The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Thursday, February 24
San Antonio, Texas
7 p.m.
UAB
at
UTSA
Photo by: Ken Shepherd
UAB Opens Texas Road Swing at UTSA on Thursday
2/23/2022 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM – After splitting a pair of games in Bartow Arena this past week, UAB will open its final road swing of the 2021-22 regular season at UTSA on Thursday. Thursday night's game in San Antonio, Texas, is set to tip off at 7 p.m. and will stream live on ESPN+.
Despite its last-second defeat to North Texas on Saturday, UAB (20-7, 10-4 C-USA) remains locked into the No. 2 seed in Conference USA's West Division. With four C-USA regular season matchups remaining, UAB controls its own destiny for the No. 2 seed in the West and a double bye in the Conference USA Tournament.
The Blazers hold a 9-5 overall record against UTSA in the all-time series history, posting a 28-point victory over the Roadrunners in Birmingham this season with an 87-59 win on New Year's Day. KJ Buffen (20), Jordan Walker (19) and Michael Ertel (12) each reached double figures in scoring in the win as UAB sported a 45-33 rebounding advantage over the Roadrunners.
UAB LATELY
UAB (20-7, 10-4 C-USA) dropped its first game in Bartow Arena this season in a heartbreaking 58-57 loss to league-leader North Texas on Saturday. Mean Green guard Tylor Perry drilled a game-winning 3-pointer for UNT with less than five seconds remaining, turning a late 57-55 deficit into a 58-57 win for the visitors. Jordan Walker (17) and Tavin Lovan (12) paced the Blazers in scoring in the setback, while Quan Jackson continued his strong run attacking the glass with a team-high 10 rebounds. Jackson and fellow graduate guard Michael Ertel also collected three steals apiece in Saturday's game in front a season-high crowd of 4,721. The Blazers are a perfect 6-0 following a loss this season and 11-1 overall since Andy Kennedy took over at his alma mater in March 2020.
UTSA LATELY
UTSA (9-19, 2-13 C-USA) earned its first Conference USA victory since Jan. 27's win over FIU with a bizarre 98-79 overtime victory at Southern Miss on Thursday. With the score tied at 76-76 after the first 40 minutes, the Roadrunners exploded for 22 points in overtime, outscoring Southern Miss 22-3 in the additional five minutes. UTSA concludes its Conference USA schedule at home in San Antonio, beginning its closing three-game home stand against UAB before hosting in-state foes North Texas and Rice in the Convocation Center. Starting center Jacob Germany leads the Roadrunners with 14.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Fellow Roadrunners Dhieu Deing (14.3) and Jordan Ivy-Curry (13.9) have also averaged double figures in scoring this season. The Roadrunners rank first in Conference USA and seventh nationally in offensive rebounds per game, pulling down 13.6 boards off the offensive glass per contest. UTSA, however, ranks last in the C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.92) and 3-point field-goal percentage (28.9).
COMMON OPPONENTS -- UTSA
The Blazers and Roadrunners shared no common nonconference opponents.
PREVIOUS 10 MATCHUPS IN THE SERIES
1/27/18__ UTSA________________________ L, 70-82
1/19/19__ UTSA________________________ W, 83-73
3/3/19___ at UTSA_______________________ L, 70-76
3/14/19__ vs. UTSA_____________________ W, 85-76
1/30/20__ at UTSA______________________ W, 76-68
3/1/20___ at UTSA_______________________ L, 59-66
3/11/20__ vs. UTSA_____________________ W, 74-69
2/26/21__ at UTSA______________________ W, 64-57
2/27/21__ at UTSA_______________________ L, 79-96
1/1/22___ UTSA________________________ W, 87-59
WELCOME TO THE 1K CLUB
With a dunk in the first half of this past Thursday's win over Rice, KJ Buffen became the sixth current Blazer to join the 1,000-point club. Buffen, Jordan Walker and Justin Brown have all three surpassed 1,000 points in their college careers with the Blazers this season. Buffen (1,022), Walker (1,069) and Brown (1,028) are joined by fellow Blazers Mike Ertel (1,998), Quan Jackson (1,734) and Tavin Lovan (1,215) to have scored more than 1,000 points in their college basketball careers. UAB is the only known program in Division I with six 1,000-point scorers. Notre Dame and Florida each both have five 1,000-point scorers on their rosters.
STACKING UP NICELY IN THE LEAGUE
UAB ranked first among Conference USA programs in a number of different team statistical categories entering C-USA play on Dec. 30, including scoring offense (82.2 points per game), scoring margin (21.2), steals per game (12.4) and turnover margin (8.6). Entering Thursday's slate of league games, UAB ranks first in the league in field-goal percentage defense (40.9%), scoring margin (15.6), scoring offense (80.5), steals per game (10.2), total steals (275), turnover margin (6.1), turnovers forced per game (16.89) and fewest turnovers committed per game (10.8).
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 beginning Dec. 28. 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 @UABLearfield.
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.
WATCH
Thursday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+. This is a subscription-based service.
UP NEXT
The Blazers will finish their weekend road trip with a matchup in the desert against the UTEP Miners. Saturday's late-night matchup in El Paso, Texas, is set to tip off at 8 p.m. CT and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
MEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
UAB men's basketball single-game tickets start as low as $12 and can be purchased by clicking here or calling the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1.
