maintained the lead the entire game and won the game 78-60. Pierce scored most of his points late in the game, when the outcome was already decided. He finished with 29 points. Chris Giles was UAB’s leading scorer with 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting.

The Place:
If the current lineup of CUSA teams remain in place for long, UAB will have a long history of games played in Houston, Texas, since both Rice and Houston are based there. UAB has already played eleven games in Houston, Texas, with the most recent ones being played against the Houston Cougars. UAB is 5-2 against the Cougars in Houston, but have lost two of the last three in the city. This is the first time UAB has played Rice in Houston.

UAB also has a tournament history in Houston. In 1984, the Blazers defeated a Scott Skiles led Michigan State team 70-68. They would lose a heartbreaker the next round to Memphis State in overtime, 67-66. The following year, the Blazers were invited to play in the Preseason NIT tournament, with the first two rounds played in Houston. UAB defeated Texas A&M 71-68, but lost by 12 to Duke in the next round, 66-54.

The Bench:
Willis Wilson has been at Rice either as a player, assistant or head coach for 22 years. Everything Rice is in basketball, I guess can be attributed to him. He was a member of the Owl team that played UAB in 1980. That is the only time he has faced the Blazers.

January 21, 2006 Houston
Jeff Hodge –Part 2

The Date:
UAB finally plays on a date in which we have a winning record. The Blazers are 4-2 on this date. UAB is 2-1 at home. The last game played on this date was in 1999, a 80-64 loss to Tulane.

On this date in 1988, the Blazers traveled to Mobile to play South Alabama. The new coach at South Alabama was Ronnie Arrow, who had been very successful in junior college. The Blazers were 9-9 overall and 1-2 in conference play. This Blazer team had real problems on the road. They were 2-7 in road games, and 0-4 on the opponents court. UAB had lost 3 of the last four. Coach Gene Bartow was concerned about the game against South Alabama because he did not feel that the Blazers matched up well, especially against the Jaguars strong guard play of Junie Lewis and Jeff Hodge. The Blazers were inexperienced at the guard spot because they had lost their guard tandem of James Ponder and Tracy Foster to graduation. Hodge was the Sun Belt’s leading scorer at 23.8 points per game, but for this game he was listed as doubtful because of a groin injury. Looking back, it is almost impossible to believe that he was not going to play, given that he always played his best games against the Blazers. Coach Bartow would be right. The Jaguar guards were too much for the Blazers. The game was close until 11:07 to go in the game when South Alabama led by four points. The Jaguars then scored 12 points in a row to go up by 16, 76-60. With 3:38 left, South Alabama was up by 19 points, but the Blazers went on a 13-2 run to cut the lead to eight with 1:23 left. They could not get any closer and South Alabama won by 10, 90-80. The three guards for South Alabama scored 82 of their 90 points. Hodge would have 34 points on 11 of 19 shooting, Junie Lewis had 28 points on 11 of 17 shooting and Terrance Broadnax had 20 points on 10 of 12 shooting. South Alabama shot an amazing 65.3%. Only Michael Charles for UAB had good scoring output with 27 points. The Blazers shot fairly well at 50.9% but it wasn’t enough as they dropped below .500 at 9-10.

