Tigers to Renew Rivalry With UAB on Saturday

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis men's basketball program renews a heated rivalry with UAB on Saturday afternoon, as the Tigers host the Blazers at noon at FedExForum in the 47th game of the all-time series.

GAME INFORMATION
Memphis (6-2) vs. UAB (5-4)
When: Saturday, December 10
Tip-Off: noon (CT)
Location: Memphis, Tenn.
Arena: FedExForum
TV: WMC-TV / ESPN3
Jeff Brightwell, play-by-play
Jon Albright, analyst
Radio: Memphis Radio Network / 600 WREC / Rock 103
Dave Woloshin, play-by-play
Matt Dillon, analyst
Forrest Goodman, pregame / postgame host
Live Stats: Memphis Sidearm Live Stats

SCOUTING THE BLAZERS

UAB comes into the game after splitting each of its first nine games in even fashion, following every win with a loss, and every loss with a win for a 5-4 overall record.
    In the team's last game, an 84-73 win at Stephen F. Austin, UAB put five players in double-figures in the scoring column, and hit 72.1 percent of its shots (31-of-43), including 27-of-33 from within the three-point arc. The total is the highest percentage in the NCAA this season, and the fifth-highest in a game since 2011-12.
    The team was led by 21 points from Javien Williams, who hit 6-of-9 shots from the field and 8-of-10 free throws. William Lee had a perfect day from the field scoring 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field, while adding a game-high nine rebounds and five blocked shots. Dirk Williams scored 13 off of the bench, while Deion Lavender scored 12 and Hakeem Baxter 10.
    For the year, three players average in double-figures, led by Chris Cokley who puts up 12.0 points and grabs 5.1 rebounds per game. Williams averages 11.3 points, while Lee averages 11.1 while leading the team by pulling down 6.0 rebounds per game, in blocked shots with 27 (22nd in the country), and in steals with 8. Lavender has dished out a team-best 45 assists for the Blazers who have losses to Furman, Kansas, Saint Mary's, and Auburn this season.

THE GENE BARTOW LEGACY

The two teams share a common head coach, the legendary Gene Bartow. Bartow spent four seasons at Memphis, leading the team to an 83-32 record, a 55-5 mark at home, and a NCAA Championship Game appearance. He followed his stint with the Tigers with a season at the University of Illinois, before spending the next two seasons as head coach of UCLA from 1975-77. After his two seasons with the Bruins, he helped create the athletic program at UAB, serving as the school's first head basketball coach and athletic director for 18 seasons. In 2009, he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Bartow went 366-203 with the Blazers, coaching until 1996. When Gene retired, he handed the reigns of the program over to his son, Murray, who went 103-83 in six seasons at the helm.

KEEPING TABS ON THE BLAZERS

Of UAB's six current and former head coaches, four are currently head coaches at the Division I level. Mike Anderson (head coach from 2002-2006) is currently the head coach at Arkansas, Mike Davis (head coach from 2006-2012) is the head coach at Texas Southern, Jarod Haase (head coach from 2012-2016) was lured away from Birmingham this past summer to become head coach at Stanford. The program's second head coach, Murray Bartow, is currently an assistant coach in the American Athletic Conference at the University of South Florida.

BARTOW AT JUST UNDER HALF

The UAB men's basketball program is in its 39th year of existence, and has had just six head coaches. Of those six, program founder Gene Bartow coached for 18 seasons, just under half of the entire history of the program.

ONLY ONE IN THE COUNTRY

Dedric Lawson ranks 16th in the country in rebounds per game, and 53rd in the country in points per game. With that, he is currently the only player in NCAA Division I to average 20+ points and 10+ rebounds per game.

UAB BACK-TO-BACK IN THE POSTSEASON

The Blazers return four starters and 10 total letterwinners from the team last season that went 26-7, falling in the first round of the NIT at BYU. The year before the Blazers went 20-16, winning the conference tournament and earning a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament. There, UAB bat Iowa State 60-59 in the second round, before falling 92-75 to UCLA two days later.

NOVEMBER WINS

Memphis ended the month of November with a 6-1 record, which ties the program record for the most wins in the month. The six victories ties the mark set by the 2007-08 season for wins in the 11th month of the calendar year.

AT HOME AGAINST CONFERENCE USA

The University of Memphis was a founding member of Conference USA, along with Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Saint Louis, USF, Tulane, UAB, and Southern Miss. Memphis was a member of the league until 2013 when the school left for the American Conference. Conference USA was founded in 1995 by the merger of the Metro Conference and Great Midwest Conference.

ROBERT EHSAN vs. THE TIGERS

First year UAB head coach Robert Ehsan has an 0-3 all-time record against Memphis during his coaching tenure. The first meeting between an Ehsan-coached team was during the 2008-09 when Maryland (where he was an assistant coach) fell to Memphis in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 2012-13 season was Ehsan's first season as an assistant coach at UAB, and also the final year for Memphis in Conference USA. The Tigers swept the two meetings that season.

SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE

Memphis currently ranks second in the country in assists per game, at 21.3 per contest. The team had spent some time at the top spot, but has dropped to second, just ahead of Oakland's 20.8 assist per game average.

Rk.	School	Ast.	Ast./G
1.	UCLA	216	24.0
2.	Memphis	170	21.3
3.	Oakland	187	20.8
4.	Kentucky	165	20.6
5.	Purdue	184	20.4
6.	The Citadel	204	20.4
7.	St. Mary's (Calif.)	120	20.0
8.	Loyola Marymount	99	19.8
9.	Portland State	117	19.5
10.	Michigan State	194	19.4

BIG GAME ASSISTS

Memphis' 35 assists against McNeese State are not only the second-most in program history, it is the second-highest total in the NCAA this season. It is also the Fifth-highest total in the NCAA for a single game since 2013-14. Below are the top seven single-game assist totals since 2013-14.

	School	Ast.	Opponent	Year
1.	Citadel	42	Mid. Atl. Christian	2015-16
2.	Baylor	40	Hardin-Simmons	2015-16
3.	Idaho	39	New Hope Christian	2015-16
4.	Oregon	36	Savannah State	2016-17
5.	Memphis	35	McNeese	2016-17
	Davidson	35	Duquesne	2014-15
	Iona	35	Delaware St.	2014-15

TEAMING UP ON THE BOARDS

This season Memphis' Lawson duo of Dedric and K.J. combine to average 19.0 rebounds per game. That is the third-highest teammate average in the country. Below are the top five teammate rebounding totals in the NCAA this season.

Rk.	School	Student-Athletes	Rebs.
1.	UCF	Tacko Fall (12.9)	20.2
		Nick Banyard (7.3)
2.	Hofstra	Rokas Gustys (13.8)	19.1
		Ty Greer (5.3)
3.	Memphis	Dedric Lawson (10.9)	19.0
		K.J. Lawson (8.1)
	UCLA	Thomas Welsh (9.6)	19.0
		TJ Leaf (9.4)
5.	Georgia Tech	Ben Lammers (11.1)	18.7
		Quinton Stephens (7.6)

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Players Mentioned

Dedric Lawson

K.J. Lawson

University of Memphis Athletics