Tonight's game: Clemson vs. UA-B

Mar 14, 2011, 11:44 AM

update with over-under and info on UAB center.

Who: Clemson (21-11) vs. UA-B (22-8)
When: Tonight, 9 p.m.
Where: NCAA First Four, Dayton Ohio
Is it a sellout? Not yet
Is it on TV? If you get the old Court TV, then yes. How come these guys weren't showing the SEC tournament?
The Line: Vegas line has Clemson by 4.5. Pomeroy says Clemson by 3. The over-under is 121.
Why are we in Dayton? Honestly, I don't know. Perhaps the committee figured Brad Brownlee's name still carried some cache in those part. Maybe they thought old OPP diehards would still think he was coaching us.
Whatever the reason, it appears we got into the Dance by the skin of our teeth. As did UA-B, though it appears the Blazers had less skin to spare.
What do you mean? Let's put it this way. If Clemson lost to East Carolina in the first round of their tournament, do you think we'd have been anticipating a Dance ticket? I'm still shaking my head about this matchup. But it's our matchup, so let's dive in...

You'll like the Blazers...I guarantee!

Meet the Blazers: First off, what the heck is a Blazer? Aside from a spiffy jacket worn by preppies and barber-shop quartets, the best I can figure is a Blazer is some sort of dragon.

Old-time monster movie buffs may note an uncanny resemblance to this fellow...

Yep, it appears Sparky or Scaly, or whatever they've named their mascot, was lifted from none other than good old Gorgo, the '50s movie monster. I guess Godzilla and Mothra were busy.

Anyway, UA-B is led by senior 6-5 guard Jamarr Sanders (18 ppg, 4 reb, 2 ast, 37 pct from the arc). He's the key to UA-B's offense, he's got a solid jump shot, and he's not afraid to go inside. He's also a step slow, and when put up against the top guards of Conference USA, he tends to fall back on shooting 3s ... with limited effectiveness. Memphis held him to 6 points, and in a loss to Tulsa, he was 2 of 12 form the outside. He did score 37 against Rice, though, so if you leave him alone, he'll burn you. But does anyone here expect Clemson to leave him alone? BTW, he's foul prone against faster guards....like Demontez Stitt.

Cameron Moore has a nice finishing move, if you don't get in his way

UAB has a solid, if scrawny inside player in 6-10 junior Cameron Moore (14 ppg, 9 reb). He was a house on fire early in the season, but an injury to his shooting hand injury and other teams learning how to defend him have cut his numbers in half in the past month. Defenses have made a point of denying him the ball, and his number of shots have plummeted. He's taken to trying a 3-pointer or two as a result, which only makes the Blazer offense look more herky-jerky.

Notice the Dana Delaney trademark forearm in Johnson's drive.

Senior guard Aaron Johnson (12 ppg, 8 ast, 2 reb) may be the only Blazer really looking forward to this matchup. Named the Conference USA player of the year, he's about the same size as Andre Young, very quick but nowhere near the outside threat that Andre is. But at least he won't be guarded by someone 5 inches taller this game. He has an uncanny skill in dishing the ball, and on defense, he's a ball hawk. It's always fun to watch someone play with his hustle.

6-8 forward Ovie Soko (9 ppg, 6 reb) seems to have found a consistent role for the Blazers, snagging about 10 points a game. His rebounding, especially offensive, is inconsistent, though, and he is prone to foul trouble against quicker inside guys.

After that, the lineup sort of fades for UAB. Their best remaining outside shooter is Preston Purifoy (5 ppg, 2 reb, 43 pct from the arc) and Dexter Fields (7 ppg, 2 reb, 36 pct from the arc). There are a stable of role players on Mike Davis' team, but the heart and soul are Johnson, Moore and Sanders. Stop two of them and the team falls apart, as East Carolina showed last week.

The Blazers aren't a run and gun sort of team. Their point total mirrors Clemson, and their defensive efficiency is one of the top 50 in the nation. They play man defense, though not overly aggressive. The Blazers work to deny opponents good shots, counting on Moore to swat at anyone who gets past. On offense, they are patient, though that patience has worn thin against tougher teams. They can be rushed, but rarely forced into turnovers. If they play their defense and we play ours, this has the looks of a first team to 60 wins sort of game.

How does Clemson look? Well, let's see...we lost in overtime to UNC our last game. UAB lost in overtime to East Carolina. If a team can score 70 or more on the Blazers, they win. Only Middle Tennessee scored 70 in a losing effort against UAB. That was also one of only 2 away games that UAB topped the 70-point barrier.

Clemson is led by senior guard Demontez Stitt (15 ppg, 4 reb, 4 ast, 38 pct from the arc) and honestly, he has the edge on Sanders in both speed and versatility. Inside Jerai Grant (12 ppg, 7 reb, 2.5 blk) gives up some size to Moore, but is considerably quicker. And if Moore concentrates on stopping Grant, Devin Booker (8 ppg, 5 reb) will devour smaller, shorter Soko.

The most interesting matchup will be Andre Young (11 ppg, 2 reb, 3 ast, 40 pct from the arc) and Johnson. It will be refreshing to see Andre not having to face someone several inches taller. I'm sure Johnson is saying the same thing.

We gonna have some fun tomorrow!

The wild card, once again, is Milt Jennings (9 ppg, 5 reb). Anyone wondering why Brownell is using Milt so much needs only to look at the matchup problems he presents. No one on UAB's roster has the size to go inside with him and the range from the outside. Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me to see a double-double game from him.

So, how should it go? For one of the rare times this year, Clemson will be trying to push the tempo. UAB reminds me a bit of Georgia Tech ... solid guards, a bit soft inside, and no real inside-outside threat to force the bigs to play outside. Clemson's inside game should inevitably force UAB to go outside, and we should be able to impose our will in the paint.

The key is how Clemson plays away from home. If the team from the ACC tournament shows up, this one gets put away early. But road games are never a given for Clemson. Look for things to be a little more difficult than they should be before the Tigers put it away late ... perhaps at the line.

When's the last postseason game you could say that? Probably about the last time you could see Gorgo on the big screen.