Today is the tenth anniversary of one of the greatest games in Bartow Arena history. Ten years ago today, the 12-6 Blazers went up against the undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats, undefeated at 12-0 and ranked 3rd in the country. This was the first year of Conference USA. Cincinnati had ruled the Great Midwest, but UAB had played the Bearcats as well as anyone in the 1990’s. Six of the ten games in the series had been decided by 7 points or less. The Blazers had won three straigtht at Bartow Arena, and had last lost at home to Cincinnati in 1992 to a Bearcat team that would go to the Final Four. “We have taken some real mature teams into Birmingham and struggled,” said Bob Huggins before the game. This was probably the best Bearcat team to come to Birmingham since that 1992 team. The attendance was listed as a sellout at 9233, but Cary Estes reported in the Post Herald that there were a sprinkling of empty seats and the ticket office never stopped selling General Admission tickets, so it was not a “hard” sellout. However, it was the largest crowd in Arena history at the time. Bob Huggins masks were passed out in the student section, and the crowd was perhaps the loudest Bartow Arena had ever been. The game was close throughout as neither team could shoot well. The Bearcats show 40% for the game and the Blazers, 38%. There were five lead changes and seven ties in the first half. Tied at 30 at halftime, Cincinnati took the a second half lead with on their first bucket and led by seven points with 3:13 to go. Cedric Dixon hit his fifth three pointer of the game with 2:34 to go and put UAB on top for good by hitting three straight free throws with 1:51 remaining. It was a thrilling finish as UAB had a four point lead with seven seconds left. Bearcat player Damon Flint drove the length of the court and scored, cutting the lead to two with one second to go. UAB’s inbound pass to get the clock started bounced out of bounds at the Cincinnati bench, which would have given the ball to the Bearcats and a chance for a last second shot. However, officials ruled that the ball was touched inbounds and the clock should have started. Officials ruled that the game was over, and UAB had won 70-68. UAB’s Anthony Thomas said he had touched the ball as it went out of bounds, but Bob Huggins felt differently. Huggins ran straight to the CUSA supervisor of officials, Dale Kelley to complain after the game. His complaints were ignored and UAB had defeated the #3 team in the country on national television. After the game, Gene Bartow said as he left the interview room, “Bob (Huggins) will be here in a minute. I’d rather be a little ways away when he does.” Although the Blazers had shot badly from the field, the key to the win as hitting their free throws. The Blazers hit 21 of their last 22 including their last 16 free throws in a row. Cincinatti hit just 4 of 10 in the last three minutes. Cedric Dixon led the Blazers with 25 points and Carlos Williams had 20 points. Danny Fortson led the Bearcats with 24 points and 13 rebounds. The Bearcats would be an Elite Eight team and finish the season 28-5.

The Opponent:
UAB has played Houston 16 times, and has won 13 of the games. The Blazers are 6-1 at home against Houston.

There have been many high scoring games against Houston. On January 9, 1999, the Blazers beat the Cougars 116-78. It is the most points ever scored by UAB in a conference game and was two points shy of the all time scoring record. Houston coach Clyde Drexler was quoted as saying after the game, “There are no easy games in CUSA, unless you were playing us tonight.” The teams met again in Houston on February 4, 1999. UAB entered the game at 15-7, and leading the CUSA National Division by two games with a 6-3 record. Houston was struggling along at 7-12 and 2-7 in CUSA. UAB had scored over 100 points in the two previous games against Houston, and appeared to be on their way to the century mark again when they opened the game by hitting its first five shots, four from three point range. The Blazers led by 10 five minutes into the game. Unfortunately, they went cold and allowed Houston back into the game. The Cougars went on a 11-0 run and took a one point lead. UAB got the lead back and led by five at the half. In the second half, UAB never trailed. Houston made a couple of runs and cut the lead to three with
4 ½ minutes to go. Willie Mitchell hit a jumper and sparked a 10-2 run to take a double digit lead with 1:51 left in the game. The Blazers won 90-82. Fred Williams had 26 points and Damon Cobb and Willie Mitchell each had 15. Gee Gervin for Houston had 30 points.

Our last game against Houston occurred last year on March 5, 2005 in Houston . It was the last game of the regular season and UAB entered the game 19-9. Houston was 17-12. Both teams were 9-7 in conference and were jockeying for seeds in the upcoming CUSA tournament. Marvette McDonald was expected to miss the game, because his mother had died a day earlier. Coach Anderson had given him the opportunity to miss the game to be with his family. However, he told the coach that the team was his family as well, and he wanted to play. Attendance was 6420, which was the largest Houston crowd of the year. UAB trailed 37-35 at halftime. A 10-0 run to start the second half put the Blazers down by 12 points. UAB battled back and a dunk by Ernest Little with 12:20 left cut the lead to two points, 49-47. Houston pushed the lead up to eight points with 9:48 to play, but a McDonald three pointer and a Paul Delaney layup cut the lead back to three with 8:23 to play in the game. Houston pushed the lead back to eight, but Demario Eddins scored six points on an 8-0 Blazer run to tie the game at 64 with 2:24 on the clock. Two free throws by Houston put the Cougars up by two. At the 1:29 mark, Marvett McDonald, playing with emotion over his mother’s death hit a three pointer that gave UAB’s its first lead since 8:20 left in the first half. McDonald scored four free throws in the final 18 seconds and had the final seven points of the game to give UAB the win, 71-66. The win secured UAB’s 20th win of the season and the #4 seed and a bye in the CUSA tournament.

