1981–82 UAB Blazers men's basketball team

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.

1981–82 UAB Blazers men's basketball
Sun Belt tournament champions Sun Belt Regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 17
Record	25–6 (9–1 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Gene Bartow (4th season)
Home arena	BJCC Coliseum
Seasons ← 1980–81 1982–83 →

1981–82 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 17 UAB †	9	–	1		.900			25	–	6		.806
VCU	7	–	3		.700			17	–	11		.607
Jacksonville	5	–	5		.500			14	–	13		.519
South Florida	4	–	6		.400			17	–	11		.607
UNC Charlotte	3	–	7		.300			15	–	12		.556
South Alabama	2	–	8		.200			12	–	16		.429
† 1982 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

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 Gene Bartow Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

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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.

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Rankings

Main article: 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Awards and honors

• Oliver Robinson – Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Sun Belt tournament MVP
• Gene Bartow – Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year

NBA draft

Main article: 1982 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
2	24	Oliver Robinson	San Antonio Spurs

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References

1. "1981–82 Alabama–Birmingham Blazers Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
2. "Alabama-Birmingham dashed Indiana's hopes of repeating as NCAA champion". UPI Archives. March 13, 1982. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
3. "UAB Upsets No. 3 Virginia". The Washington Post. March 19, 1982. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
4. "2019-20 UAB Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). UAB Athletics. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
5. "1982 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 14, 2021.