Tigers, UAB renew long-standing rivalry at high noon

Saturday, December 8

Memphis, Tenn.

12 PM

University of Memphis

UAB

Tickets

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Tigers, UAB renew long-standing rivalry at high noon

Dec 07, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Memphis Notes (vs. UAB)UAB Notes (vs. Memphis)

UofM, Blazers meeting for 49th time, sixth time as non-conference foes.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis men's basketball team will resume its December homestand at noon Saturday against a familiar opponent.

UAB, a longtime rival in the Great Midwest Conference and Conference USA, will make the trip from Birmingham to play the Tigers (4-4) at FedExForum.

The Tigers and the Blazers (6-2) are meeting for the 49^th time in the series, with 43 of those coming as league opponents. Last season, the Blazers defeated the Tigers in Birmingham. The programs haven't met as conference foes since March 9, 2013, the last regular-season game the Tigers played as a C-USA member.

While this is the first season new Memphis coach Penny Hardaway will match wits against UAB, he played against the Blazers five times in his career. Each of those games came against a Gene Bartow-coached UAB squad. Bartow led the Memphis to its first NCAA title game in 1973 with a team led by Larry Finch, who was the Tigers' coach when Hardaway was a Tigers' player.

So the rivalry, while heated at times, has many connections between the programs. Bartow started the UAB program from scratch, building his roster with Memphis-area high school talent.

This year's game will feature two teams bouncing back from a disappointing run at the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando last month. UAB, after losing two of three games in Orlando, has won three straight. Memphis, after dropping two of three in Orlando and another last weekend in Miami, rebounded with an impressive win at home Tuesday night over South Dakota State.

"Honestly, they are kind of similar to us," Hardaway said of UAB. "The stats are really similar. They shoot a lot of 3s, but they're not really making them. That doesn't mean they are not capable.

"Offensively, their guards lead their show. They have really good guards. Their bigs have to do it by committee. But they go as their guards go, kind of like us."

Memphis has been led during the first two months of the season by freshman guard Tyler Harris, who leads the team with a 15.3 average. He also has a team-high 26 made 3-pointers, or two more than the rest of the team combined.

In the UofM's 88-80 win over South Dakota State, Harris and senior guard Jeremiah Martin scored 22 points each. It marked the fourth time this season Harris has scored 20 or more points.

Saturday's game will feature a Coach Penny Hardaway bobblehead giveaway to the first 7,500 fans. FedExForum doors open at 11 a.m.

QUICK FACTS

Tiger guard Jeremiah Martin has moved to 46^th on the school's career-scoring list. With his 22-point effort against South Dakota State, he has 1,030 points.
In his final game against UAB during his Tigers' playing career, Memphis coach Penny Hardaway nearly posted the third double-double of his career. He finished with 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
Zack Bryant is the only returning starter for UAB. He leads the Blazers with a 12.9 points-per-game average.
UAB's Lewis Sullivan is the team's second-leading scorer (10.1 ppg) and its leading rebounder (6.4).
UAB's last win in Memphis came during the 1998-99 season when it posted a 91-83 victory at The Pyrmaid.