<![CDATA[Deadspin: uab blazers]]> http://tags.deadspin.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/deadspin.com.png <![CDATA[Deadspin: uab blazers]]> http://deadspin.com/tag/uabblazers http://deadspin.com/tag/uabblazers <![CDATA[Someone Please Explain "Overtime" To The Arizona Wildcats]]> People can't seem to get over the fact that Donovan McNabb was unclear on the concept of tying (he's a professional football player!), but we guess Arizona's basketball team didn't get the memo either. See, if two teams have the same score when that last buzzer goes off, the game continues with an extra five-minute period. If only someone had told them, they might not have committed two intentional fouls in the final 30 seconds of a tied game.

The Wildcats were scrambling to comeback in the final minute, when Kyle Fogg snagged a loose ball off a missed free throw and tied the score with 25 seconds left. It was a chaotic moment for the freshman, so he can sort of be forgiven for fouling immediately after the inbound pass even though his team didn't need it. And hey, UAB missed the one-and-one, so Arizona got it back with no shot clock and a chance to win. It's all good!

But when Arizona missed their shot attempt and UAB got the rebound 70 feet from their basket with one second left, it probably didn't make sense for Wildcat forward Jamelle Horne to grab the jersey of Blazer Paul Delany ... and earn an intentional foul call with 0.8 seconds left on the clock. They lost by one.

We're not saying that this is some sort of metaphor for the disarray and chaos that has consumed the Arizona program this season—because it's not a really a metaphor. They need some help.

By the way, so does Stephen Curry because kid was straight ballin' last night (who let Stu Scott in here?), but his 44 points were not enough to beat No. 12 Oklahoma. It's going to be pretty hard for Davidson to shake the perception that they're nothing but a one-man gang, but ... they're a one-man gang. Curry's tournament run last year was obviously not a fluke, but without some more points from his teammates, they're going to see a lot more games like this when they play good teams.

Late Fouls Doom 'Cats [Daily Wildcat]
Gimino: 'Sting' of defeat may bring UA together [Tucson Citizen]
Davidson's Curry scores 44 in loss [Charlotte Observer]

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<![CDATA[UAB Blazers]]> 1. Alabama-Birmingham My Ass It's UAB. Do we call the Bruins California-Los Angeles? No. So quit pretending that UAB is some sort of second-tier affiliate state school on the order of Louisiana-Monroe. Even though Alabama-Tuscaloosa refuses to play UAB in basketball due to an age-old recruiting rivalry, the teams have met once in the NIT. UAB prevailed, 58-56. Also, unrelatedly, don't read this article.

2. The Indiana Connection. UAB's head coach Mike Davis and star player Robert Vaden are transfers from Indiana. In fact, Davis is the only recent Indiana coach to have started the year as a head coach and still have his job come March. (Doubters would say that he lacks both the fire of Bob Knight and the texting skillz of Kelvin Sampson, but UAB fans are impressed by his ability to lure away stars from other programs, including former Mississippi State forward Walter Sharpe and Georgia guard Channing Toney—both are now averaging double digits for the Blazers.) But Davis's real coup was convincing Vaden — who's averaging 21 points-plus — to come with him to the 'Ham.

3. The Memphis Curse. The last team from Conference USA to beat Memphis was UAB ... in 2006. This year, up by 7 with 87 seconds to play, UAB somehow managed to lose to the Tigers at home. The signature photo of the aftermath — featuring both a retarded sign and a facial slap, is a microcosm of the Blazers recent history with Calipari's club. — David Goldenberg

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<![CDATA[NCAA Pants Party: Kentucky Vs. UAB]]> Kentucky Wildcats (21-12) vs. Alabama-Birmingham Blazers (24-6).
When: Friday, 9:55 p.m.
Where: Philadelphia

KENTUCKY

1. Fill the Tubb. You already know that Kentucky coach Tubby Smith won a national championship in his first year at Kentucky, and you likely already know that he has been rewarded for that achievement with a constant stream of Kentucky fans who hope to have him fired. But you likely did not know that Tubby Smith was one of 17 children and got his name because his mother would put him in the bathtub and he did not ever want to leave ... thus "Tubby." Luckily for Smith, and the entire Kentucky program, his mother did not choose to call him "Bubbles" Smith.

