BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will play its first home contest of the 2009-10 campaign when it hosts Southeastern Conference foe Georgia on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The contest marks the first time UAB has played an opponent from the Southeastern Conference at Bartow Arena since Jan. 2, 2003 when the Blazers hosted Mississippi State.
The contest will be televised live on CSS and can also be heard on the Blazers ISP Radio Network, 107.7 FM WUHT, with J.D. Byars and Steve Mitchell on the call.
UAB enters the contest at Georgia game with a 3-1 overall record, following its 85-62 win over Jacksonville State last Tuesday night. Junior guards Elijah Millsap (18 points and 11 boards) and Aaron Johnson (career-high 17 points) led five Blazers in double-figures en route to the win.
Millsap leads UAB in scoring (17.0 ppg), rebounding (8.3 rpg) and steals (2.0 spg) entering Saturday's game. The Louisiana-Lafayette transfer has led the Blazers in either scoring and rebounding in a contest in three of their four games this season.
Senior Howard Crawford is the only other Blazer to average double figures, collecting 13.3 points per contest, while Johnson adds 8.8 points and a team-best 3.0 assists per game.
As a team, the Blazers are shooting 43.4 percent from the floor and 38.1 percent from beyond the arc on the year. UAB also boasts a 5.0 advantage on the boards (35.8-31.8).
UAB head coach Mike Davis is now in his fourth season at the helm of the Blazers' basketball program and his 10th season as a head coach. He boasts a record of 63-40 (.596) at UAB and a 178-119 (.598) record overall.
Georgia comes into the UAB game with a 1-1 record on the season. The Bulldogs opened the year with a 67-59 win over New Orleans (11/13), but dropped their most recent contest, 60-57, to Wofford last Tuesday night. Saturday's matchup will mark the first road game for Georgia this season.
The Bulldogs are led sophomore all-conference player Trey Thompkins, who leads his team with an average of 19.5 points and 14.0 rebounds per contest. Junior forward Jeremy Price is second on the team with 10.5 rebounds a game, while junior forward Chris Brown collects 7.5 points and 8.0 rebounds a game to help the cause.
The Bulldogs have averaged outrebounding opponents by 8.0 rebounds per contest (40.0-32.0) over the first two games. As a team, Georgia is shooting 42.3 percent from the floor, but just hitting 20.0 percent from beyond the arc on the year.
(courtesy: UAB Sports Information)
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