Jan. 20, 2012
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By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
| UCF at UAB | |
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 21 |
| Time | 2 p.m. Eastern |
| Location | Birmingham, Ala. | Bartow Arena |
| Television | Fox Sports Net | Sun Sports |
| Radio | UCF IMG Sports Network - 740 AM |
| Internet Coverage | Video/Audio | |
| Game Notes | UCF Notes |
| Social Media | @UCF_MBasketball | Facebook |
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Following its thrilling victory over Memphis earlier in the week, the UCF men's basketball team will return to action Saturday at UAB. Tipoff from Bartow Arena in Birmingham is 2 p.m. Eastern.
The Conference USA game will be televised in Florida on Sun Sports. Throughout the rest of the country, Fox Sports Net will air the game.
UCF (14-4, 4-1 C-USA) recorded one of the most memorable wins in program history Wednesday when the Knights topped C-USA power Memphis, 68-67, in front of 8,734 fans at the UCF Arena. Junior forward Keith Clanton (Orlando, Fla.) registered the game-winning 3-point play with four seconds remaining to give UCF its first win in 11 tries against the Tigers. Clanton, who is averaging 15.7 points and 9.4 rebounds, finished with 23 points and eight boards.
On Saturday, the Knights will be seeking their first victory against the Blazers (6-11, 1-3), who have won all seven series matchups. UAB claimed the 2010-11 C-USA regular season title and participated in the NCAA Tournament last year. The Blazers are led by C-USA Preseason Player of the Year Cameron Moore. The big man is averaging 15.7 points and 10.6 rebounds.
The game is the first of two-straight contests on the road for the Knights. UCF will play at Tulsa Wednesday.
Ron Thulin will handle the play-by-play duties on the television broadcast Saturday and will be joined by Perry Clark.
The contest will air on the UCF IMG Sports Network and its flagship station, 740 The Game in Orlando. Marc Daniels will call all of the action from Birmingham. Live audio and statistics will be available at UCFAthletics.com.
Series History
? The Knights will be seeking their first win against UAB as the Blazers have a 7-0 edge in the all-time series
? UAB is 3-0 against the Knights in Birmingham
? A year ago, the Blazers defeated UCF 63-58 on Feb. 19 at home and 74-69 in Orlando on Jan. 29
? Marcus Jordan averaged 16.5 points vs. the Blazers in 2010-11
? The last three series matchups have been decided by an average of 4.7 points and all seven total matchups between the Knights and Blazers have been decided by 10 or fewer points
? The Knights are seeking their first victory in Alabama since Jan. 23, 2003, when they defeated Jacksonville State
? UAB assistant coach Mike Jaskulski was UCF's associate head coach from 2006-10
Last Time Out
? Keith Clanton recorded a 3-point play with four seconds remaining Wednesday to lift UCF to a 68-67 win over visiting Memphis
? The win over the Tigers was the first in 11 meetings for the Knights
? The game was played in front of 8,734 fans, the fifth-largest crowd in UCF history
? UCF led by as many as 13 points in the second, but the Tigers grabbed a 67-65 edge with 43 seconds remaining when Joe Jackson drained a long 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down
? Clanton led UCF with 23 points and eight rebounds, and Marcus Jordan added 20 points in the victory
? The Knights won despite Memphis shooting 51.0 percent overall and Will Barton scoring 24 points
Résumé Builders
? UCF's victory over Memphis was not only the Knights' first triumph against the Tigers, but it was also the team's third win this season against a 2011 NCAA Tournament squad
? The Knights have also defeated defending national champion UConn and Old Dominion
? The team also owns wins over 2011 NIT squads College of Charleston and Bethune-Cookman
? UCF will get another chance to knock off a 2011 NCAA Tournament team when they meet UAB
The Elusive One
? Following the win over Memphis, UAB is the lone Conference USA squad that the Knights have never defeated
? All seven of the UCF's contests with the Blazers have come since the Knights joined C-USA in 2005
Back on the Road
? UCF is looking for its second road win of the year as the Knights are 1-3 in away contests
? The Knights have won three total games away from Orlando, having defeated host East Carolina in league play and both No. 4 UConn and College of Charleston at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas in November
? In 2010-11, UCF went 2-6 in C-USA road contests
Close Calls
? UCF's last two games were each decided by one point
? The Knights topped visiting Memphis 68-67 Wednesday after falling 65-64 to host Marshall Saturday
? UCF is 3-2 in contests decided by five of fewer points this year
Stepping Up
? UCF's star juniors - Keith Clanton and Marcus Jordan - have both played some of their best games against the team's toughest competition this year
? The Knights own three wins over 2011 NCAA Tournament teams - defending national champion UConn, Old Dominion and Memphis - and Clanton and Jordan excelled in all three of the contests
? Clanton averaged 22.0 points and 10.0 boards while shooting 60.5 points against UConn, Old Dominion and Memphis
? Jordan averaged 19.0 points and 4.3 assists and shot 82.6 percent (19-of-23) at the free-throw line
Junior League
? In Marcus Jordan and Keith Clanton, UCF is the only team in Conference USA that has two players averaging at least 15.0 points per game overall
? Jordan is averaging a team-high 16.6 points, followed by Clanton with 15.7 points
? Jordan is second in the league in points per game, with Clanton ranking fifth
Swat Team
? Keith Clanton needs only two blocks to move to first on the UCF career swats list
? The junior has 139 blocks, and Ken Leeks is first on the list with 141 blocks from 1988-92
? Clanton is averaging 1.9 blocks (fourth in C-USA) on the year, and 2.4 blocks (second in C-USA) in league play
Major Minutes
? Marcus Jordan leads Conference USA in minutes per game at 36.7 an outing
? He has logged at least 35 minutes in 14 of 16 games played this season
Handle with Care
? A.J. Rompza leads Conference USA with an incredible 5.0 assist-turnover ratio in league play
? The senior has recorded 25 assists in conference contests with only five turnovers
? Rompza is second in C-USA play, dishing out 5.0 assists per game
? In UCF's last four games, Rompza registered 21 assists with only two turnovers
Man of Steal
? A.J. Rompza is averaging 4.0 steals in Conference USA games to lead the league
? The senior ranks third in program history with 184 career steals
? In his six games this year, Rompza has totaled 23 steals
? The rest of the team has recorded a combined 22 steals in those six contests
Going Deep
? As a freshman at Virginia in 2009-10, Tristan Spurlock hit two 3-pointers in 13 contests
? The forward hit three triples in the win over Memphis and finished with nine points
? He is averaging 8.1 points this year after averaging 2.4 points as a rookie
Up Next
? UCF will play its second-straight road game when the Knights face host Tulsa Wednesday