by Garrett Helmers
Men’s Basketball
Andy Kennedy and the Blazers (19-6, 9-3) fell victim to another mediocre conference opponent on the road over the weekend. While UAB still has a major matchup with West-leading North Texas this week, they no longer control their own destiny in the conference.
With the loss on Sunday, UAB has little chance at receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, making the conference tournament even more important.
Thursday, Feb. 17 vs. Rice
Despite coming off an embarrassing loss to North Texas over the weekend, the Rice Owls (14-10, 6-6) have already proven they can take the Blazers to the wire.
Rice is powered by the fourth-best scoring offense in the conference, tallying just under 76 points per contest. Led by top-10 scorer Carl Pierre, the Owls put up 85 in the first matchup with UAB.
The most glaring weakness for the Owls is their defense, which ranks 13th in the conference, allowing nearly 73 points per game.
Expect the Blazers to win the turnover battle in this game, as the Blazers boast the best turnover margin in the conference, while Rice ranks dead last in the league.
If UAB wants to get revenge against the Owls, they will have to defend the three-point line — Rice is the best three-point shooting team in C-USA — and limit the scoring of Pierre.
The Blazers and Owls will tipoff at 7 p.m. at Bartow Arena. The game can be streamed on Stadium.
Saturday, Feb. 19 vs. North Texas
In arguably the Blazers’ biggest game of the season, North Texas (18-4, 11-1) will travel to Bartow riding a 10-game winning streak. Led by the best- scoring defense in the conference, the Mean Green have been the hottest team in the conference for the past month.
Luckily for the Blazers, they have experience against this North Texas team, whose lone loss in conference play was against the Blazers back on Jan. 6.
North Texas’ defense has allowed them to blaze through their conference schedule. Allowing just 55 points per contest, their defense allows ten less points per game than UAB, C-USA’s second-best scoring defense.
The Mean Green and Blazers rank toward the top of nearly every defensive statistical category available, meaning this one will probably come down to whose biggest players make the biggest plays on offense down the stretch.
Tylor Perry, the leading scorer for North Texas, has put up huge numbers against the Mean Green’s best competition this season. If UAB is going to outlast Perry and the Mean Green, Jordan Walker and Quan Jackson will have to be efficient on the offensive end.
The Blazers have played their best basketball against their toughest opponents. Expect Bartow Arena to be rocking and Andy Kennedy to have his team ready to compete.
If UAB can manage to score against the stifling Mean Green defense, expect the Blazers to come out of Bartow with a win on Saturday.
UAB and North Texas are set to tip off at 3 p.m. The game will be available to stream on Stadium.
Women’s Basketball
Coming off a promising win against Southern Miss that put the Blazers back in first place in the West, Coach Norton and the Blazers dropped a heartbreaker to Old Dominion at home on Sunday. The result is a second-place standing in the West but an opportunity to prove themselves against Rice and North Texas.
The Blazers seem to play their best basketball when their backs are against the wall, and if they hope to be the best team in the West, these games feel as though they are must-wins.
Thursday, Feb. 17 vs. Rice
In the first game of their two-game stretch out in Texas, the Blazers will face a Rice Owls team (7-11, 2-8) that currently sits near the bottom of the West.
Rice has struggled to find any rhythm in conference play, in large part due to their league-worst defense, which allows a little over 67 points per game. Pair that with a middle-of-the-pack offense, and it would be difficult for any team to hit their stride.
Ashlee Austin is perhaps the biggest bright-spot for the Owls, as she averages the sixth- most points per game in the conference, scoring just over 15 a game on average.
Malia Fisher, one of the best rebounders in the conference, will pose a huge threat to the Blazers’ game plan if they cannot keep her off the glass. Unfortunately for the Owls, UAB’s Zakyia Weathersby tends to dominate the glass no matter the opponent.
If the Blazers can keep Austin in check, they should have no trouble limiting a struggling Rice team on the offensive end. Expect the Blazers to key in on both Austin and Fisher in this matchup.
UAB and Rice will tip off at 7 p.m. The game will be available to stream on CUSA.tv.
Saturday, Feb. 19 vs. North Texas
Having dropped a game against North Texas just last week, UAB will hope to stop North Texas’s Amber Dixon, who posted 20 points against the Blazers in Bartow.
The Mean Green have won four straight games in conference play, including their win over the Blazers on Feb. 7.
UAB has been at its best when it diversifies its scoring. The Blazers had five scorers in double digits in their big wins over Western Kentucky and Marshall earlier this season.
The Blazers struggled offensively in their matchup against the Mean Green. Zakyia Weathersby struggled especially, being a season-low four points after playing just 14 minutes. Weathersby will have to create a bigger impact if the Blazers want to pull out the win.
While the Blazers have had trouble winning games on the road this season, they did defeat West-leading Southern Miss in Hattiesburg this past Thursday. If the Blazers can carry that momentum into their road trip to Texas, they should be able to grab at least one win.
The Mean Green and Blazers will tip off at 11:30 a.m. in Denton, Texas. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
