The banner posted atop of UAB's athletic Web site has been slowly counting down the Blazer's Thursday night rematch with The University of Memphis.
"Our last game was kind of hard because everyone has been talking about and pointing to the Memphis game," said UAB coach Mike Anderson. "Memphis is one of the premiere teams in the country."
The third-ranked Tigers' (26-2) trip to Birmingham, Ala. will mark the highest- ranked opponent to ever play the Blazers (20-5) at home.
Tickets for the game sold out well over two months ago.
"Everywhere we go in our conference, we are the highest-ranked team to ever play there and there is a record crowd in attendance," said Memphis coach John Calipari. "We understand what we are up against. We know that they very rarely lose there and that it is going to be a hard game to win."
The two teams last met Jan. 26. The Tigers escaped 73-66, but left several questions about how good the Tigers actually were, Calipari said.
"(UAB) feels like they can beat anyone," he said. "I think they said after the last game that 'if they were No. 3 in the country, then what are we?'"
Both teams shot 37 percent from the field in their previous match-up at FedExForum, but a 54-34 rebounding edge over the Blazers helped Memphis bounce back from 19 turnovers and secure the victory.
Since UAB's loss to Memphis, the Blazers have gone 6-1, losing to only UTEP, despite still being without last season's leading scorer, Demario Eddins.
"I am proud of my team," Anderson said. "Not many teams lose their leading-scorer and can still be standing."
While Eddins still represents a big loss to the Blazers, senior guard and Conference USA assists and three-point percentage leader Squeeky Johnson has led UAB to another 20-win season.
Johnson is averaging six assists per game while shooting almost 52 percent behind the arc.
"Squeeky is a great guard. He does a lot of things well," said U of M guard Darius Washington. "But it's not about him or me, it is about whose team pulls out the victory.
"It is going to be a tough and really intense game. UAB is going to grab, hold and punch. We know what to expect."
Although UAB has only lost two games in C-USA and boasts wins over both Oklahoma State and Houston, the Blazers will still most likely need a win over the Tigers to overcome their present RPI ranking of 52 and earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
"We know (UAB) will be going after a tournament bid," Calipari said. "It was the same thing for UTEP and will be the same for Houston."
Nobody has beaten Tigers on the road so far this season, making Memphis the only team in the nation with a perfect road record. They also hold a 15-game winning-streak. Gonzaga and George Washington hold 16-game winning-streaks
"We are used to playing in hostile environments," said freshman forward Shawne Williams. "We just have to play with a lot of intensity and play good defense."
Although The U of M hopes to find their intensity they showed earlier this season, the slight drop in the Tigers' level of play may be because of the young lineup, Calipari said.
"We are not as intense as before and our pick-and-roll defense is back like it was in January," he said. "It is almost like we have all freshman and sophomores."
