Nov. 16, 2009
UAB-Jacksonville State Game Notes (PDF)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will play its fourth-straight road game to start the 2009-10 season when it travels to take on Jacksonville State on Tuesday night at 7:45 p.m. The contest marks the fourth meeting between the two schools, but it is the first time that the Blazers will play at JSU.
UAB enters the contest at Jacksonville State sporting a 2-1 overall record, capturing wins over Green Bay (68-56) and Samford (55-52) at the Hispanic College Fund Classic in Kent, Ohio. The Blazers dropped their lone game to tournament host Kent State (72-65) on Saturday.
Leading the way for the Green and Gold is junior guard Elijah Millsap, who averages team highs in scoring (16.7 ppg), rebounding (7.3 rpg), assists (2.7 apg) and steals (1.5 spg). Senior forward Howard Crawford is the only other Blazer to average double figures, collecting 14.7 points a contest.
As a team, the Blazers are shooting 41.5 percent from the floor and 37.0 percent from beyond the arc over their three contests. UAB also boasts a 6.0 advantage on the boards (35.3-29.3).
UAB head coach Mike Davis is now in his fourth season at the helm of the Blazers' basketball program and his 10th season as a head coach. He boasts a record of 62-40 (.596) at UAB and a 177-119 (.598) record overall.
Jacksonville State comes into Tuesday night's matchup with a 1-0 record on the season. The Gamecocks defeated West Alabama, 93-64, in their only contest of the year thus far. The Gamecocks outscored the Tigers, 34-10, over the final 10 minutes of the game to break open what had been a close game from the opening tip. Before the late run began, neither team led by more than eight.
The Gamecocks were led by forward Stephen Hall's 19 points on the night, to lead five players in double figures. Newcomers Jay-R Strowbridge and Trenton Marshall each added 17 points in their JSU debuts.
JSU head coach James Green is in his second season with the program and owns a 12-17 (.414) record. Now in his 13th season overall, Green boasts a 179-177 (.503) record overall.
All-Tournament Honors
UAB senior forward Howard Crawford and junior guard Elijah Millsap earned all-tournament honors at the Hispanic College Fund Classic over the weekend.
Mr. Everything?
UAB junior guard Elijah Millsap is proving that he was worth the wait. Millsap was tabbed the Conference USA Rookie of the Week for his performance at the Hispanic College Fund Classic last weekend. During UAB's three contests at the event, Millsap averaged team highs in points (16.7), rebounds (7.3), assists (2.7) and steals (1.7). Additionally, Millsap is the UAB leader in three-point field goal percentage (.545), threes made (6) and attempted (11) and free throws made (14) and attempted (21). He collected his first double-double of the season in his first game with 22 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Green Bay. He nearly recorded another double-double in the victory over Samford with 10 points and nine boards.
Second-Half Team?
In each of the three contests at the Hispanic College Fund Classic, UAB trailed at halftime only to come back and either take the lead or win the game. The Blazers trailed by two points to Green Bay at the half, 30-28, before outscoring the Phoenix, 40-26, to win by 12 (68-56). In the loss to Kent State, UAB trailed by 11 at intermission (35-24) and came back to take a lead late in the game before falling, 72-65. In the tournament finale against Samford, the Blazers trailed 30-23 after the opening 20 minutes and came back to win 55-52, outscoring the Bulldogs, 32-22, over the final 20 minutes.
Below is a breakdown of UAB's second half compared to its opponents.
1st half (Avg) 2nd half (Avg.)
UAB 75 (25.0) 113 (37.7)
Opp. 95 (31.7) 85 (28.3)
Diff. -20 (-6.7) +31 (+8.6)
Quotables
UAB Head Coach Mike Davis
On Sunday's win over Samford:
"Well it was tough for us to play the last game Saturday night and the first game on Sunday. We had less than 24 hours to prepare for a team for the style they play takes two to three days to have your kids feel comfortable with it. To come back and play through everything and hold them to no three-point field goals in the second half and shooting 15% for the game I thought was great for our kids. Our kids fought hard, played hard, stayed focused on the game plan and gave us a big win."
On the team's performance at the tournament:
"We ended up beating Green Bay the first night by 12, which was the largest margin of victory in the event. We had a chance to beat Kent State, but again you have to give Kent State credit, they made shots when they needed to make shots."
On Howard Crawford:
"We're making Howard Crawford our go-to guy and he's never had to play that role before. He's had some big plays for us and we went to him against Green Bay and he stepped up and made some shots."
On the team's need for more game experience:
"We have guys that can make plays. The problem we have right now is they haven't played together long enough in game-type situations. Practice is one thing, but you have to get them in a game. We have to continue to close the gap between our potential and our performance."
On playing Jacksonville State Tuesday:
"I know Coach Green and he's a hard-nosed guy. They have some talent in Jay-R Strowbridge who played at Nebraska and transferred back to Jacksonville State. Also Trenton Marshall who was at one time last year ranked the No. 1 junior college player in the country. So to have that type of talent on your basketball team is dangerous for us. It's also an in-state game. Anytime you play an in-state foe somebody's going to get juiced up for the game.
"We have to go over there and continue to play our system. We have to share the ball and make one or two more passes before we shoot the basketball. On defense we have to make sure that we get to the right spots quicker and rebound the ball better. I think we're doing a great job on the offensive glass, but on the defensive boards we're probably giving up too many offensive rebounds. "
UAB Junior Guard Elijah Millsap
On how the team's progressing:
"We're progressing real well. We learned a lot from this weekend. We still have a young team and we went to a tournament were there were a lot of defensive-minded teams. We learned a lot from the loss to Kent State and we have a long way to go."
On UAB's non-conference schedule:
"It's going to be very important. I think we can learn a lot from our non-conference schedule. We really want to win, but the most important thing is getting better game by game and I think we're doing that."
On playing Jacksonville State Tuesday:
"It's going to be a big game. We just need to make sure we don't come out with a lackluster effort and let them sneak up on us. We can't get caught up in the crowd or being on the road. We just have to stick to what we do and get out of there with a win."
