UAB Blazers men's basketball

Template:Short description Template:Infobox CBB Team The UAB Blazers men's basketball team represents the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in NCAA Division I men's college basketball, with the 2023–24 season being the Blazers' first as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Blazers play home games at Bartow Arena and are coached by Andy Kennedy. UAB has appeared 17 times in the NCAA men's basketball tournament and most recently appeared in 2024.

History

The UAB Blazers started their athletics program with the creation of men's basketball in 1978. Setting high standards from the start, UAB was able to lure Gene Bartow away from his post as the head coach at UCLA to start the Blazer program. Known as the "Father of UAB athletics," Coach Bartow was able to guide the Blazers to early success by reaching the NCAA tournament in just their third season of existence. Since their inaugural season, the Blazers have made 17 appearances in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and 13 appearances in the National Invitational Tournament. UAB has been productive in its NCAA tournament appearances, reaching the Elite Eight once, and the Sweet Sixteen 3 times. After 46 years of basketball, UAB has had 40 winning seasons, including 29 seasons with at least 20 wins. UAB's win percentage ranks 28th among NCAA Division I basketball programs with at least 40 seasons. UAB's basketball program has featured wins over many of basketball's most historic programs, including Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Louisville, Kansas, Arizona, Michigan State, Virginia, Villanova, Connecticut and many others.

Conference affiliations

• 1978–79 – NCAA Division I Independent
• 1979–80 to 1990–91 – Sun Belt Conference
• 1991–92 to 1994–95 – Great Midwest Conference
• 1995–96 to 2022–23 – Conference USA
• 2023–24 to present – American Athletic Conference

UAB head coaches

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UAB men's basketball coaches

Gene Bartow	1978–1996	366–203 ()	9
Murry Bartow	1996–2002	103–83 ()	1
Mike Anderson	2002–2006	89–41 ()	3
Mike Davis	2006–2012	122–73 ()	1
Jerod Haase	2012– 2016	80–53 ()	1
Rob Ehsan	2016–2020	76–57 ()	0
Andy Kennedy	2020–present	125-50 ()	2

Postseason Results

NCAA tournament results

UAB has appeared in 17 NCAA Tournaments, with a combined record of 10–17.

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1981	#7	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	Western Kentucky Kentucky Indiana	W 93–68 W 69–62 L 72–87
1982	#4	Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	Indiana Virginia Louisville	W 80–70 W 68–66 L 68–75
1983	#10	First Round	Oklahoma	L 63–71
1984	#9	First Round	BYU	L 68–84
1985	#7	First Round Second Round	Michigan State Memphis State	W 67–55 L 66–67OT
1986	#6	First Round Second Round	Missouri North Carolina	W 66–64 L 59–77
1987	#11	First Round	Providence	L 68–90
1990	#10	First Round	UCLA	L 56–68
1994	#7	First Round	George Washington	L 46–51
1999	#12	First Round	Iowa	L 64–77
2004	#9	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	Washington Kentucky Kansas	W 102–100 W 76–74 L 74–100
2005	#11	First Round Second Round	LSU Arizona	W 82–68 L 63–85
2006	#9	Round of 64	Kentucky	L 64–69
2011	#12	First Four	Clemson	L 52–70
2015	#14	Second Round Third Round	Iowa State UCLA	W 60–59 L 75–92
2022	#12	Round of 64	Houston	L 68–82
2024	#12	Round of 64	San Diego State	L 65–69

NIT results

UAB has appeared in the National Invitation Tournament 14 times, with a combined record of 20–14.

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1980	First Round	Southwestern Louisiana	L 74–72
1989	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Third Place Game	Georgia Southern Richmond Connecticut St. John's Michigan State	W 83–74 W 64–61 W 85–79 L 65–76 W 78–76
1991	First Round	Memphis State	L 76–82
1992	First Round	Tennessee	L 68–71
1993	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Third Place Game	Alabama Clemson SW Missouri State Georgetown Providence	W 58–56 W 65–64 W 61–52 L 41–45 W 55–52
1997	First Round	TCU	L 62–85
1998	First Round Second Round	Missouri Minnesota	W 93–86 L 66–79
2003	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Louisiana-Lafayette Siena St. John's	W 82–80 W 80–71 L 71–79
2008	First Round Second Round	VCU Virginia Tech	W 80–77 L 49–75
2009	First Round	Notre Dame	L 64–70
2010	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Coastal Carolina NC State North Carolina	W 65–49 W 72–52 L 55–60
2016	First Round	BYU	L 79–97
2023	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final	Southern Miss Morehead State Vanderbilt Utah Valley North Texas	W 88–60 W 77–59 W 67–59 W 88–86OT L 61–68
2025	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Saint Joseph's Santa Clara UC Irvine	W 69–65 W 88–84 L 77–81OT

CBI Results

The Blazers have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) one time. Their record is 0–1

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2019

First Round

Brown

L 78–83

Highest Seeds Beaten in NCAA tournament

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2004	1	Kentucky	W 76–74
1982	1	Virginia	W 68–66
1981	2	Kentucky	W 69–62
2015	3	Iowa State	W 60–59

