1988-1989 UAB Blazers Men's basketball team
The 1988-1989 UAB Blazers men's basketball team represented UAB as a member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 1988-89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.
The Blazers were coached by Gene Bartow and played the majority of their home games at UAB Arena on the UAB campus.
The 1988-89 season was a season of exciting new directions with the opening of UAB's new on-campus arena. After a quick trip to Honolulu to defeat Hawai'i Pacific College (86-63). The Blazers returned to Birmingham to open their early Christmas present, the on-campus UAB Arena. Excitement filled the southside leading up to the inaugural game against the Vanderbilt Commodores of the Southeastern Conference. The game lived up to its hype with the homestanding Blazers emerging victorious 76-69.
The Blazers struggled at times during the rest of their non-conference slate, ending 1988 with an 8-3 record.
UAB managed a 8-6 conference record for their 2nd consecutive 5th place finish in the Sun Belt.
In the Sun Belt Tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Blazers defeated the 4 seed Old Dominion (89-87) before getting drilled by top seed South Alabama 84-103 in the Semi-Finals.
UAB was selected to participate in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) and were awarded a 1st round home game against Georgia Southern. The Blazers defeated the Eagles (83-74) in the final home game of the season. The Blazers headed out on the road for the 2nd & 3rd rounds, beating Richmond (64-61) in Richmond, Virginia, and Connecticut (85-79) in Storrs, Connecticut to advance the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In the NIT Semi-Finals, UAB was matched up with home-standing St. John's. The Redmen led by legendary coach Lou Carneseca proved to be too much for the Blazers winning (65-76). Two nights later, UAB ended the season on a high note with a thrilling hard-fought victory over the Michigan State Spartans (78-76) in Overtime in the NIT Consolation Game.
UAB finished the season with a 22-12 record and a 3rd place NIT finish.
Schedule/Results
| Date | Rank | Opponent | Score | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 28 | at Hawai'i Pacific | 86-63 | Honolulu, HI | ||
| December 3 | Vanderbilt | 76-69 | UAB Arena | 1st game played on campus | |
| December 8 | Alabama State | 87-85 | UAB Arena | ||
| December 10 | at Wyoming | 91-109 | Laramie, WY | ||
| December 16 | Florida A&M | 93-56 | UAB Arena | UAB Classic | |
| December 17 | Louisiana Tech | 97-79 | UAB Arena | UAB Classic | |
| December 20 | vs. #16 Tennessee | 99-111 | San Diego, CA | McDonald's Classic | |
| December 21 | vs. Hardin-Simmons | 72-50 | San Diego, CA | McDonald's Classic | |
| December 26 | Long Beach State | 90-75 | UAB Arena | ||
| December 29 | vs. Kent State | 66-75 | Chattanooga, TN | Krystal Classic | |
| December 30 | vs. Tennessee State | 84-56 | Chattanooga, TN | Krystal Classic | |
| January 7 | at Old Dominion | 89-101 | Norfolk, VA | ||
| January 10 | Western Kentucky | 76-60 | UAB Arena | ||
| January 14 | at South Florida | 73-61 | Tampa, FL | ||
| January 16 | Jacksonville | 93-86 | UAB Arena | ||
| January 18 | at South Alabama | 84-114 | Mobile, AL | ||
