The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Thursday, January 28
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
8:00 PM
UAB
at
Middle Tennessee
UAB Travels to Middle Tennessee for Nationally Televised Matchup Thursday
1/27/2021 7:48:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM – The UAB men's basketball team travels to Middle Tennessee on Thursday evening in a contest that will be aired nationally on CBS Sports Network. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Chris Hassel and Mike O'Donnell will be on the call.
UAB LATELY
The Blazers (12-2, 5-1 C-USA) are coming off a pair of wins against Rice last weekend. On Friday, Michael Ertel scored a season-high 21 points on his 22nd birthday to lead UAB to a 78-68 victory. The following day, Tavin Lovan scored a career-high 32 points and added a game-high 11 rebounds as the Blazers completed the weekend sweep of the Owls, 86-74.
MT LATELY
Middle Tennessee (3-9, 1-5 C-USA) has dropped four straight and five of its last six games. The Blue Raiders' leading scorer is Dontrell Shuler (12.1 ppg). Jo'vontae Millner-Criss is the team's leading rebounder (5.5 rpg).
UAB AND MT HISTORY
UAB leads the all-time series 13-9 that dates back to 1986. Each team is 5-4 on their home court with the Blazers winning all four matchups at neutral sites. The most notable victory was on March 14, 2015 when the Blazers defeated the Blue Raiders to win the Conference USA Championship.
COMMON OPPONENTS
UAB and Middle Tennessee have six common opponents this season: Charlotte, Chattanooga, East Tennessee State, LA Tech, Old Dominion and Southern Miss.
12 of 14
For the sixth time in the 43 year history of the program, the Blazers have at least 12 wins in the first 14 games. The last time was in 2009-10. UAB did it four times under Coach Bartow: 1983-84, 1985-86, 1991-92, 1993-94. All six Blazers squads played in the postseason.
LOVAN NAMED CO-C-USA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After leading UAB to a pair of victories over Rice this weekend, Tavin Lovan was named Conference USA Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 25. Lovan scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds in the Blazers' 86-74 win on Jan. 23. He was 13-of-22 shooting, 6-of-7 from the foul line and added five assists. In the 78-68 win on Jan. 22, Lovan scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. In the Rice series, he scored 46 points, shot 62.1% from the field (18-of-29) and made 10-of-12 free throws.
D-ING UP
In addition to being fourth in the nation in scoring defense (58.5), the Blazers are third in turnover margin (+7.1), seventh in fewest turnovers (10.0) and 14th in scoring margin (+16.9).
RADIO
Blazer men's basketball games are set to air on 100.5 ESPN JOX 2 with David Crane and Murry Bartow on the call.
In addition, Crane will host Blazer Sportsline every Tuesday during Conference USA play. The show takes place live from Iron City Grill in downtown Birmingham and features men's basketball head coach Andy Kennedy and women's basketball head coach Randy Norton.
The nine-episode show, airs from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Blazer Sportsline can be heard on 100.5 ESPN JOX 2 and fans will be encouraged to tweet questions to @BlazersLIMGC.
Fans may also follow the Blazers this season by downloading the free TuneIn Radio app, online through Blazers All-Access at UABSports.com, or on the UAB Gameday mobile app.
CBS SPORTS NETWORK
Thursday night's game will be air nationally on CBS Sports Network. Chris Hassel and Mike O'Donnell will be on the call. CBS Sports Network can be streamed here You must have a TV provider in order to stream the game.
DirecTV – channel 221
Dish Network – channel 158
Verizon FiOS – channel 594
UP NEXT
The Blazers return home to close out the series against Middle Tennessee on Jan. 31. Tipoff time will be 2 p.m.
MEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
In compliance with CDC and state and local public health guidance, UAB adjusted the seating manifest to adhere to social distancing at Bartow Arena for the 2020-21 season. UAB reallocated season ticket holders who had completed their purchase of season tickets through October 19 and placed season ticket holders based on Blazer Boosters Priority Points and the price type of tickets purchased. As a reminder, original season ticket locations prior to the social distancing reallocation will be utilized for 2021-22 renewals or if capacity restrictions change during the 2020-21 season.
Due to social distancing guidelines, men's basketball single game tickets and walk up sales are not be available to the public for the 2020-21 season.
Fans interested in season tickets are encouraged to fill out the season ticket request form or contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1. A member of the UAB Athletics Sales and Service team will be in touch if capacity restrictions are lifted or when 2021-22 season tickets become available.
