Last two meetings between duo have been tight wins for Blazers
The last two times UL and UAB met on the basketball court, the Cajuns came up short in a tight game.
In the most recent meeting, UL led by three points with 43 seconds last season. But three turnovers down the stretch helped UAB rally and send it into overtime. The Blazers pulled away for a 78-72 win in the extra session with six free throws in the final two minutes.
Now the Cajuns (6-10 overall) play their final non-conference game of the season at 7 tonight against UAB (10-7) in Birmingham, Ala. In the previous meeting at Bartlow Arena, UL lost 82-80 on a last-second shot in the opening round of the 2003 NIT.
UL coach Robert Lee said the Cajuns must buckle down against UAB, which is led by senior shooting guard Robert Vaden. The Indiana transfer is the fifth-leading scorer in Conference USA this season at 18.6 points per game. He leads the league in 3-pointers made per game (3.35).
"UAB is probably the second-most talented team in Conference USA," Lee said. "Robert Vaden is one of the best shooting guards in the country. They have so many guys who can shoot the basketball from the perimeter."
Coming off a 79-71 overtime loss Thursday to Arkansas-Little Rock, UL will counter with a similar perimeter attack. Leading the way are guard Randell Daigle and guard/forwards Travis Bureau and Chris Gradnigo, whom have combined to score 65 percent of the team's scoring this season (43.2 of 66.8 points per game).
Gradnigo is eager for the rematch with UAB after last season's frustrating loss.
"We had them on the ropes last year but turned it over at the end," he said. "It would be nice to go in there and get a win."
Lee expects a challenge from UAB, which reached the second round of last season's NIT and is considered the most talented C-USA team behind Memphis.
"It should be one of the most entertaining basketball games we're going to play all season, " Lee said. "It's two teams that really want to play up and down and shoot the ball a lot from the perimeter.
"Hopefully, they're missing (shots) and we're making."
UL got a game-high 26 points from guard/forward Elijah Millsap in last season's game against UAB. Millsap, the team's leading rebounder the past two seasons, transferred to UAB after the season. He must sit out this season per NCAA rules.
"They've got Vaden, who is a pretty good shooter, and a bunch of young guys," Gradnigo said. "And that's where Eli transferred to, so there's a little rivalry there."
Late-game struggles have recently been an issue for UL this season. The Cajuns fell at home to Louisiana Tech 61-59 in the season opener at home after getting out-scored 13-4 in the final six minutes. They lost to Sam Houston State 56-54 on a last-second shot on Dec. 21 after holding a nine-point halftime lead and being up three with two minutes left.
Late mistakes left UL just short against LSU 81-79 on Dec. 31. After rallying from a 10-point halftime hole to beat Denver in overtime on Jan. 3, the Cajuns were out-scored 13-2 late in the second half of a 61-58 loss on Jan. 8 at New Orleans.
UL held on to beat Troy on Jan. 10 but was unable to survive UALR's late rally on Thursday.
"We didn't get the defensive stops you need to be able to close teams out," Lee said. "We've been in this situation in the past five or six games. Each game had been exactly like this one.
"The bottom line is you've got to get stops and we didn't get stops late in the basketball game and we did not score on a consistent basis in the last 10 minutes of the game."
The last two times UL and UAB met on the basketball court, the Cajuns came up short in a tight game.
In the most recent meeting, UL led by three points with 43 seconds last season. But three turnovers down the stretch helped UAB rally and send it into overtime. The Blazers pulled away for a 78-72 win in the extra session with six free throws in the final two minutes.
Now the Cajuns (6-10 overall) play their final non-conference game of the season at 7 tonight against UAB (10-7) in Birmingham, Ala. In the previous meeting at Bartlow Arena, UL lost 82-80 on a last-second shot in the opening round of the 2003 NIT.
UL coach Robert Lee said the Cajuns must buckle down against UAB, which is led by senior shooting guard Robert Vaden. The Indiana transfer is the fifth-leading scorer in Conference USA this season at 18.6 points per game. He leads the league in 3-pointers made per game (3.35).
"UAB is probably the second-most talented team in Conference USA," Lee said. "Robert Vaden is one of the best shooting guards in the country. They have so many guys who can shoot the basketball from the perimeter."
Coming off a 79-71 overtime loss Thursday to Arkansas-Little Rock, UL will counter with a similar perimeter attack. Leading the way are guard Randell Daigle and guard/forwards Travis Bureau and Chris Gradnigo, whom have combined to score 65 percent of the team's scoring this season (43.2 of 66.8 points per game).
Gradnigo is eager for the rematch with UAB after last season's frustrating loss.
"We had them on the ropes last year but turned it over at the end," he said. "It would be nice to go in there and get a win."
Lee expects a challenge from UAB, which reached the second round of last season's NIT and is considered the most talented C-USA team behind Memphis.
"It should be one of the most entertaining basketball games we're going to play all season, " Lee said. "It's two teams that really want to play up and down and shoot the ball a lot from the perimeter.
"Hopefully, they're missing (shots) and we're making."
UL got a game-high 26 points from guard/forward Elijah Millsap in last season's game against UAB. Millsap, the team's leading rebounder the past two seasons, transferred to UAB after the season. He must sit out this season per NCAA rules.
"They've got Vaden, who is a pretty good shooter, and a bunch of young guys," Gradnigo said. "And that's where Eli transferred to, so there's a little rivalry there."
Late-game struggles have recently been an issue for UL this season. The Cajuns fell at home to Louisiana Tech 61-59 in the season opener at home after getting out-scored 13-4 in the final six minutes. They lost to Sam Houston State 56-54 on a last-second shot on Dec. 21 after holding a nine-point halftime lead and being up three with two minutes left.
Late mistakes left UL just short against LSU 81-79 on Dec. 31. After rallying from a 10-point halftime hole to beat Denver in overtime on Jan. 3, the Cajuns were out-scored 13-2 late in the second half of a 61-58 loss on Jan. 8 at New Orleans.
UL held on to beat Troy on Jan. 10 but was unable to survive UALR's late rally on Thursday.
"We didn't get the defensive stops you need to be able to close teams out," Lee said. "We've been in this situation in the past five or six games. Each game had been exactly like this one.
"The bottom line is you've got to get stops and we didn't get stops late in the basketball game and we did not score on a consistent basis in the last 10 minutes of the game."
