It’s a clash between green and gold… and green and gold this week as UAB men’s and women’s basketball teams get ready to face the Charlotte 49ers. The men will hit the road and the women will hold down Bartow.
Men’s Basketball at Charlotte
The Blazers have only played one game away from Bartow this season, now they are gearing up to play two back-to-back in Charlotte. The last road trip for this team was a narrow 65-61 victory over East Tennessee State back in early December.
As old SunBelt rivals, UAB and Charlotte have a long history. The Blazers are Charlotte’s second most played opponents, and the 49ers are UAB’s fourth. UAB holds a 31-18 lead in the series all time and a 6-3 lead since the 49ers rejoined Conference USA.
The Blazers come into the games against Charlotte after sweeping Southern Miss.
The 49ers are 5-5 on the season and 1-1 in Conference USA play. The 49ers have been up and down this season beating high level opponents like Davidson and Western Kentucky, but they also blew an 18-point lead against Division II Belmont Abbey just last week.
For Charlotte, the player to watch is sophomore guard Jahmir Young. Young leads the team in scoring with an average of over 19 points a game and has scored in the double digits in each game this season.
For UAB, the keys to the game will be consistently scoring. Looking at the two and a half games played without Quan Jackson the Blazer offense frequently found itself in fits in starts as Coach Kennedy adjusted the lineup to make up for his absence. Both Chattanooga and Southern Miss made second half runs that brought the games close late, and that is something UAB does not need to happen again.
Friday’s game is set to tip at 4 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU. Saturday’s game is set to tip at 3 p.m. and will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Women’s Basketball vs Charlotte
The women’s team returns to Bartow fresh off sweeping Southern Miss on the road. The Blazers did so in style winning the first by 22 and the second by 19. Charlotte is coming off its own sweep of Marshall.
Charlotte holds a narrow lead in the series 18-17.
Th 49ers come into Bartow 3-4 on the season and 2-0 in Conference USA play. Despite the losing record, the 49ers have averaged more points than their opponents due to a series of a close losses to start the season.
The 49ers were strong defensively against Marshall last week, holding the Thundering Herd to under 60 in both games. UAB is going to want to replicate the strong offense they showed against Southern Miss.
Watch out for Jada McMillian and Octavia Jett-Wilson for the 49ers. The two average a combined 30 points a game. In last week’s sweep versus Marshall, Jett-Wilson lead the team in scoring on Friday and McMillian did the same the next day. They are a powerful duo and the Blazers will need to slow them down if they are going to win.
Both the Friday and Saturday games at set to tip at 2 p.m.