| January 26 | at Virginia Commonwealth | 75-79 | Richmond, VA | ||
| January 28 | UNC-Charlotte | 72-86 | UAB Arena | ||
| February 4 | Old Dominion | 92-77 | UAB Arena | ||
| February 9 | at Western Kentucky | 80-70 | Bowling Green, KY | ||
| February 11 | South Alabama | 93-91 | UAB Arena | ||
| February 15 | at Bradley | 90-96 | Peoria, IL | ||
| February 18 | at Jacksonville | 79-98 | Jacksonville, FL | ||
| February 21 | South Florida | 87-59 | UAB Arena | ||
| February 23 | Virginia Commonwealth | 78-62 | UAB Arena | ||
| February 25 | Auburn | 105-76 | BJCC | ||
| February 27 | at UNC-Charlotte | 74-76 | Charlotte, NC | ||
| March 4 | vs. Old Dominion | 89-87 (OT) | Charlotte, NC | Sun Belt Quarter-Finals | |
| March 5 | vs. South Alabama | 84-103 | Charlotte, NC | Sun Belt Semi-Finals | |
| March 16 | Georgia Southern | 83-74 | UAB Arena | NIT 1st Round | |
| March 20 | at Richmond | 64-61 | Richmond, VA | NIT 2nd Round | |
| March 22 | at Connecticut | 85-79 | Storrs, CT | NIT Quarter-Finals | |
| March 27 | at St. John's | 65-76 | New York, NY | NIT Semi-Finals | |
| March 29 | vs. Michigan State | 78-76 (OT) | New York, NY | NIT Consolation | |
| *Rankings - Associated Press | |||||
Coaching Staff
| Name | Position | Seasons at UAB |
|---|---|---|
| Gene Bartow | Head coach | 11th |
| Robert Corn | Assistant coach | 10th |
| Joe Evans | Assistant coach | 2nd |
| Jimmy Armstrong | Staff Assistant | 3rd |
| Jeff Starkweather | Staff Assistant | 1st |
| Bill Walker | Staff Assistant | 1st |
Players/Stats
| # | Player | Games | Field Goals | FG% | 3 Pt FGs | 3FG% | Free Throws | FT% | Rebounds | Assists | Turnovers | Blocks | Steals | Points | Pts/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Reginald Turner | 34 | 263-519 | .507 | 18-54 | .333 | 118-136 | .868 | 251 | 40 | 59 | 24 | 36 | 662 | 19.5 |
| 13 | Andy Kennedy | 34 | 179-410 | .437 | 122-267 | .457 | 123-144 | .854 | 101 | 103 | 72 | 3 | 72 | 603 | 17.7 |
| 53 | Alan Ogg | 34 | 146-255 | .573 | 0-0 | .000 | 42-59 | .712 | 206 | 23 | 40 | 129 | 16 | 334 | 9.8 |
| 3 | Barry Bearden | 34 | 94-205 | .459 | 63-145 | .435 | 56-72 | .778 | 94 | 177 | 59 | 3 | 54 | 307 | 9.0 |
| 40 | Larry Rembert | 34 | 96-187 | .513 | 0-0 | .000 | 90-123 | .732 | 137 | 17 | 63 | 7 | 13 | 282 | 8.3 |
| 22 | Jack Kramer | 34 | 86-176 | .489 | 32-68 | .471 | 41-69 | .594 | 85 | 199 | 87 | 6 | 49 | 245 | 7.2 |
| 34 | Dylan Howard | 33 | 60-121 | .496 | 0-2 | .000 | 31-42 | .738 | 97 | 37 | 26 | 5 | 14 | 151 | 4.6 |
| 23 | Elbert Rogers | 25 | 31-65 | .477 | 0-0 | .000 | 35-55 | .636 | 63 | 4 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 97 | 3.9 |
| 15 | J.J. Smith | 25 | 28-85 | .329 | 11-31 | .355 | 11-17 | .647 | 21 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 78 | 2.6 |
| 35 | Tony Lewis | 31 | 28-69 | .406 | 0-9 | .000 | 9-16 | .563 | 41 | 11 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 65 | 2.1 |
| 55 | Bruce Baker | 1 | 2-7 | .286 | 1-6 | .167 | 0-0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5.0 |
| Team | Totals | 34 | 1013-2099 | .483 | 247-582 | .424 | 556-733 | .759 | 1208 | 624 | 453 | 187 | 221 | 2829 | 83.2 |
External Links
| Preceded by: 1987-1988 |
UAB Men’s Basketball Teams 1988–1989 |
Succeeded by: 1989-1990 |