2. Seven-Footers All Around. Tubby recently decided to change his recruiting program and go with a "only recruit seven-footers" strategy. This has led to the current Wildcat roster, which includes Jared Carter, a freshman seven-footer best known for averaging a grand total of 12 points a game in high school, "Woo" Obrzut, a seven-footer from Poland who the Wildcats stole from the grasp of that traditional powerhouse Fordham, and Shagari Alleyne, who, at 7-foot-6, is the tallest player in Kentucky history and is on an endless quest for a hat to fit his size 8 1/2 head in Lexington. The latter two behemoths are best known for their height, inability to catch entry passes and their collective nickname, "Shaggy and Scooby Woo."

3. Rah Rah Ree, Kick Em In The Knee. The only program at Kentucky that may be more successful than the basketball variety is its cheerleading team, which has won 11 of the last 12 national championships. The cheerleaders are an integral part of every game, with their unsafe four-level pyramid, spelling of the word "Kentucky" using just their perm-pressed hair and inventive use of the word "ain t" in their cheers. Their success has spawned imitators and is often blamed for the current rash of eating disorders amongst other SEC cheerleading squads. — Matthew Jones

UAB

1. Tom Penders Is Not Coming To Birmingham. When Arkansas gave Nolan Richardson the boot, his assistant coach Mike Anderson found his home at UAB. Fortunately for UAB, Anderson brought the up tempo offense used at Arkansas and not Richardson's "t-shirt under the blazer" wardrobe. Due to Anderson's success at UAB, he's regularly mentioned for other head coach openings including Missouri and Ole Miss. UAB fans can rest easy that if he leaves, Tom Penders won't apply for the job.

2. It's Not Called The "Magic City" For Nothing. Blazer fans — and Kentucky fans, for that matter — will never forget the magical no-look 3/4 court backwards pass from Ronell Taylor to twin brother Donell Taylor for the slam in the NCAA tourney in 2004 (UAB went on to defeat the No. 1 seed Wildcats.) Ronell made his first NBA start this week for the Wizards, while the guy who threw the ball away on that play, Antwain Barbour ... he's balling for the Yakama Sun Kings.

3. The UAB Mascot: Ironic In A Nasty Way. Federal agents arrested a UAB junior last week and charged him and two others in the Alabama church burnings. It wasn't hard to find the irony in this sad situation. Plenty of jokes about showing his school spirit as a Blazer. — Joseph Schell

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NCAA Tournament First Round Schedule [Deadspin]
Complete Deadspin First Round Matchup Previews [Deadspin]

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<![CDATA[Alabama-Birmingham Blazers]]> 1. Tom Penders Is Not Coming To Birmingham. When Arkansas gave Nolan Richardson the boot, his assistant coach Mike Anderson found his home at UAB. Fortunately for UAB, Anderson brought the up tempo offense used at Arkansas and not Richardson's "t-shirt under the blazer" wardrobe. Due to Anderson's success at UAB, he's regularly mentioned for other head coach openings including Missouri and Ole Miss. UAB fans can rest easy that if he leaves, Tom Penders won't apply for the job.

2. It's Not Called The "Magic City" For Nothing. Blazer fans — and Kentucky fans, for that matter — will never forget the magical no-look 3/4 court backwards pass from Ronell Taylor to twin brother Donell Taylor for the slam in the NCAA tourney in 2004 (UAB went on to defeat the No. 1 seed Wildcats.) Ronell made his first NBA start this week for the Wizards, while the guy who threw the ball away on that play, Antwain Barbour ... he's balling for the Yakama Sun Kings.

3. The UAB Mascot: Ironic In A Nasty Way. Federal agents arrested a UAB junior last week and charged him and two others in the Alabama church burnings. It wasn't hard to find the irony in this sad situation. Plenty of jokes about showing his school spirit as a Blazer. — Joseph Schell

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