UAB Blazers men's basketball

UAB Blazers
2011–12 UAB Blazers men's basketball team
University	University of Alabama at Birmingham
Conference	C-USA East Division
Location	Birmingham, AL
Head coach	Mike Davis (6th year)
Arena	Bartow Arena (Capacity: 8,508)
Nickname	Blazers
Colors	Green and Old Gold and White
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
1982
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
1981, 1982, 2004
NCAA Tournament Round of 32
1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 2004, 2005
NCAA Tournament appearances
1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011
Conference tournament champions
1982, 1983, 1984, 1987
Conference regular season champions
1981, 1982, 1990, 1999, 2004, 2011

The UAB Blazers men's basketball team represents the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I men's college basketball, and have competed in Conference USA (C-USA) since 1995. The team is currently coached by Mike Davis.

History

The UAB Blazers, in effect, started their entire athletics program with the creation of a men's basketball team in 1978. Setting high standards from the start, UAB hired former UCLA, University of Illinois and Memphis head coach Gene Bartow. Known to many as the "Father of UAB athletics", Bartow led the Blazers to almost instant success. Since their inaugural season, the Blazers have made 14 appearances in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament including 3 Sweet Sixteen appearances and 1 Elite Eight appearance. UAB has also appeared in the NIT a total of 11 times, including 2 appearances in the NIT Final Four. After 33 years of basketball, UAB has had 30 winning seasons including wins over Kentucky, Indiana, Louisville, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Virginia, Villanova, Cincinnati, Connecticut and Memphis, among others. UAB has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll many times in school history and as recently as 2010.

Coaches

UAB Men's Basketball Coaches

Coach	Years	Wins-Losses
Gene Bartow	1978–1996	365–204 (.641)
Murry Bartow	1996–2002	103–83 (.554)
Mike Anderson	2002–2006	89–41 (.685)
Mike Davis	2006–Present	108–59 (.652)
Overall		665–387 (.633)

Season by Season Records

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
UAB (Independent) (1978–1979)
1978–1979	Gene Bartow	15–11
UAB (Sun Belt Conference) (1979–1990)
1979–1980	Gene Bartow	18–12	10–4	T–2nd	NIT 1st Round
1980–1981	Gene Bartow	23–9	9–3	T–1st	NCAA Sweet 16
1981–1982	Gene Bartow	25–6	9–1	1st	NCAA Elite 8
1982–1983	Gene Bartow	19–14	9–5	3rd	NCAA 1st Round
1983–1984	Gene Bartow	23–11	8–6	5th	NCAA 1st Round
1984–1985	Gene Bartow	25–9	11–3	2nd	NCAA 2nd Round
1985–1986	Gene Bartow	25–11	9–5	T–3rd	NCAA 2nd Round
1986–1987	Gene Bartow	21–11	10–4	3rd	NCAA 1st Round
1987–1988	Gene Bartow	16–15	7–7	5th
1988–1989	Gene Bartow	22–12	8–6	4th	NIT Final Four
1989–1990	Gene Bartow	22–9	12–2	1st	NCAA 1st Round
1990–1991	Gene Bartow	18–13	9–5	2nd	NIT 1st Round
UAB (Great Midwest Conference) (1991–1994)
1991–1992	Gene Bartow	20–9	4–6	5th	NIT 1st Round
1992–1993	Gene Bartow	21–14	5–5	4th	NIT Final Four
1993–1994	Gene Bartow	22–8	8–4	T–2nd	NCAA 1st Round
1994–1995	Gene Bartow	15–15	5–7	6th
UAB (Conference USA) (1995–Present)
1995–1996	Gene Bartow	16–14	6–8	2nd (Red)
1996–1997	Murry Bartow	18–14	7–7	2nd (Red)	NIT 1st Round
1997–1998	Murry Bartow	21–12	10–6	2nd (National)	NIT 2nd Round
1998–1999	Murry Bartow	20–12	10–6	1st (National)	NCAA 1st Round
1999–2000	Murry Bartow	14–14	7–9	T–3rd (National)
2000–2001	Murry Bartow	17–14	8–8	4th (National)
2001–2002	Murry Bartow	13–17	6–10	T–4th (National)
2002–2003	Mike Anderson	21–13	8–8	T–2nd (National)	NIT Quarterfinals
2003–2004	Mike Anderson	22–10	12–4	T–1st	NCAA Sweet 16
2004–2005	Mike Anderson	22–11	10–6	T–4th	NCAA 2nd Round
2005–2006	Mike Anderson	24–7	12–2	2nd	NCAA 1st Round
2006–2007	Mike Davis	15–16	7–9	T–8th
2007–2008	Mike Davis	23–11	12–4	2nd	NIT 2nd Round
2008–2009	Mike Davis	22–12	11–5	3rd	NIT 1st Round
2009–2010	Mike Davis	25–9	11–5	T–3rd	NIT Quarterfinals
2010–2011	Mike Davis	22–9	12–4	1st	NCAA 1st Round
2011–2012	Mike Davis	1-2	TBD	TBD	TBD
Total:		665–387
National champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference tournament champion       Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference division champion