UAB Rivalry Games

Rivalry Games
Rival	First meeting	Last meeting	Overall record
Auburn	1982	2018	Auburn leads 11-10
Charlotte	1980	2024	UAB leads 34-20
Western Kentucky	1981	2023	UAB leads 27-18
Old Dominion	1983	2022	UAB leads 23-16
South Alabama	1978	2022	UAB leads 31-14
Memphis	1984	2024	Memphis leads 40-12
Middle Tennessee	1986	2023	UAB leads 19-10
Southern Mississippi	1979	2023	UAB leads 37-20
South Florida	1978	2024	UAB leads 40-20

Awards

Conference Coach of the Year

Year	Conference	Coach
2004	Conference USA	Mike Anderson
2011	Conference USA	Mike Davis
2016	Conference USA	Jerod Haase

Conference Player of the Year

Year	Conference	Position	Player
1982	Sun Belt	SG	Oliver Robinson
2011	Conference USA	PG	Aaron Johnson
2022	Conference USA	PG	Jordan Walker

All--Conference Players Since 2012

Year	Conference	Team	Position	Player
2012	Conference USA	1st	Forward	Cameron Moore
2013	Conference USA	2nd	Forward	Rod Rucker
2014	Conference USA	1st	Guard	Chad Frazier
2015	Conference USA	3rd	Guard	Robert Brown
2016	Conference USA	2nd	Forward	Chris Cokley
2016	Conference USA	3rd	Guard	Nick Norton
2016	Conference USA	1st	Guard	Robert Brown
2016	Conference USA	3rd	Forward	William Lee
2017	Conference USA	2nd	Forward	William Lee
2018	Conference USA	1st	Forward	Chris Cokley
2019	Conference USA	3rd	Guard	Zack Bryant
2021	Conference USA	2nd	Guard	Tavin Lovan
2022	Conference USA	1st	Guard	Jordan Walker
2022	Conference USA	3rd	Guard	Quan Jackson
2023	Conference USA	1st	Guard	Jordan Walker
2023	Conference USA	3rd	Center	Trey Jemison
2024	American	1st	Forward	Yaxel Lendeborg

Blazers of Note

Retired numbers

UAB has retired four jersey numbers since its inception and they now hang from the rafters of Bartow Arena. This honor is bestowed only on players who earn AP All-America honors and who complete their degree at UAB.

colspan="5" style= "Template:CollegePrimaryStyle" | UAB Blazers retired numbers
width=40px style="Template:CollegeSecondaryStyle" | No.	width=150px style="Template:CollegeSecondaryStyle" |Player	width=100px style="Template:CollegeSecondaryStyle" |Career	width=40px style="Template:CollegeSecondaryStyle" |Ref.
1	Aaron Johnson	2007–2011
14	Steve Mitchell	1982–1986
20	Oliver Robinson	1978–1982
40	Jerome Mincy	1982–1986

In the NBA

UAB has seen numerous players move on to professional careers in the NBA. Some of UAB's highest NBA draft picks include:

• Oliver Robinson (2nd Round/1st Pick/24th Overall) to the San Antonio Spurs
• Walter Sharpe (2nd Round/2nd Pick/32nd Overall) to the Seattle SuperSonics
• Steve Mitchell (2nd Round/12th Pick/36th Overall) to the Washington Bullets
• Robert Vaden (2nd Round/54th Overall) to the Charlotte Bobcats

Other former Blazers to play in the NBA are:

• McKinley Singleton (New York Knicks – 1986–87)
• Alan Ogg (Miami Heat – 1990–92; Milwaukee Bucks – 1992–93; Washington Bullets – 1992–93)
• Stanley Jackson (Minnesota Timberwolves – 1993–94)
• Donell Taylor (Washington Wizards – 2005–07)
• Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson (New Orleans Hornets – 2011–12)
• Elijah Millsap (Utah Jazz – 2015)
• Jordan Walker (Dallas Mavericks 2023-Present
• Trey Jemison (New Orleans Pelicans 2023) (Washington Wizards 2024)(Memphis Grizzlies 2024-Present

In international leagues

• Paul Delaney (class of 2004), basketball player in the Israeli National League

UAB Basketball facilities

File:UAB v Tulsa.jpg

UAB vs Tulsa at Bartow Arena

Template:Main article UAB initially played their home games at the BJCC Coliseum, but moved their home games to an on-campus facility starting with the 1988–89 season. Originally known as UAB Arena, the name was officially changed to Bartow Arena on January 25, 1997. The 8,508-seat arena is named after Coach Gene Bartow, the man who built UAB's men's basketball program from scratch starting in 1978.

Top 10 Home Games at BJCC

	Opponent	Attendance
1	DePaul (1980)	17,309
2	DePaul (1985)	17,222
3	Auburn (1984)	17,025
4	Indiana (1997)	16,982
5	Virginia Commonwealth (1985)	16,866
6	Auburn (1986)	16,815
7	Auburn (1983)	16,803
8	Auburn (1982)	16,797
9	South Florida (1985)	16,781
10T	Virginia (1982)	16,754
10T	Louisville (1982)	16,754

Top 10 Home Games at Bartow Arena

	Opponent	Attendance
1	Memphis (2008)	9,392
2	Louisville (2005)	9,354
3	Cincinnati (2004)	9,312
4	Cincinnati (2000)	9,279
5	Cincinnati (1996)	9,213
6	Memphis (2009)	9,153
7	Memphis (2011)	9,119
8	Alcorn State (1989)	9,010
9	Arkansas (1990)	8,951
10	Cincinnati (1994)	8,907