2014–15 UAB Blazers men's basketball team

The 2014–15 UAB Blazers men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blazers, led by third year head coach Jerod Haase, played their home games at Bartow Arena. They were members of Conference USA. They finished the season 20–16, 12–6 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They defeated WKU, Louisiana Tech, and Middle Tennessee to become champions of the C-USA tournament. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 14 seed where they upset No. 3-seeded and No. 9-ranked Iowa State in the first round before losing in the second round to No. 11-seeded UCLA.

2014–15 UAB Blazers men's basketball
Conference USA Tournament champions
NCAA tournament, round of 32
Conference	Conference USA
Record	20–16 (12–6 C-USA)
Head coach	Jerod Haase (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Robert Ehsan Richie Riley Jeff Wulbrun
Home arena	Bartow Arena

2014–15 Conference USA men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Louisiana Tech	15	–	3		.833			27	–	9		.750
Old Dominion	13	–	5		.722			27	–	8		.771
UTEP	13	–	5		.722			22	–	11		.667
WKU	12	–	6		.667			20	–	12		.625
UAB †	12	–	6		.667			20	–	16		.556
Middle Tennessee	9	–	9		.500			19	–	17		.528
FIU	8	–	10		.444			16	–	17		.485
UTSA	8	–	10		.444			14	–	16		.467
North Texas	8	–	10		.444			14	–	17		.452
Rice	8	–	10		.444			12	–	20		.375
Charlotte	7	–	11		.389			14	–	18		.438
Marshall	7	–	11		.389			11	–	21		.344
Southern Miss*	4	–	14		.222			9	–	20		.310
Florida Atlantic	2	–	16		.111			9	–	20		.310
*Ineligible for postseason play due to self-imposed postseason ban
† 2015 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season

The Blazers finished the 2013–14 season 18–13, 7–9 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They lost in the second round of the C-USA tournament to Charlotte.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Robert Williams	5	G	6'4"	210	RS Senior	Greenville, MS	Graduated
Thaddeaus Rideau	11	G	6'4"	168	Junior	Port Arthur, TX	Transferred to Midwestern State
K.C. Whitaker	12	G	6'6"	185	RS Sophomore	Ashburn, VA	Injured
Fahro Alihodzic	15	C	6'10"	240	Senior	Vlasenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Graduated
Preston Purifoy	24	F	6'5"	220	Senior	Conway, AR	Graduated
Rod Rucker	42	F	6'5"	220	Senior	Elberton, GA	Graduated
Jordan Swing	44	F	6'6"	200	Senior	Birmingham, AL	Graduated

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Hakeem Baxter	0	G	6'2"	170	Sophomore	Philadelphia, PA	Transferred from Maryland Eastern Shore. Under NCAA transfer rules, Baxter will have to sit out for the 2014–15 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.

Class of 2014 recruits

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
William Lee PF	Plantersville, AL	Dallas County High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Nov 12, 2013
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 85
Lewis Sullivan SF	Meridianville, AL	Hazel Green High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jul 2, 2013
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 69
Nick Norton PG	Bloomington, IL	Central Catholic High School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Mar 22, 2014
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 59
Jarvis Calhoun PG	Trussville, AL	Hewitt-Trussville High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	Mar 2, 2013
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 59
Chris Cokley PF	Savannah, GA	Savannah High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	216 lb (98 kg)	Nov 2, 2013
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Denzel Collins PG	Walterboro, SC	USC Salkehatchie	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	Aug 3, 2014
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 6, 2014.

Class of 2015 recruits

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Dirk Williams SG	Homewood, AL	Tallahassee Community College	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	N/A
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: JR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 6, 2014.