The Bench:
Tom Penders has been head coach at more schools than any other Division I coach. He has coached at Tufts College, Columbia, Rhode Island, Texas, George Washington, and now Houston. His game last year against the Blazers which he lost, was the first time he ever coached against UAB.

January 26, 2006 - @ Memphis
The Incredible Ogg – You Won’t like Me when I’m Angry

The Date: 5-2
UAB is 5-2 on January 26. UAB is 1-2 on the road on this date. Our last game on this date was a win over Tulane, 80-63 in 2002.

On this date in 1985, UAB hosted Virginia Commonwealth, ranked #19 in the nation at the time. The BJCC was almost full with a crowd of 16,866 as the Rams came to town. UAB would win the game 66-62 as Steve Mitchell would hit two free throws with eleven seconds left to seal the win. Marvin Ray Johnson was the hero of the game as he went 3 for 3 in the second half and scored four of the last seven points. His basket at the two minute mark put UAB up by three and he hit two free throws with 58 seconds to go, to put the Blazers up by three again. The Blazers were hot and cold in this game. In the final 15 minutes of the game, after missing their first eight shots, they were 11 of 12 field goals the rest of the game. Mitchell led the Blazers with 25 points. After the game, in what would become increasingly common, Gene Bartow denied reports that he was being considered as a candidate for a coaching vacancy at the University of Washington. He indicated that he was only consulting with them concerning the vacancy, which was of course, is how he got the job at UAB.

Also on this date in 1987, UAB played a Sun Belt Conference game at Jacksonville. It was marked by the emergence of freshman Alan Ogg. Ogg had not done much thus far in his freshman year, playing in every game, but averaging about one point a game. Blazer fans were starting to wonder if the program’s first seven footer would be a bust. In this game at Jacksonville, the Blazers were 12-6 coming into the game with a 4-2 conference record. Jacksonville, led by Ronnie Murphy with 20 points had beaten the Blazers in Birmingham 71-69 earlier in the month. Jacksonville had one of their best teams in years as they would go 11-3 in conference and 19-11 overall. At this point in the season, the Dolphins were 6-0 and #1 in the conference. UAB was third in the Sun Belt. Jacksonville had won 14 straight league games, which was a Sun Belt record. This game was a close game throughout, and Jacksonville led by 2 at halftime. However, Jacksonville made one mistake that probably cost them the game. They made Ogg mad. Midway through the second half, he dunked a basket and stared at Jacksonville player OJ McDuffie. Ronnie Murphy poked Ogg, in the face with his finger. Angry words were exchanged, but there was no fighting or technicals. Ogg, who was mild-mannered to say the least, said after the game about the altercation, “It’s a shame it happened. He could have poked my eye out.” The incident did get him fired up. He became UAB’s version of the Incredible Hulk. UAB trailed 67-60 with 5:25 left. Ogg hit two free throws that sparked an 8-0 run. He played like a man possessed as he scored 14 points (including 6 of 6 from the free throw line), six rebounds, and two block shots. It appeared that UAB would win when Tracy Foster hit two free throws to make the score 74-71 with nine seconds remaining. However, Jacksonville player, Pat LaGuerre drove the court and hit a three pointer, tying the game and sending it to overtime. Neither team led by more than two points in overtime. The Dolphins took the lead 80-79 with 24 seconds left in overtime. UAB called timeout and then worked the ball down to two seconds. A short jumper with two seconds to go by James Ponder gave the Blazers the victory 81-80 in overtime. The real key to the game was UAB’s amazing free throw shooting. They made 24 free throws out of 26 shot, for 92.3%. The point totals were even for the Blazers as Eddie Collins had 17 points, Tracy Foster had 15, Ogg had 14, Michael Charles had 12 points and James Ponder had 11 points and 9 rebounds. Ronnie Murphy had 22 points for Dolphins, who would finish second in the conference and receive an NIT bid.

The Opponent:
UAB has lost more games to Memphis than any other opponent. The Blazers are 9-20 against the Tigers. We have won twice and lost 12 against Memphis in Memphis. The Blazers have lost the last on the road to Memphis, winning last in 1999.

