1984–85 UAB Blazers men's basketball team

1984–85 UAB Blazers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceSun Belt Conference
Record25–9 (11–3 Sun Belt)
Head coach
Home arenaBJCC Coliseum
Seasons
1984–85 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 11 VCU † 12 – 2   .857 26 – 6   .813
UAB 11 – 3   .786 25 – 9   .735
Old Dominion 9 – 5   .643 19 – 12   .613
South Florida 6 – 8   .429 18 – 12   .600
Jacksonville 6 – 8   .429 15 – 14   .517
South Alabama 6 – 8   .429 15 – 13   .536
Western Kentucky 5 – 9   .357 14 – 14   .500
UNC Charlotte 1 – 13   .071 5 – 23   .179
† 1985 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1984–85 UAB Blazers men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham as a member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 1984–85 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Gene Bartow's 7th season at UAB, and the Blazers played their home games at BJCC Coliseum. They finished the season 25–9, 11–3 in Sun Belt play and lost in the semifinals of the Sun Belt tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 7 seed in the Midwest region. The Blazers defeated Michigan State in the opening round before falling to No. 2 seed and eventual Final Four participant Memphis State in the round of 32, 67–66.

Roster

1984–85 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) Sr Birmingham, Alabama
F 12 Marvin Ray Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
 Sr Birmingham, Alabama
G 14 Steve Mitchell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Memphis, Tennessee
G 32 James Ponder 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Atlanta, Georgia
F 40 Jerome Mincy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Memphis, Tennessee
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 23, 1984*
 vs. Tennessee
Great Alaska Shootout 		W 70–65  1–0
 Sullivan Arena (2,863)
Anchorage, Alaska
Nov 24, 1984*
 vs. No. 2 Illinois
Great Alaska Shootout 		W 59–52[2]  2–0
 Sullivan Arena (4,762)
Anchorage, Alaska
Nov 25, 1984*
 vs. No. 19 Kansas
Great Alaska Shootout 		W 50–46[3]  3–0
 Sullivan Arena (4,286)
Anchorage, Alaska
Nov 30, 1984*
 No. 13 Auburn L 59–61[4]  3–1
 Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (17,025)
Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 1, 1984*
 No. 13 Rhodes College W 95–72  4–1
 Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (3,211)
Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 5, 1984*
 No. 18 South Carolina State W 73–56  5–1
 Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (3,556)
Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 12, 1984*
 No. 17 at Cincinnati L 67–69  5–2
 Riverfront Coliseum (5,080)
Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 15, 1984*
 No. 17 East Tennessee State W 72–57  6–2
 Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (4,889)
Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 17, 1984*
 Mississippi State W 65–63  7–2
 Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (5,595)
Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 21, 1984*
 Austin Peay
UAB Classic 		W 80–68  8–2
 Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (3,391)
Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 22, 1984*
 George Mason
UAB Classic 		L 60–61  8–3
 Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (4,710)
Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 28, 1984*
 vs. No. 2 Duke
Trojan-Bud Light Classic 		L 62–76  8–4
 L.A. Sports Arena (5,047)
Los Angeles, California
Dec 29, 1984*
 vs. The Citadel
Trojan-Bud Light Classic 		W 79–64  9–4
 L.A. Sports Arena (5,776)
Los Angeles, California
Jan 3, 1985*
 Wisconsin-Parkside W 89–65  10–4
 Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (2,896)
Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 4, 1985*
 No. 10 DePaul W 66–59  11–4
 Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (17,222)
Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 10, 1985
 Jacksonville W 67–55  12–4
(1–0) 		Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (5,785)
Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 12, 1985
 at South Florida W 58–52  13–4
(2–0) 		Sun Dome (6,367)
Tampa, Florida
Jan 16, 1985
 at Jacksonville W 69–64  14–4
(3–0) 		Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum (4,593)
Jacksonville, Florida
Jan 19, 1985
 at Western Kentucky W 68–66  15–4
(4–0) 		E.A. Diddle Arena (9,800)
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Jan 22, 1985
 UNC Charlotte W 65–62  16–4
(5–0) 		Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (4,912)
Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 24, 1985
 at Old Dominion W 56–55  17–4
(6–0) 		Norfolk Scope (5,021)
Norfolk, Virginia
Jan 26, 1985
 No. 19 VCU W 66–62  18–4
(7–0) 		Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (16,866)
Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 31, 1985
 No. 20 Old Dominion L 58–59  18–5
(7–1) 		Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (12,032)
Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 2, 1985
 South Alabama W 81–73 OT 19–5
(8–1) 		Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (6,883)
Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 7, 1985*
 Jackson State W 80–57  20–5
 Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (4,478)
Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 9, 1985
 Western Kentucky W 77–62  21–5
(9–1) 		Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (13,864)
Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 13, 1985
 No. 19 VCU L 53–67  21–6
(9–2) 		Richmond Coliseum (10,058)
Richmond, Virginia
Feb 19, 1985
 South Florida W 62–61  22–6
(10–2) 		Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (16,781)
Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 21, 1985
 at UNC Charlotte W 60–55  23–6
(11–2) 		Charlotte Coliseum (2,140)
Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 23, 1985
 at South Alabama L 68–80  23–7
(11–3) 		Jaguar Gym (6,581)
Mobile, Alabama
Sun Belt tournament
Mar 1, 1985*
 (2) vs. (7) Western Kentucky
Quarterfinals 		W 64–56  24–7
 Hampton Coliseum (3,010)
Hampton, Virginia
Mar 2, 1985*
 (2) vs. (3) Old Dominion
Semifinals 		L 67–68  24–8
 Hampton Coliseum (9,558)
Hampton, Virginia
NCAA tournament
Mar 15, 1985*
 (7 MW) vs. (10 MW) Michigan State
First round 		W 70–68  25–8
 Hofheinz Pavilion (8,000)
Houston, Texas
Mar 17, 1985*
 (7 MW) vs. (2 MW) No. 5 Memphis State
Second round 		L 66–67 OT 25–9
 Hofheinz Pavilion (6,800)
Houston, Texas
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.

[5][6]

Rankings

Main article: 1984–85 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Awards and honors

  • Gene Bartow – Sun Belt Coach of the Year

References

  1. ^ "1984–85 Alabama–Birmingham Blazers Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "No. 2 Illinois Falls, 59-52". The Washington Post. November 25, 1984. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  3. ^ "UAB Upsets Kansas in Alaska". The Washington Post. November 26, 1984. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  4. ^ "College Basketball Roundup". UPI Archives. December 1, 1984. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  5. ^ "2019-20 UAB Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). UAB Athletics. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  6. ^ "1984-85 Men's Basketball Schedule". UAB Athletics. Retrieved March 26, 2023.