UAB vs Arkansas Basketball Recap

UAB 73, Arkansas 72

Just when another basketball season was slipping out of control, an inbounds pass put a buoyant bunch of Blazers back on track.

It was bad enough that UAB lost to Virginia earlier in the week, dropping a decision to one of the worst teams in the ACC. Coach Mike Davis produced a big start to this particular season, but the slip-up in Charlottesville, Va., brought a very familiar uncertainty into the Blazers' locker room.

This is a program that has started strong in most of the past few seasons, only to run out of gas and lose its consistency as the calendar turned to the new year and the grind of regular competition wore down the guys in green. UAB has had NCAA Tournament credentials in January, but forfeited any right to go dancing come March. With the Virginia loss fresh in their collective memories, the Blazers - up and down the roster - needed to show the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee that they could go on the road and defeat an opponent from a power conference. The Arkansas team UAB faced on Saturday is a bottom-feeder in the SEC, so another "L" was not an option for the Blazers.

With 2:30 left in regulation at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark., a damaging defeat was a possibility Mike Davis had to confront.

Up 65-61 with 5:39 left, UAB went silent for the next three minutes and change, as the homestanding Hogs - shorthanded but spirited this season under the dogged leadership of coach John Pelphrey - ripped off a 9-0 run to take a 70-65 edge. Turnovers on three straight possessions fueled an Arkansas resurgence, and with Walton Arena going Hog wild, the Blazers had their work cut out for them.

Impressively, UAB was able to work its way back into contention by forcing a pair of Arkansas turnovers and hitting four free throws on a day when the foul line gave the visitors a crucial plus-7 differential (22 makes to 15 made foul shots for the Razorbacks). Yet, with just two seconds remaining in regulation, UAB found itself trailing, 72-71. After 39 minutes and 58 seconds of pell-mell action in the Ozarks, the kids from Conference USA - for all their NCAA Tournament aspirations - still stood on the shadow side of the divide. Davis and his assistant coaches needed to draw up something special on the blackboard.

Needless to say, they did.

Guard Jamarr Sanders found forward Howard Crawford... and not for a 10-foot jumper, either. Crawford broke open near the rim, and after taking the inbounds pass from his teammate, the 6-8 senior from Eutaw, Ala., crammed the ball through the hoop on a decisive dunk just before the final horn. The UAB bench erupted in elation, and in the course of one perfect pass-catch-dunk sequence, a team's overall outlook changed considerably.

Winning at Arkansas won't punch any tickets or enhance UAB's resume. The Hogs are 7-7 and headed for the lowest tier of a generally weak SEC. However, losing this contest would have severely damaged the Blazers' basketball portfolio. With this landmine avoided, Mike Davis and Co. can now set about their Conference USA schedule with a fresh tank of confidence.