The two UAB-Memphis games we will look at today both occurred in 1995. On January 21, 1995, the Tigers traveled to Bartow Arena to take on the 9-9 Blazers. This was the first game against the University of Memphis, who had changed their name from Memphis State the previous summer. The Blazers had no players taller than 6’8”, and were going up against a 6’11” Lorenzen Wright and 6’10” David Vaughn. The Blazers entered the game having lost six of its last nine games. The Tigers on the other hand had won 11 of 13 games. To make matters worse, Coach Bartow announced that D’Shanti Foreman had left the team for personal reasons. Bartow had hoped Foreman would pick up the slack on the offensive end when the Blazers had lost Carlos Williams earlier in the season to a knee injury. However, Foreman had not produced, and left the team angry about lack of playing time. According to the Birmingham News, around 1000 Memphis fans made up the crowd of 6716. It looked as if it would be a Memphis blowout as the Tigers jumped out to a 6-0 lead. Gene Bartow called timeout and told his team to “keep shooting threes and have fun.” The Blazers, led by Leonard Bush, who hit four of eight three pointers in the first half took the lead at the 14:35 mark of the first half.. UAB was up by 12 at the half, and led by 20 with 10:01 left in the game. Lorenzen Wright had a scoring average of 16.4 points and 11.4 rebounds, but against UAB, he scored zero points and only took two shots in 29 minutes of play. He only had four rebounds. David Vaughn had 11 points and 12 rebounds. The Blazers used a sagging defense to deny Wright, Vaughn and Cedric Henderson the ball. This opened up the outside, but the Tiger’s long shots were not falling. In the second half, UAB used great passing to break the Memphis press and to get easy buckets. The Blazers won the game easily 80-63. Anthony Thomas led with 28 points, 21 of them in the second half. Leonard Bush had 21 points as the Blazers went to 10-9.

One week later, the two teams played again, this time in the Pyramid in Memphis. The Blazers had not played since that game, so they were playing Memphis back to back. The game opened with neither team able to score. UAB led 3-2 with 16:57 to go in the half. Unfortunately, that was the Blazers only lead. In the game in Birmingham, UAB had managed to keep the ball away from the Tiger big men, took care of the ball and shot well. In this game, UAB could not hold onto the ball (17 turnovers in the first half) and could not shoot (29% in the first half verses 55% for the Tigers.) The Blazers were down by two, 15-13 eleven minutes into the game, but from Memphis outscored UAB 23-2 to take a 43-17 lead to halftime. The Tigers went on to win the game 74-67, although the game was not as close as the score indicates. UAB scored the final 12 points of the game in the last 2:35 to make the final score a little more respectable. Antohony Thomas led the Blazers with 20 points. Cedric Henderson for Memphis would score 16 points. This Memphis team had four players, Lorenzen Wright, Cedric Henderson, Chris Garner and David Vaughn who would play in the NBA. They also had Michael Wilson who has had a long career as a Harlem Globetrotter.

The Place:
UAB has recruited some great players out of Memphis. From Darryl Braden to Lawrence Kinnard, a total of 16 Memphians have suited up for the Blazers. While UAB has gotten recruits in Memphis, they have not been as lucky getting wins in Memphis. The Blazers have won 3 games and lost 16 games in Memphis. UAB’s record against the Tigers in Memphis is 2-15. The other games were played in conference tournaments including our 1-1 record from last year’s CUSA tournament. Our two wins over Memphis occurred in 1993 and 1999. UAB has never played Memphis in the Fed Ex Forum.

The Bench:
John Calipari is 6-2 against UAB, but he is on a one game losing streak after losing last year to the Blazers 73-70 in Bartow Arena. Calipari has also faced UAB as an assistant coach. In 1984, he was an assistant to Larry Brown when Brown coached Kansas and played UAB in the championship game of the Great Alaskan Shootout. UAB won that game 50-46.

January 28, 2006 – Southern Miss
“Putting on the Ritz”

The Date:
The Blazers are 4-2 on January 28. Five of those six games were played at home with the only road game a 1995 loss at Memphis. UAB is 4-1 at home on this date. The only home loss was to Charlotte in 1989. UAB last played on this date in 2004 in a win over Tulane 80-59.

