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Sports

Cougars gear up for showdown in Alabama

By CHRIS ELLIOTT
The Daily Cougar

Fresh off a high-priority win in Hofheinz, Houston had little to no time to celebrate -- a 13-3, highly athletic, veteran squad awaits their arrival in Birmingham, Ala.

The University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers, who have made it past the first round of the NCAA Tournament in two of the last three years, are led by a solid trio of seniors who love to run as much as anyone in Conference USA.

"We're just going to play our defense. It's going to be like we're playing ourselves." senior guard Brian Latham said. "Our stats are so similar, they're basically the same, in terms of them scoring and allowing points on defense."

Senior guard Marvett McDonald will enter the contest averaging nearly 15 points per game, and it will be either Oliver Lafayette or Brian Latham's assignment to contain on the defensive side of the ball.

"We're going to look in on their guards," Latham said. "I know Marvett, we used to play in a summer league. He's a great shooter. We can't give them any open looks, because they will hit those jumpers. We want to try to lock in and contain the guards and make their big men beat us."

At 6 feet 7 inches, Demario Eddins, who averages 13 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, can play nearly every position on the court and will potentially cause some match-up problems. 

"You know how our defense is: We switch so much, everyone's going to have a chance to guard him," Latham said. "We just want to try to make sure they don't get any open looks."

Houston's plan on defense will involve putting immense amounts of pressure on the ball once UAB gets into their half-court sets, or better yet, preventing them from getting into their sets and running their plays at all.

In most instances, UAB would counter with the same strategy, and fans would be looking at a fast-paced, high-flying shoot-out, but because of the recent exposition of Houston's inability to function properly against a zone defense, UAB might try to slow the game down.

But Lafayette's game-sealing three-pointer over Southern Miss could be a sign that his three-game slump is over, and nothing breaks up a zone faster than when it starts raining threes. 

If for some reason UAB decides to press as much as Houston, expect to see a plethora of ESPN highlights in the form of dunks.
 

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