The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Saturday, December 30
Bartow Arena
4:00 PM
UAB
vs
Middle Tennessee
Blazers Host Middle Tennessee Saturday in C-USA Opener
12/29/2017 3:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB men's basketball team begins its quest for a Conference USA championship Saturday at 4 p.m. when the Blazers welcome Middle Tennessee to Bartow Arena in the Conference USA opener.
All single game tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased online or by calling the UAB Ticket Office at 205-975-8221. Lower level tickets can be purchased for $20 and upper level seating is on sale for $15. Special group pricing is also available for groups of 20 or more to enjoy a great game day experience at Bartow Arena.
All UAB National Alumni Society members can purchase tickets online for $10 by using the promo code ALUMNI. NAS will host a pregame event prior to the game at 2 p.m. at the UAB Alumni House. Click here for more information.
Saturday also marks the beginning of UAB's initiative with the Mike Slive Foundation for Prostate Cancer Research in the fight to block cancer. Coach Ehsan and the entire men's basketball staff along with all 13 players will make a donation for every block and charge recorded during the 2017-18 Conference USA season. Beginning Saturday against Middle Tennessee and lasting through March 3rd against WKU, the Blazers will collectively donate $32 for every blocked shot and $63 for every charge taken.
Blazer fans and community members are encouraged to make a donation and join Mike Slive Foundation's effort to put a stop to prostate cancer.
"Part of our mission as a program is to give back to the community and the ability to associate this cause with something we have excelled at on the basketball court makes this partnership extremely unique, special and rare," Ehsan said. "I've had the pleasure of spending significant time with Mike Slive over the past few years and he's been one of our biggest supporters and advocates of our program. His role as Conference USA Commissioner was instrumental in helping UAB transition into the league and we couldn't be more excited about joining forces with his foundation in the fight against cancer."
On the court, UAB (9-4) won its final three non-conference games and improved to 8-0 at home after defeating Mississippi Valley State last Saturday. Junior Jalen Perry scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds to lead four Blazers in double figures. Nick Norton added 14 points, four three-pointers and three assists, while Nate Darling chipped in with 12 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Overall, senior Chris Cokley paces the UAB offense with 17.3 points and 9.5 rebounds, which ranks him sixth in Conference USA in scoring and second in rebounding. The Savannah, Ga., native already has four games of at least 20 points and ranks second in the league with six double-doubles.
Freshman Zack Bryant ranks second on the team and fourth in the league among freshmen with 13.6 points per game. Darling also scores in double figures with 10.3 points per game and is second on the team with 18 three-pointers made. Senior William Lee adds 9.3 points per game and is third in Conference USA with 2.0 blocks per game. The Selma, Ala., native enters play Saturday needing only 15 more rejections to become the school's all-time leader.
Middle Tennessee (8-4) suffered its second straight loss and third in its last four games when the Blue Raiders fell 84-81 to Miami on Monday in the third-place game of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Blue Raiders opened the tournament with a victory over Princeton before falling in consecutive games to both USC and the Hurricanes.
Senior forward Nick King leads Middle Tennessee and ranks second in Conference USA with 23.3 points per game. The graduate transfer also stands eighth in the league with 7.0 rebounds per game and has been named Conference USA Player of the Week three times this season. Senior guard Giddy Potts adds 12.3 points per game and has made a team-high 29 three-pointers, while Brandon Walters scores in double figures with 11.5 points per game.
UAB and Middle Tennessee will meet on the hardwood for the 16th time in school history when the two teams battle on Saturday. The Blazers own a 10-5 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 1986-87 season. Middle Tennessee won both meetings last season but UAB has victories in five of the last seven matchups. In addition, UAB is 5-2 at home all-time against the Blue Raiders.
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@UAB_MBB) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).
All single game tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased online or by calling the UAB Ticket Office at 205-975-8221. Lower level tickets can be purchased for $20 and upper level seating is on sale for $15. Special group pricing is also available for groups of 20 or more to enjoy a great game day experience at Bartow Arena.
All UAB National Alumni Society members can purchase tickets online for $10 by using the promo code ALUMNI. NAS will host a pregame event prior to the game at 2 p.m. at the UAB Alumni House. Click here for more information.
Saturday also marks the beginning of UAB's initiative with the Mike Slive Foundation for Prostate Cancer Research in the fight to block cancer. Coach Ehsan and the entire men's basketball staff along with all 13 players will make a donation for every block and charge recorded during the 2017-18 Conference USA season. Beginning Saturday against Middle Tennessee and lasting through March 3rd against WKU, the Blazers will collectively donate $32 for every blocked shot and $63 for every charge taken.
Blazer fans and community members are encouraged to make a donation and join Mike Slive Foundation's effort to put a stop to prostate cancer.
"Part of our mission as a program is to give back to the community and the ability to associate this cause with something we have excelled at on the basketball court makes this partnership extremely unique, special and rare," Ehsan said. "I've had the pleasure of spending significant time with Mike Slive over the past few years and he's been one of our biggest supporters and advocates of our program. His role as Conference USA Commissioner was instrumental in helping UAB transition into the league and we couldn't be more excited about joining forces with his foundation in the fight against cancer."
On the court, UAB (9-4) won its final three non-conference games and improved to 8-0 at home after defeating Mississippi Valley State last Saturday. Junior Jalen Perry scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds to lead four Blazers in double figures. Nick Norton added 14 points, four three-pointers and three assists, while Nate Darling chipped in with 12 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Overall, senior Chris Cokley paces the UAB offense with 17.3 points and 9.5 rebounds, which ranks him sixth in Conference USA in scoring and second in rebounding. The Savannah, Ga., native already has four games of at least 20 points and ranks second in the league with six double-doubles.
Freshman Zack Bryant ranks second on the team and fourth in the league among freshmen with 13.6 points per game. Darling also scores in double figures with 10.3 points per game and is second on the team with 18 three-pointers made. Senior William Lee adds 9.3 points per game and is third in Conference USA with 2.0 blocks per game. The Selma, Ala., native enters play Saturday needing only 15 more rejections to become the school's all-time leader.
Middle Tennessee (8-4) suffered its second straight loss and third in its last four games when the Blue Raiders fell 84-81 to Miami on Monday in the third-place game of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Blue Raiders opened the tournament with a victory over Princeton before falling in consecutive games to both USC and the Hurricanes.
Senior forward Nick King leads Middle Tennessee and ranks second in Conference USA with 23.3 points per game. The graduate transfer also stands eighth in the league with 7.0 rebounds per game and has been named Conference USA Player of the Week three times this season. Senior guard Giddy Potts adds 12.3 points per game and has made a team-high 29 three-pointers, while Brandon Walters scores in double figures with 11.5 points per game.
UAB and Middle Tennessee will meet on the hardwood for the 16th time in school history when the two teams battle on Saturday. The Blazers own a 10-5 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 1986-87 season. Middle Tennessee won both meetings last season but UAB has victories in five of the last seven matchups. In addition, UAB is 5-2 at home all-time against the Blue Raiders.
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@UAB_MBB) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
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