UAB

[Pony_Fan]

With that Tulsa mess - any thoughts on UAB - how bad will it be?

[Pony Up]

UAB is a better team than Tulsa. I saw some TV analyst say they're the second-best team in C-USA, after Memphis (despite the gaudy conference record UTEP has put up). From what I've seen (which admittedly is very little), UAB appears to be extremely athletic, if nothing else.

I can't predict the outcome, but I'm driving up to see the game and to cheer like hell for the Hopkins brothers in their home finale.

[MustangIcon]

UAB is pretty good (19-5) but I am not sure they are very strong inside. I have not seen them play but they have noone on the aquad averaging more than 5 boards a game. To have 19 wins with that little interior rebounding they must have pretty strong guard play I would assume.

I would have to argue UH is actually the second best team in CUSA. They are deep, VERY athletic, coached very well, and have a good record (18-6). Two of those wins were vs Arizona and LSU both ranked in the top 17 in RPI.

Maybe the Stangs can sneak up on UAB led by a huge game from BHop in his SMU finalee. I will be there to see it and give him a nice sendoff.

[Pony_Fan]

Let's hope for a better effort at home. If we play anything like the Tulsa game, it's going to be a very long night. For these games it's all about defense and getting Bhop to score at least 20 pts. No, they aren't big on the boards so they must not have any rebounds b/c they can shoot and score.

Let's hope Ryan gets in the game for some big minutes.

Beat South Miss by 37 pts and Tulsa by 30.

01/11 Tulsa W 84-54
01/14 at Marshall W 76-64
01/18 at Rice W 75-68
01/21 Houston W 82-79
01/26 at #3 Memphis L 73-66
01/28 So Miss W 87-73
02/04 at C Florida W 75-68
02/08 at UTEP L 65-37
02/11 E Carolina W 72-64
02/15 Tulane W 87-82
02/18 at So Miss W 87-50

[jkflamebo]

uab is without a doubt the second best team in conf usa. earlier this year i believe they lost a starting forward, even so they have shown they have some depth and played consistently well all year. i believe "squeaky" johnson is one of the quickest guards i've ever seen. they do have amazing guard play. i remember watchin em in the tourney last year against arizona, they put up a fight. dont kid yourselves, uab is gonna spank us tomorrow night.

[Pony_Fan]

Agreed. Squeeky was an amazing PG in the tourney. Super quick.

[abezontar]

I wish I could have a cool nickname like squeaky, unfortunately the only thing people ever called me was lint trap

[MustangIcon]

I don't think you can say UAB is "without a doubt" the second best team in CUSA. An arguement can be made for them, but like I said- I would have to say UH is.

18-6 UH vs 19-5 UAB but UH beat 2 ranked opponents and UAB has beaten none. UAB did beat UH head to head in their one meeting this season but only by 3 points at UAB.

Also, UTEP spanked UAB by something like 30 points a week or 2 ago holding UAB to only 37 points. It is not like this team is invinceable. SMU could very well beat them or at very least I don't expect us to lay an egg like we did vs Tulsa.

I am excited for RHop to get the start. I assume he will bc Tubbs started Mike D last year on senior night as well. It is nice to reward a kid who has stuck it out and busted his butt in practice for four seasons with a little PT in his final game.

[KnuckleStang]

Squeaky is indeed a most excellent name. Back in the 90's, didn't UAB have a guard tandem knicknamed "Peanut Butter" and "Jelly." Those guys could play, but damn their names were even cooler than they were.

[Pony_Fan]

Dude, that is classic. I love it.

[Charleston Pony]

UAB is a much better team than SMU. We will see what this SMU team is made of. Odds are we will get our clocks cleaned in front of the usual 1500

[UAB Band Dad]

Don't get too excited about our low rebounding numbers. We play the 40 minutes of hell (or as CMA refers to it, the Fastest Forty Minutes in Basketball), and there are tradeoffs made when you do that. We're not going to be extremely strong inside, but when you get to the stat sheet, add rebounds + steals + turnovers forced and compare the totals for both teams. You'll get a clear picture that way.

Regarding UTEP and UH - I think that UH is a better team talentwise, no doubt. They can be inconsistent though, as their bad losses/good wins prove. UTEP thrashed us, worst loss ever in the Mike Anderson era. They won because they were able to impose their game on us. They were able to force us to play half court ball. In fairness to UAB, we also had an incredibly cold night across the board - nothing we do worked. Three pointers didn't fall, runners in the lane missed, fast breaks were blown, etc. Sure, UTEP had something to do with that, full credit to them, but also it was just an awful night for everyone at the same time. I really hope we see UTEP again in the Tournament, I don't think that they can do that to us twice in a row, especially on a neutral court.

We've led the NCAA in steals the last three straight years. Never been done before. We're currently #4 behind UH, Clemson, and Memphis. 11.7 steals per game for us so far. I trust you'll forgive me if I hope you guys give up several more than that.

I think you'll see high intensity from my Blazers, as well as a deeper bench than usual. Coach Anderson will play at least 10 players signifigant minutes. If your first team plays a lot of minutes look for their butts to be dragging late in the game. If you have any conditioning issues at all they'll be on display.

Squeaky Johnson is a special player. He's a true point guard - always looking to create for other guys. He shoots better than 50% from three when he has to, and for the season he's at 3.5 assists/turnovers (140 assists, 40 turnovers). He'll steal the ball in a heartbeat and wear out your PG. He's a Cousy Award nominee. BTW, the Squeaky nickname came from making so many "Squeaky Clean" steals.

I know you have size on us and some shotblocking, but I don't think you're ready for the Fastest Forty. I don't believe CMA will let the guys look past y'all to Memphis.

Good Luck. Hope it's a good game.

[KnuckleStang]

Thanks Dad. We'll show up anyway.

[UAB Band Dad]

Oh, I know you will. I'm an old SWC guy, I know and respect the Ponies. I just don't think today's going to be much fun for you to watch.

Besides, we owe you guys a beatdown after we hairballed up that loss in football. 80 yards in 23 seconds and no timeouts, my head nearly exploded.

[mrydel]

I am a sunshiner folks, BUT....UAB favored by 5 1/2. Where's my bookie!!