TICKET TRANSFER
Season ticket holders that cannot make it to the game are encouraged to transfer their game tickets. Click here to learn more on how to transfer your tickets to a friend.
UAB LATELY
The Blazers (12-2, 5-1 C-USA) are coming off a pair of wins against Rice last weekend. On Friday, Michael Ertel scored a season-high 21 points on his 22nd birthday to lead UAB to a 78-68 victory. The following day, Tavin Lovan scored a career-high 32 points and added a game-high 11 rebounds as the Blazers completed the weekend sweep of the Owls, 86-74.
MT LATELY
Middle Tennessee (3-9, 1-5 C-USA) has dropped four straight and five of its last six games. The Blue Raiders' leading scorer is Dontrell Shuler (12.1 ppg). Jo'vontae Millner-Criss is the team's leading rebounder (5.5 rpg).
UAB AND MT HISTORY
UAB leads the all-time series 13-9 that dates back to 1986. Each team is 5-4 on their home court with the Blazers winning all four matchups at neutral sites. The most notable victory was on March 14, 2015 when the Blazers defeated the Blue Raiders to win the Conference USA Championship.
COMMON OPPONENTS
UAB and Middle Tennessee have six common opponents this season: Charlotte, Chattanooga, East Tennessee State, LA Tech, Old Dominion and Southern Miss.
12 of 14
For the sixth time in the 43 year history of the program, the Blazers have at least 12 wins in the first 14 games. The last time was in 2009-10. UAB did it four times under Coach Bartow: 1983-84, 1985-86, 1991-92, 1993-94. All six Blazers squads played in the postseason.
LOVAN NAMED CO-C-USA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After leading UAB to a pair of victories over Rice this weekend, Tavin Lovan was named Conference USA Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 25. Lovan scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds in the Blazers' 86-74 win on Jan. 23. He was 13-of-22 shooting, 6-of-7 from the foul line and added five assists. In the 78-68 win on Jan. 22, Lovan scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. In the Rice series, he scored 46 points, shot 62.1% from the field (18-of-29) and made 10-of-12 free throws.
D-ING UP
In addition to being fourth in the nation in scoring defense (58.5), the Blazers are third in turnover margin (+7.1), seventh in fewest turnovers (10.0) and 14th in scoring margin (+16.9).
RADIO
Blazer men's basketball games are set to air on 100.5 ESPN JOX 2 with David Crane and Murry Bartow on the call.
In addition, Crane will host Blazer Sportsline every Tuesday during Conference USA play. The show takes place live from Iron City Grill in downtown Birmingham and features men's basketball head coach Andy Kennedy and women's basketball head coach Randy Norton.
The nine-episode show, airs from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Blazer Sportsline can be heard on 100.5 ESPN JOX 2 and fans will be encouraged to tweet questions to @BlazersLIMGC.
Fans may also follow the Blazers this season by downloading the free TuneIn Radio app, online through Blazers All-Access at UABSports.com, or on the UAB Gameday mobile app.
CBS SPORTS NETWORK
Thursday night's game will be air nationally on CBS Sports Network. Chris Hassel and Mike O'Donnell will be on the call. CBS Sports Network can be streamed here You must have a TV provider in order to stream the game.
DirecTV – channel 221
Dish Network – channel 158
Verizon FiOS – channel 594
UP NEXT
The Blazers return home to close out the series against Middle Tennessee on Jan. 31. Tipoff time will be 2 p.m.
MEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
In compliance with CDC and state and local public health guidance, UAB adjusted the seating manifest to adhere to social distancing at Bartow Arena for the 2020-21 season. UAB reallocated season ticket holders who had completed their purchase of season tickets through October 19 and placed season ticket holders based on Blazer Boosters Priority Points and the price type of tickets purchased. As a reminder, original season ticket locations prior to the social distancing reallocation will be utilized for 2021-22 renewals or if capacity restrictions change during the 2020-21 season.
Due to social distancing guidelines, men's basketball single game tickets and walk up sales are not be available to the public for the 2020-21 season.
Fans interested in season tickets are encouraged to fill out the season ticket request form or contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1. A member of the UAB Athletics Sales and Service team will be in touch if capacity restrictions are lifted or when 2021-22 season tickets become available.
TICKET TRANSFER
Season ticket holders that cannot make it to the game are encouraged to transfer their game tickets. Click here to learn more on how to transfer your tickets to a friend.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
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