Our first game played on this date occurred in 1980 when the Blazers played North Carolina Charlotte. UAB was leading the Sun Belt with a 6-1 record. This was the first game back for Blazer starters Oliver Robinson, Larry Spicer and George Jones, who had been suspended for one game for missing the team bus. UNCC jumped out to a 7-0 start, but the Blazers came back, led by Keith McCord who had 15 first half points. UAB took a 35-34 lead on a Greg Leet jumper. Charlotte was able to take the lead again, but UAB went up to stay with 1:28 left in the first half when Oliver Robinson scored a bucket. In the 2nd half, the Blazers got the lead to as high as 15 points, 66-51 with 7:43 left. However, All American 49er, Chad Kinch got hot and UNCC went on a 15-4 run, getting the score down to four points. In the last 3:12, UAB hit 14 of 16 free throws assuring the victory 84-76. Keith McCord led with 24 points. Greg Leet and Oliver Robinson each had 14.

On this date in 1984, it was homecoming and the theme was “Putting on the Ritz”. The homecoming opponent was Sun Belt foe, the Jacksonville Dolphins. Jacksonville came into the game having won two straight games in overtime. They had won at North Carolina Charlotte in overtime and had won at Western Kentucky in three overtimes. Both games were won by two points. The Dolphins had gone 7-22 and winless in the Sun Belt the previous year, but appeared to have turned it around for the 1983-84 season with a 9-7 record. The Blazers were 16-4 and 4-1 in conference. UAB started this game hot as Jacksonville played zone and Steve Mitchell and McKinley Singleton hit four shots from outside. As soon as the Dolphins came out of their zone, the Blazers turned cold and Jacksonville took the lead at the 7:48 mark in the first half. They held an 32-22 lead at halftime. Jacksonville maintained that lead and led by 11 with 44-33 with 14 minutes to go and the margin was 9 with six minutes left. James Ponder hit a couple of shots as UAB began closing the gap. Jack Gordon started hitting the boards in the UAB comeback. He had 9 points all in the second half and 14 rebounds, eleven of which were in the second half. The Blazers tied the game at 63 with 1:47 left in the game on a Tracy Foster jumper. However, Jacksonville pushed the lead back out to four points. The Blazers would not give up. McKinley Singleton tied the game again at 68 with two free throws with 27 seconds left. The Dolphins missed their shot at the buzzer, and the game was headed to overtime. The Blazers entered overtime with three Steve Mitchell, Jerome Mincy and Marvin Ray Johnson on the bench with five fouls. Someone else would have to step up. UAB jumped out to a 72-68 lead on jumpers by Jack Gordon and McKinley Singleton. , but a pair of Jacksonville three point plays got the Dolphins back in the game. In those days, Sun Belt rules stated that the shot clock was turned off for the last four minutes of a game. Ponder, Foster and Singleton tried to dribble the clock down. Ponder was fouled with 1:01 left in overtime and the score tied at 74. He missed the first free throw and hit the second. That free throw turned out to be the game winner, as UAB missed two front ends of one and ones, and Jacksonville couldn’t capitalize. After a missed Jack Gordon free throw with 3 seconds to go. Jacksonville called timeout. Their last chance towin the game ended when Gordon intercepted the inbounds pass and UAB won 75-74. Steve Mitchell led the Blazers with 23 points and McKinley Singleton had 22. Jacksonville’s great combination of Ronnie Murphy and Otis Smith scored 49 of Jacksonville’s 74 points. Murphy had 27 points and Smith had 22 points.

On this date in 1992, Tim Floyd and his New Orleans Privateers came to Birmingham to play the Blazers. UAB was 15-4, but had lost three of their last five games. New Orleans was 13-7, but had beaten Pittsburgh and Virginia, and had lost to an undefeated Oklahoma State in overtime. UAB had struggled in games where the opponent had a true big man, and New Orleans had 6’11” Earvin Johnson, averaging 15.4 points a game and 11 rebounds. Tim Floyd entered this game with a game strategy of keep away. They slowed the game down and the Blazers had to chase the ball. New Orleans passed the ball back and forth until the shot clock wound down. Floyd said he had to do this because he had to keep his poor defense off the court. The halftime score was New Orleans 18, UAB 13. Thirteen points was a new school low for the Blazers in a half. In the second half, the Privateers increased their lead to 32-23. At the pace the game was being played, the lead might have been insurmountable, however, the Blazers caught a break when New Orleans started missing their free throws and the Blazers started hitting their shots. Two points for one point on each possession brought UAB back. The Blazers finally took the lead at the 2:14 mark when Carter Long hit a three point shot, making the score 47-46. The Blazers held on to win 54-50. It was only the third time in UAB’s history had it scored fewer points and won. They have won a few times since then with fewer points, including a 41-39 win over South Alabama in 1995. Coach Gene Bartow called this game a “horribly stressful game”.