Post-season

NCAA Tournament Results

UAB has appeared in 14 NCAA Tournaments, with a combined record of 9–14.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
1981	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	Western Kentucky Kentucky Indiana	W 93–68 W 69–62 L 87–72
1982	Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	Indiana Virginia Louisville	W 80–70 W 68–66 L 75–68
1983	First Round	Oklahoma	L 71–63
1984	First Round	BYU	L 84–68
1985	First Round Second Round	Michigan State Memphis State	W 67–55 L 67–66 OT
1986	First Round Second Round	Missouri North Carolina	W 66–64 L 77–59
1987	First Round	Providence	L 90–68
1990	First Round	UCLA	L 68–56
1994	First Round	George Washington	L 51–46
1999	First Round	Iowa	L 77–64
2004	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	Washington Kentucky Kansas	W 102–100 W 76–74 L 100–74
2005	First Round Second Round	LSU Arizona	W 82–68 L 85–63
2006	First Round	Kentucky	L 69–64
2011	First Round	Clemson	L 70–52

Received a first round bye in 1982

NIT Results

UAB has appeared in 11 National Invitation Tournament's, with a combined record of 14–11.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
1980	First Round	Louisiana-Lafayette	L 74–72
1989	First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Third Place Game	Georgia Southern Richmond Connecticut St. Johns Michigan State	W 83–74 W 64–61 W 85–79 L 76–65 W 78–76
1991	First Round	Memphis	L 82–76
1992	First Round	Tennessee	L 71–68
1993	First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Third Place Game	Alabama Clemson SW Missouri State Georgetown Providence	W 58–56 W 65–64 W 61–52 L 45–41 W 55–52
1997	First Round	TCU	L 85–62
1998	First Round Sweet Sixteen	Missouri Minnesota	W 93–86 L 79–66
2003	First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	Louisiana-Lafayette Siena St. Johns	W 82–80 W 80–71 L 79–71
2008	First Round Sweet Sixteen	VCU Virginia Tech	W 80–77 L 75–49
2009	First Round	Notre Dame	L 70–64
2010	First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	Coastal Carolina North Carolina State North Carolina	W 65–49 W 72–52 L 55–60

Players

Retired jerseys

Retired Basketball Jerseys
Number	Player	Years
14	Steve Mitchell	1982–1986
20	Oliver Robinson	1978–1982
40	Jerome Mincy	1982–1986

Since UAB established its basketball program, only 3 jerseys have been retired and now hang in the rafters of Bartow Arena. It was decided early on in UAB's basketball program that such an honor would only be bestowed on those players that earned AP All-America honors and who completed their degree at UAB.

In the NBA

UAB has also seen a number of its players move on to a professional career in the NBA. Some of UAB's highest NBA draft picks include:

• Oliver Robinson (2nd Round/1st Pick/24th Overall) to the San Antonio Spurs
• Walter Sharpe (2nd Round/2nd Pick/32nd Overall) to the Seattle SuperSonics
• Steve Mitchell (2nd Round/12th Pick/36th Overall) to the Washington Bullets
• Reginald Turner (2nd Round/20th Pick/47th Overall) to the Denver Nuggets
• Robert Vaden (2nd Round/54th Overall) to the Charlotte Bobcats

Other former Blazers to move on to the NBA include:

• Larry Spicer
• Keith McCord
• Glenn Marcus
• Norm Anchrum
• Jerome Mincy
• Chris Giles
• Donnie Speer
• Cliff Pruitt
• Lex Drum
• McKinley Singleton
• Archie Johnson
• Squeaky Johnson
• Alan Ogg
• Stanley Jackson
• Donell Taylor

Facilities

UAB vs. Tulsa at Bartow Arena

Main article: Bartow Arena

UAB initially played their games at the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex Arena, but moved its games to the on-campus facility beginning with the 1988–89 season. Originally known as UAB Arena, the name was officially changed to Bartow Arena on January 25, 1997. The 8,508-seat arena is named after Gene Bartow, the coach who largely built the school's men's basketball program from scratch over the last quarter of the 20th century.

Top 10 Home Basketball Games at the BJCC

	Opponent	Attendance
1	DePaul (1980)	17,309
2	DePaul (1985)	17,222
3	Auburn (1984)	17,025
4	Indiana (1997)	16,982
5	Virginia Commonwealth (1985)	16,866
6	Auburn (1986)	16,815
7	Auburn (1983)	16,803
8	Auburn (1982)	16,797
9	South Florida (1985)	16,781
10T	Virginia (1982)	16,754
10T	Louisville (1982)	16,754

Top 10 Home Basketball Games at Bartow Arena

	Opponent	Attendance
1	Memphis (2008)	9,392
2	Louisville (2005)	9,354
3	Cincinnati (2004)	9,312
4	Cincinnati (2000)	9,279
5	Cincinnati (1996)	9,213
6	Memphis (2009)	9,153
7	Memphis (2011)	9,119
8	Alcorn State (1989)	9,010
9	Arkansas (1990)	8,951
10	Cincinnati (1994)	8,907

References

General

• 2010–11 UAB Basketball Information Guide. Birmingham, AL: UAB Athletic Media Relations Office. 2010. http://uabsports.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/1011-m-baskbl-media-guide.html. Retrieved March 20, 2011.