Discounted group tickets and fan experiences are available for a minimum purchase of 15 tickets to any home basketball game during the 2021-22 season. Groups are encouraged to complete the UAB Basketball Group Ticket Request Form or call the UAB Athletics Ticket Office for more information.
Despite its last-second defeat to North Texas on Saturday, UAB (20-7, 10-4 C-USA) remains locked into the No. 2 seed in Conference USA's West Division. With four C-USA regular season matchups remaining, UAB controls its own destiny for the No. 2 seed in the West and a double bye in the Conference USA Tournament.
The Blazers hold a 9-5 overall record against UTSA in the all-time series history, posting a 28-point victory over the Roadrunners in Birmingham this season with an 87-59 win on New Year's Day. KJ Buffen (20), Jordan Walker (19) and Michael Ertel (12) each reached double figures in scoring in the win as UAB sported a 45-33 rebounding advantage over the Roadrunners.
UAB LATELY
UAB (20-7, 10-4 C-USA) dropped its first game in Bartow Arena this season in a heartbreaking 58-57 loss to league-leader North Texas on Saturday. Mean Green guard Tylor Perry drilled a game-winning 3-pointer for UNT with less than five seconds remaining, turning a late 57-55 deficit into a 58-57 win for the visitors. Jordan Walker (17) and Tavin Lovan (12) paced the Blazers in scoring in the setback, while Quan Jackson continued his strong run attacking the glass with a team-high 10 rebounds. Jackson and fellow graduate guard Michael Ertel also collected three steals apiece in Saturday's game in front a season-high crowd of 4,721. The Blazers are a perfect 6-0 following a loss this season and 11-1 overall since Andy Kennedy took over at his alma mater in March 2020.
UTSA LATELY
UTSA (9-19, 2-13 C-USA) earned its first Conference USA victory since Jan. 27's win over FIU with a bizarre 98-79 overtime victory at Southern Miss on Thursday. With the score tied at 76-76 after the first 40 minutes, the Roadrunners exploded for 22 points in overtime, outscoring Southern Miss 22-3 in the additional five minutes. UTSA concludes its Conference USA schedule at home in San Antonio, beginning its closing three-game home stand against UAB before hosting in-state foes North Texas and Rice in the Convocation Center. Starting center Jacob Germany leads the Roadrunners with 14.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Fellow Roadrunners Dhieu Deing (14.3) and Jordan Ivy-Curry (13.9) have also averaged double figures in scoring this season. The Roadrunners rank first in Conference USA and seventh nationally in offensive rebounds per game, pulling down 13.6 boards off the offensive glass per contest. UTSA, however, ranks last in the C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.92) and 3-point field-goal percentage (28.9).
COMMON OPPONENTS -- UTSA
The Blazers and Roadrunners shared no common nonconference opponents.
PREVIOUS 10 MATCHUPS IN THE SERIES
1/27/18__ UTSA________________________ L, 70-82
1/19/19__ UTSA________________________ W, 83-73
3/3/19___ at UTSA_______________________ L, 70-76
3/14/19__ vs. UTSA_____________________ W, 85-76
1/30/20__ at UTSA______________________ W, 76-68
3/1/20___ at UTSA_______________________ L, 59-66
3/11/20__ vs. UTSA_____________________ W, 74-69
2/26/21__ at UTSA______________________ W, 64-57
2/27/21__ at UTSA_______________________ L, 79-96
1/1/22___ UTSA________________________ W, 87-59
WELCOME TO THE 1K CLUB
With a dunk in the first half of this past Thursday's win over Rice, KJ Buffen became the sixth current Blazer to join the 1,000-point club. Buffen, Jordan Walker and Justin Brown have all three surpassed 1,000 points in their college careers with the Blazers this season. Buffen (1,022), Walker (1,069) and Brown (1,028) are joined by fellow Blazers Mike Ertel (1,998), Quan Jackson (1,734) and Tavin Lovan (1,215) to have scored more than 1,000 points in their college basketball careers. UAB is the only known program in Division I with six 1,000-point scorers. Notre Dame and Florida each both have five 1,000-point scorers on their rosters.
STACKING UP NICELY IN THE LEAGUE
UAB ranked first among Conference USA programs in a number of different team statistical categories entering C-USA play on Dec. 30, including scoring offense (82.2 points per game), scoring margin (21.2), steals per game (12.4) and turnover margin (8.6). Entering Thursday's slate of league games, UAB ranks first in the league in field-goal percentage defense (40.9%), scoring margin (15.6), scoring offense (80.5), steals per game (10.2), total steals (275), turnover margin (6.1), turnovers forced per game (16.89) and fewest turnovers committed per game (10.8).
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 beginning Dec. 28. 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 @UABLearfield.
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.
WATCH
Thursday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+. This is a subscription-based service.
UP NEXT
The Blazers will finish their weekend road trip with a matchup in the desert against the UTEP Miners. Saturday's late-night matchup in El Paso, Texas, is set to tip off at 8 p.m. CT and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
MEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
UAB men's basketball single-game tickets start as low as $12 and can be purchased by clicking here or calling the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1.
Discounted group tickets and fan experiences are available for a minimum purchase of 15 tickets to any home basketball game during the 2021-22 season. Groups are encouraged to complete the UAB Basketball Group Ticket Request Form or call the UAB Athletics Ticket Office for more information.
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