The Opponent:
UAB is 14-8 against Southern Mississippi. The two teams played four non conference games against each other in the early days of UAB’s program, and the Blazers won all four games. Since CUSA play started, UAB holds a 10-8 lead over the Golden Eagles. However, the Blazers are 9-2 against Southern Miss in Birmingham. UAB’s last home loss to Southern Miss was in 2001 when the Golden Egals won 64-52.

The Blazers played their first game against Southern Miss during their inaugural season of 1978-79. On January 10, 1979, Southern Miss traveled to Birmingham to play the fledging young Blazers. On the day of the game, UAB had just received the good news that the NCAA had adopted a rule change that would allow full membership in the NCAA by 1980-81, a year ahead of schedule. Previously, a team had to compete as an associate member at the division one level for two years before becoming a member. The rule changed the wording to say that a school had to EXIST at the Division One level. This applied to UAB since it had existed for two years, although it had only one year of competition. Southern Miss entered the game ranked fifth in the country in scoring offense, averaging a high powered 93.1 points per game. The Golden Eagles were led by Jerome Arnold who averaged 24 points per game. Coach Bartow assigned Leon Morris to defend Arnold. Morris was credited by Bartow as doing an excellent job on defense because Arnold had only 15 points on 4 of 20 shooting. Actually most of his 15 points came late in the game after Morris had fouled out. Arnold fouled out of the game with nine minutes to go in the game. The refs wore out their whistles in this game as 54 fouls were called on both teams, 25 for Southern Miss, and 29 for UAB. In the first half, Southern Miss shot poorly, 28% in the first half and UAB jumped out to a big lead in the first half. They led by 18 with 1:30 to go in the first half. In the second half, Southern Miss warmed up and began cutting into the lead. They came back and was down by two points, 83-81 with 2:50 to go. It was up to the Blazers to hit their foul shots to win the game, and they did. UAB hit 14 of 15 free throws in the final four minutes. UAB would hold on to win 93-87. Southern Miss coach M.K. Turk was astonished at the Blazers in their first year. “I’m amazed they were able to assemble this type of talent in just one year.” Larry Spicer led the Blazers in their win with 26 points on 10 of 14 shooting. Greg Leet had 22 points and George Jones had 12.

UAB and Southern Miss would meet again in the championship game of the UAB Classic on December 30, 1980. The Golden Eagles were led that year by Joe Dawson, a player from Tuscaloosa. He had not received any scholarship offers and had planned to walk on at UAB, when Southern Miss offered him a scholarship at the last minute. It had paid off for them because he was there leading scorer, averaging 18 points per game. Southern Miss was entered the game at 6-2. The game was extremely close, and the lead changed hands 7 times in the first half, and 6 times in the second half. Neither team led by more than four points. It was a low scoring game because of poor shooting. UAB shot 35% in the first half, and USM shot 31%. With 33 seconds to go in the game, Southern Miss hit two free throws to tie the game at 49. Both Oliver Robinson and Donnie Speer got good shots off, but neither could get them to go, and the game went to overtime. In overtime, Oliver Robinson hit a quick basket, and then Glenn Marcus hit three free throws to open up a UAB lead. The Blazers hit 9 of 13 free throws in overtime to win the game, 60-55. Joe Dawson was named MVP of the tournament mainly because of his rebounding skills. He had 16 rebounds against UAB and 17 rebounds against Wagner in the first round. The Blazers were led in scoring by Oliver Robinson with 19 points, and Craig Lane had 17 points.

The Bench:
Larry Eustachy has not made the quick turnaround at Southern Miss that many suspected, mainly because the door to the gym in Hattiesburg appears to be a revolving door. Eustacy faced the Blazers as a head coach for the first time last year. UAB won the game 83-75. Eustachy has faced UAB as an assistant coach in the past. From 1981-1986, he was an assistant coach to Bob Boyd at Mississippi State. UAB and Mississippi State played each other three times during that period and UAB won two of the three.