UAB Heads to Houston for C-USA Battle at Rice on Saturday

HOUSTON – Riding a three-game winning streak, the UAB men's basketball team looks for continued momentum when it travels to Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday night at face Rice. Tip is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

The Blazers (13-7, 5-2 C-USA) are coming off a massive road victory at North Texas and find themselves in a four-way tie for second place in the league standings halfway through conference action. After 14 games of league play, the top five teams will be placed in a pod and play their four remaining contests against each other to determine a league champion.

Who: UAB (13-7, 5-2 C-USA) at Rice (8-12, 3-4 C-USA)
When: January 26 – 7 p.m.
Where: Tudor Fieldhouse – Houston, Texas
Watch: ESPN+
On the Call: Matt Pedersen (play-by-play), Patrick Creighton (color)
Listen: WJOX2 100.5 FM
On the Call: David Crane (play-by-play)
Series: UAB leads 13-1
Last Meeting: Feb. 10, 2018: UAB 61, Rice 56

STORYLINES:

The Blazers are getting it done on the defensive side of the ball. During league play, UAB leads Conference USA in scoring defense (62.4) and field goal percentage defense (.360). UAB is 12-1 this season when holding its opponents to 70 points or less, and are coming off a game in which the Blazers held North Texas to a season-low 49 points on 31 percent shooting.
Sophomore forward Makhtar Gueye was one point shy of his second straight double-double at North Texas, finishing the game with nine points and a career-high tying 13 rebounds. In his last two games, Gueye is averaging 9.5 points and 12.0 rebounds.
UAB has found a consistent starting lineup for the last nine games have gone with Zack Bryant, Jeremiah Bell, Jalen Perry, Lewis Sullivan and Gueye. The Blazers are 6-3 since going with that lineup.
Zack Bryant scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half at North Texas to lead UAB to victory. Bryant is the team's leading scorer at 13.0 points per game and has reached double-digit scoring in 11 of this last 12 games.
Freshman forward Tavin Lovan and senior forward Lewis Sullivan continue to rank top 10 in field goal percentage. Lovan is seventh overall at .550, while Sullivan is ninth at .544.
The Blazers earned a much-needed road win at North Texas, and will look to improve their road record to .500 at Rice. UAB is 10-1 at home this season, 2-3 on the road and 1-3 in neutral games.
Rice is coming off an 11-point victory against Middle Tennessee to improve their record to 8-12 overall and 3-4 in league play. The Owls have four players who average double figures, led by Chris Mullins at 12.8 ppg. Mullins led the Owls with 19 points in the win against Middle.

Saturday night's game can be seen on ESPN+, and updates are also available by following @UAB_MBB on Twitter and Instagram.

Following the Rice game, the Blazers conclude their three-game road trip with a game at Middle Tennessee on Wednesday, Jan. 30.

UAB Heads to Houston for C-USA Battle at Rice on Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Jeremiah Bell

Zack Bryant

Makhtar Gueye

Tavin Lovan

Jalen Perry

Lewis Sullivan

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics