UAB Blazers men's basketball

UAB Blazers
UAB Blazers
	2016–17 UAB Blazers men's basketball team
University	University of Alabama at Birmingham
Head coach	Robert Ehsan (1st season)
Conference	C-USA
Location	Birmingham, Alabama
Arena	Bartow Arena ; (Capacity: 8,508)
Nickname	Blazers
Colors	Forest green and old gold;
Uniforms
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
	1982
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
	1981, 1982, 2004
NCAA tournament round of 32
	1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 2004, 2005, 2015
NCAA tournament appearances
	1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2015
Conference tournament champions
	1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 2015
Conference regular season champions
	1981, 1982, 1990, 2004, 2011, 2016

The UAB Blazers men's basketball team represents the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the NCAA Division I men's college basketball, and have competed in Conference USA (C-USA) since 1995.

History

The UAB Blazers started their athletics program with the creation of men's basketball in 1978. Setting high standards from the start, UAB hired former UCLA head coach Gene Bartow.^[2]^[3] Known as the "Father of UAB athletics" Coach Bartow led the Blazers to instant success. Since their inaugural season, the Blazers have made 15 appearances in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament including 3 Sweet Sixteen appearances and 1 Elite Eight appearance.^[4] After 37 years of basketball, UAB has had 32 winning seasons including wins over Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Louisville, Kansas, Arizona, Michigan State, Virginia, Villanova, Connecticut, Memphis, and many others.^[4]

Conference affiliations

1978–79, NCAA D-I Independent
1979–91, Sun Belt Conference
1991–95, Great Midwest Conference
1995–present, Conference USA

UAB Head Coaches

**UAB Men's Basketball Coaches**
Coach	Years	Wins-Losses	NCAA Tournament Appearances
Gene Bartow	1978–1996	366–203 (.643)	9
Murry Bartow	1996–2002	103–83 (.554)	1
Mike Anderson	2002–2006	89–41 (.685)	3
Mike Davis	2006–2012	123–75 (.621)	1
Jerod Haase	2012– 2016	80–53 (.602)	1
Robert Ehsan	2016–present	15–14 (.517)	0
Overall	39 years	776–469 (.623)	15

UAB Season-By-Season Records

Statistics overview
Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
UAB (Independent) (1978–1979)
1978–1979	Gene Bartow	15–11
UAB (Sun Belt Conference) (1979–1991)
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) (1991–1995)
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 First Four
2011–2012	Mike Davis	15–16	9–7	T–5th
2012–2013	Jerod Haase	16–17	7–9	T-7th
2013–2014	Jerod Haase	18–13	7–9	T-8th
2014–2015	Jerod Haase	20–16	12–6	T-4th	NCAA 3rd Round
2015–2016	Jerod Haase	26–7	16–2	1st	NIT 1st Round
2016–2017	Robert Ehsan	17–16	9–9	7th
Total:		771–460
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

Postseason Results

NCAA Tournament results

UAB has appeared in 15 NCAA Tournaments, with a combined record of 10–15.^[4]

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1981	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	Western Kentucky Kentucky Indiana	W 93–68 W 69–62 L 72–87
1982	Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	Indiana Virginia Louisville	W 80–70 W 68–66 L 68–75
1983	First Round	Oklahoma	L 63–71
1984	First Round	BYU	L 68–84
1985	First Round Second Round	Michigan State Memphis State	W 67–55 L 66–67 OT
1986	First Round Second Round	Missouri North Carolina	W 66–64 L 59–77
1987	First Round	Providence	L 68–90
1990	First Round	UCLA	L 56–68
1994	First Round	George Washington	L 46–51
1999	First Round	Iowa	L 64–77
2004	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	Washington Kentucky Kansas	W 102–100 W 76–74 L 74–100
2005	First Round Second Round	LSU Arizona	W 82–68 L 63–85
2006	First Round	Kentucky	L 64–69
2011	First Four	Clemson	L 52–70
2015	Second Round Third Round	Iowa State UCLA	W 60–59 L 75–92

NIT results

UAB has appeared in 12 National Invitation Tournament's, with a combined record of 14–12.^[4]

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1980	First Round	Southwestern Louisiana	L 74–72
1989	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Third Place Game	Georgia Southern Richmond Connecticut St. John's Michigan State	W 83–74 W 64–61 W 85–79 L 65–76 W 78–76
1991	First Round	Memphis State	L 76–82
1992	First Round	Tennessee	L 68–71
1993	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Third Place Game	Alabama Clemson SW Missouri State Georgetown Providence	W 58–56 W 65–64 W 61–52 L 41–45 W 55–52
1997	First Round	TCU	L 62–85
1998	First Round Second Round	Missouri Minnesota	W 93–86 L 66–79
2003	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Louisiana-Lafayette Siena St. John's	W 82–80 W 80–71 L 71–79
2008	First Round Second Round	VCU Virginia Tech	W 80–77 L 49–75
2009	First Round	Notre Dame	L 64–70
2010	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Coastal Carolina NC State North Carolina	W 65–49 W 72–52 L 55–60
2016	First Round	BYU	L 79–97

Highest Seeds Beaten in NCAA Tournament

Year	Seed	Opponent	Result/Score
2004	1	Kentucky	W 76–74
1982	1	Virginia	W 68–66
1981	2	Kentucky	W 69–62
2015	3	Iowa State	W 60–59

UAB Rivalry Games

Rivalry Games
Rival	First meeting	Last meeting	Overall record
Auburn	1982	2016	UAB leads 10–9
Old Dominion	1983	2017	UAB leads 20–10
Charlotte	1980	2017	UAB leads 30–16
Western Kentucky	1981	2017	UAB leads 22–13
Memphis	1984	2016	UM leads 37–10

Blazers of Note

Retired jerseys

Retired Basketball Jerseys
Number	Player	Years
14	Steve Mitchell	1982–1986
20	Oliver Robinson	1978–1982
40	Jerome Mincy	1982–1986
^[5]

UAB has retired just 3 jerseys since its inception and they now hang from the rafters of Bartow Arena. This honor is bestowed only on players who earn AP All-America honors and who complete their degree at UAB.

In the NBA

UAB has seen numerous players move on to professional careers in the NBA.^[6] 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
Robert Vaden (2nd Round/54th Overall) to the Charlotte Bobcats

Other former Blazers to play in the NBA are:

McKinley Singleton (New York Knicks – 1986–87)
Alan Ogg (Miami Heat – 1990–92; Milwaukee Bucks – 1992–93; Washington Bullets – 1992–93)
Stanley Jackson (Minnesota Timberwolves – 1993–94)
Donell Taylor (Washington Wizards – 2005–07)
Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson (New Orleans Hornets – 2011–12)
Elijah Millsap (Utah Jazz – 2015)

UAB Basketball Facilities

UAB initially played their home games at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena, but moved their home games to an on-campus facility starting with the 1988–89 season.^[7] Originally known as UAB Arena, the name was officially changed to Bartow Arena on January 25, 1997.^[8] The 8,508-seat arena is named after Coach Gene Bartow, the man who built UAB's men's basketball program from scratch starting in 1978.^[7]^[8]

**Top 10 Home Games at 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
^[9]

**Top 10 Home 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
^[9]

References

General

2010–11 UAB Basketball Information Guide. Birmingham, Alabama: UAB Athletic Media Relations Office. 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2011.

Specific

^ University of Alabama at Birmingham Style Guide (PDF). March 11, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
^ Florence, Mal (June 14, 1977). "Bartow takes job and heads South". Los Angeles Times. p. D1.
^ "It's official: Bartow leaves UCLA for Birmingham post". The Herald-Journal. Associated Press. June 15, 1977. p. D1. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d 2010–11 UAB Basketball Information Guide, pp. 118–123
^ 2010–11 UAB Basketball Information Guide, p. 103
^ 2010–11 UAB Basketball Information Guide, p. 115
^ ^a ^b 2010–11 UAB Basketball Information Guide, p. 60
^ ^a ^b Scarbinsky, Kevin (January 26, 1997). "Bartows still on the go". The Birmingham News. p. B16.
^ ^a ^b 2010–11 UAB Basketball Information Guide, p. 62

[1] University of Alabama at Birmingham Style Guide (PDF). March 11, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2021.

[2] Florence, Mal (June 14, 1977). "Bartow takes job and heads South". Los Angeles Times. p. D1.

[3] "It's official: Bartow leaves UCLA for Birmingham post". The Herald-Journal. Associated Press. June 15, 1977. p. D1. Retrieved March 20, 2011.

[UAB118-4] 2010–11 UAB Basketball Information Guide, pp. 118–123

[UAB103-5] 2010–11 UAB Basketball Information Guide, p. 103

[UAB115-6] 2010–11 UAB Basketball Information Guide, p. 115

[UAB60-7] 2010–11 UAB Basketball Information Guide, p. 60

[Rename-8] Scarbinsky, Kevin (January 26, 1997). "Bartows still on the go". The Birmingham News. p. B16.

[UAB62-9] 2010–11 UAB Basketball Information Guide, p. 62

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v t e UAB Blazers men's basketball
Venues	BJCC Coliseum (1978–1988) Bartow Arena (1988–present)
Rivalries	Auburn Memphis
Culture & lore	Blaze
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e Conference USA men's basketball
Current teams	FIU Panthers Jacksonville State Gamecocks Liberty Flames Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders New Mexico State Aggies Sam Houston Bearkats UTEP Miners Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Future teams	Kennesaw State Owls (joining in 2024) Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (joining in 2025)
Championships & awards	Conference USA men's basketball tournament Player of the Year
Seasons	1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24