Roster

2014–15 UAB Blazers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Hakeem Baxter  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Philadelphia, PA G 1 Denzell Watts 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 207 lb (94 kg) So Flint, MI G 2 Nick Norton 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Bloomington, IN F 3 Chris Cokley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 216 lb (98 kg) Fr Savannah, GA G 4 Robert Brown 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Clermont, FL G 5 Jarvis Calhoun 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Trussville, AL F 21 Tosin Mehinti 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 213 lb (97 kg) So Lithonia, GA G 22 Tyler Madison 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Columbiana, AL F 25 C.J. Washington 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 219 lb (99 kg) Sr Augusta, GA F 34 William Lee 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Plantersville, AL F 35 Lewis Sullivan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Hazen Green, AL G 40 Denzel Collins 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Savannah, GA G 45 Lionel Love (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Huntsville, AL	Head coach Jerod Haase Assistant coach(es) Robert Ehsan Richie Riley Jeff Wulbrun Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/07/2014* 7:00 pm		UNC Pembroke	L 71–72	–	Bartow Arena (2,133) Birmingham, AL
Non-conference regular season
11/15/2014* 7:00 pm		Louisiana–Monroe Battle 4 Atlantis Opening Round	L 65–74	0–1	Bartow Arena (2,403) Birmingham, AL
11/17/2014* 7:00 pm		Young Harris	W 94–81	1–1	Bartow Arena (2,071) Birmingham, AL
11/20/2014* 7:00 pm		South Florida	L 71–73 OT	1–2	Bartow Arena (2,501) Birmingham, AL
11/23/2014* 2:00 pm		Jackson State	W 58–50	2–2	Bartow Arena (2,023) Birmingham, AL
11/26/2014* 6:00 pm, AXS TV		vs. No. 2 Wisconsin Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals	L 43–72	2–3	Imperial Arena (2,633) Nassau, BAH
11/27/2014* 8:30 pm, AXS TV		vs. No. 18 Florida Battle 4 Atlantis consolation round	L 47–56	2–4	Imperial Arena (2,408) Nassau, BAH
11/28/2014* 9:30 pm, AXS TV		vs. No. 22 UCLA Battle 4 Atlantis 7th place game	L 76–88	2–5	Imperial Arena (517) Nassau, BAH
12/04/2014* 7:00 pm, ASN		Morehead State	W 58–48	3–5	Bartow Arena (3,029) Birmingham, AL
12/07/2014* 2:00 pm, ASN		Illinois State	L 74–78	3–6	Bartow Arena (2,234) Birmingham, AL
12/14/2014* 7:00 pm, ASN		UNC Asheville	W 79–71	4–6	Bartow Arena (2,146) Birmingham, AL
12/18/2014* 8:00 pm, CBSSN		LSU	L 70–79	4–7	Bartow Arena (6,054) Birmingham, AL
12/22/2014* 7:00 pm, ASN		at Chattanooga	L 67–83	4–8	McKenzie Arena (2,609) Chattanooga, TN
12/27/2014* 6:30 pm, ESPN2		at No. 20 North Carolina	L 58–89	4–9	Dean Smith Center (19,124) Chapel Hill, NC
Conference USA regular season
01/04/2015 2:00 pm		at Middle Tennessee	W 54–49	5–9 (1–0)	Murphy Center (3,605) Murfreesboro, TN
01/08/2015 7:00 pm		Florida Atlantic	W 66–57	6–9 (2–0)	Bartow Arena (2,385) Birmingham, AL
01/10/2015 2:00 pm		FIU	W 70–53	7–9 (3–0)	Bartow Arena (2,806) Birmingham, AL
01/15/2015 7:00 pm, ASN		at Louisiana Tech	L 71–74	7–10 (3–1)	Thomas Assembly Center (3,815) Ruston, LA
01/17/2015 7:00 pm		at Southern Miss	W 63–56	8–10 (4–1)	Reed Green Coliseum (3,493) Hattiesburg, MS
01/22/2015 7:00 pm		Charlotte	W 81–76 OT	9–10 (5–1)	Bartow Arena (3,029) Birmingham, AL
01/24/2015 4:30 pm, ASN		Old Dominion	W 81–68	10–10 (6–1)	Bartow Arena (4,127) Birmingham, AL
01/29/2015 8:00 pm, CBSSN		at UTEP	L 69–71	10–11 (6–2)	Don Haskins Center (7,455) El Paso, TX
01/31/2015 2:00 pm		at UTSA	W 65–57	11–11 (7–2)	Convocation Center (1,252) San Antonio, TX
02/05/2015 8:00 pm, CBSSN		Louisiana Tech	W 80–60	12–11 (8–2)	Bartow Arena (4,068) Birmingham, AL
02/07/2015 2:00 pm		Southern Miss	W 78–68	13–11 (9–2)	Bartow Arena (3,786) Birmingham, AL
02/12/2015 7:00 pm		at North Texas	L 64–67	13–12 (9–3)	The Super Pit (2,611) Denton, TX
02/14/2015 7:00 pm		at Rice	L 73–82 2OT	13–13 (9–4)	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,647) Houston, TX
02/19/2015 7:00 pm		at WKU	W 71–66	14–13 (10–4)	Bartow Arena (3,892) Birmingham, AL
02/22/2015 7:00 pm		Marshall	W 72–54	15–13 (11–4)	Bartow Arena (4,068) Birmingham, AL
02/28/2015 2:00 pm, ASN		Middle Tennessee	W 100–95 3OT	16–13 (12–4)	Bartow Arena (4,761) Birmingham, AL
03/05/2015 6:00 pm		at Florida Atlantic	L 59–62	16–14 (12–5)	FAU Arena (1,005) Boca Raton, FL
03/07/2015 7:00 pm, ASN		at FIU	L 66–70	16–15 (12–6)	FIU Arena (951) Miami, FL
Conference USA tournament
03/12/2015 6:00 pm, ASN	(4)	vs. (5) WKU Quarterfinals	W 53–52	17–15	Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex (6,922) Birmingham, AL
03/13/2015 5:30 pm, CBSSN	(4)	vs. (1) Louisiana Tech Semifinals	W 72–62 OT	18–15	Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex (6,429) Birmingham, AL
03/14/2015 2:30 pm, FS1	(4)	vs. (6) Middle Tennessee Championship	W 73–60	19–15	Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex (8,279) Birmingham, AL
NCAA tournament
03/19/2015* 11:40 am, truTV	(14 S)	vs. (3 S) No. 9 Iowa State Second Round	W 60–59	20–15	KFC Yum! Center (N/A) Louisville, KY
03/21/2015* 11:10 am, CBS	(14 S)	vs. (11 S) UCLA Third Round	L 75–92	20–16	KFC Yum! Center (21,760) Louisville, KY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region S=South.