1981–82 UAB Blazers men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 1981–82 UAB Blazers men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham as a member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . This was head coach Gene Bartow 's fourth season at UAB, and the Blazers played their home games at BJCC Coliseum . They finished the season 25–6, 9–1 in Sun Belt play and won the Sun Belt tournament . They received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 4 seed in the Mideast region. After beating No. 5 seed Indiana in the second round, UAB upset No. 1 seed Virginia to reach the Elite Eight. The Blazers fell to Louisville in the Mideast regional final, 75–68. As of 2021, that is the furthest a UAB men’s team has advanced in NCAA Tournament play.
Roster
1981–82 UAB Blazers men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
G
11
Murry Bartow
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
Fr
Birmingham, Alabama
F
12
Marvin Ray Johnson
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
Fr
Birmingham, Alabama
G
14
Jonathan Nicholas
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
—
Sr
Brooklyn, New York
G
15
Luellen Foster
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
So
Birmingham, Alabama
G
20
Oliver Robinson
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Jr
Birmingham, Alabama
G
21
Scott Simcik
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
—
Jr
Simi Valley, California
G
24
Raymond Gause
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Sr
Memphis, Tennessee
F
33
Scott McCabe
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
Fr
Peoria, Illinois
F
40
Chris Giles
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Sr
Birmingham, Alabama
C
42
Lex Drum
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
—
Jr
Poplar Bluff, Missouri
F
44
Craig Lane
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Sr
Quincy, Florida
C
52
Donnie Speer
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
Sr
Sylacauga, Alabama
C
55
Norman Anchrum
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
Sr
Birmingham, Alabama
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
[ 1]
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 27, 1981 *
No. 14
Benedictine
W 100–63
1–0
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (5,055)Birmingham, Alabama
Nov 28, 1981 *
No. 14
Pittsburgh
W 78–62
2–0
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (6,053)Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 5, 1981 *
No. 11
Ole Miss
W 72–58
3–0
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (12,785)Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 12, 1981 *
No. 9
at No. 4 Wichita State
L 60–75
3–1
Levitt Arena (10,666)Wichita, Kansas
Dec 14, 1981 *
No. 16
Roosevelt
W 86–40
4–1
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (2,891)Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 18, 1981 *
No. 16
vs. Southern Miss Cotton States Classic
W 71–56
5–1
(7,162)Atlanta, Georgia
Dec 19, 1981 *
No. 16
vs. Georgia Cotton States Classic
L 72–76
5–2
(7,450)Atlanta, Georgia
Dec 22, 1981 *
No. 19
Chico State
W 80–60
6–2
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (3,217)Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 27, 1981 *
No. 19
vs. No. 9 Missouri Winston Tire Classic
L 80–98
6–3
(7,364)Los Angeles, California
Dec 28, 1981 *
vs. Michigan Winston Tire Classic
W 73–72
7–3
(7,774)Los Angeles, California
Dec 30, 1981 *
Chattanooga
W 76–50
8–3
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (5,318)Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 2, 1982
VCU
L 54–55
8–4 (0–1)
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (7,031)Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 4, 1982
Jacksonville
W 82–62
6–4 (1–1)
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (6,092)Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 9, 1982
South Alabama
W 78–59
10–4 (2–1)
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (10,019)Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 11, 1982
UNC Charlotte
W 85–81
11–4 (3–1)
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (5,516)Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 13, 1982 *
Utica
W 73–44
12–4
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (489)Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 16, 1982
at South Florida
W 54–49
13–4 (4–1)
Sun Dome (8,106)Tampa, Florida
Jan 23, 1982 *
at No. 4 DePaul
L 68–79
13–5
Rosemont Horizon (14,187)Rosemont, Illinois
Jan 29, 1982
South Florida
W 59–51
14–5 (5–1)
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (8,491)Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 1, 1982
at Jacksonville
W 59–57 OT
15–5 (6–1)
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (3,497)Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 4, 1982 *
Mississippi Valley State
W 102–77
16–5
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (3,755)Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 7, 1982
at South Alabama
W 86–82
17–5 (7–1)
Jaguar Gym (7,512)Mobile, Alabama
Feb 11, 1982 *
at Saint Louis
W 79–63
18–5
St. Louis Arena (1,222)St. Louis, Missouri
Feb 20, 1982
vs. VCU
W 56–55
19–5 (8–1)
Richmond Coliseum (5,600)Richmond, Virginia
Feb 21, 1982
at UNC Charlotte
W 78–73
20–5 (9–1)
Charlotte Coliseum (4,160)Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 23, 1982 *
Samford
W 40–27
21–5
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (7,198)Birmingham, Alabama
Sun Belt tournament
Feb 27, 1982 *
(1)
(4) South Florida Semifinals
W 66–56
22–5
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (11,658)Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 28, 1982 *
(1)
(2) VCU Championship Game
W 94–83
23–5
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (11,408)Birmingham, Alabama
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1982 *
(4 ME) No. 17
vs. (5 ME) Indiana Second Round
W 80–70[ 2]
24–5
Memorial Gymnasium (14,761)Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 18, 1982 *
(4 ME) No. 17
vs. (1 ME) No. 3 Virginia Mideast Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 68–66[ 3]
25–5
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (16,754)Birmingham, Alabama
Mar 20, 1982 *
(4 ME) No. 17
vs. (3 ME) No. 20 Louisville Mideast Regional final – Elite Eight
L 68–75
25–6
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (16,754)Birmingham, Alabama
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
ME=Mideast.
[ 4]
Rankings
Awards and honors
NBA draft
[ 5]
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons