The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Wednesday, December 1
Bartow Arena
6:30 p.m.
UAB
vs
ETSU
Photo by: Ken Shepherd
UAB Hosts ETSU for Showdown Between 5-2 Teams
11/30/2021 2:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM – The UAB men's basketball team, who earned its first win on Thanksgiving Day in program history in Thursday's 86-73 win over New Mexico, will return home from Las Vegas for a matchup against East Tennessee State on Wednesday in Bartow Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will stream live on ESPN+.
UAB (5-2) ranks first in the nation in steals (97), steals per game (13.9) and turnover margin (10.0) through seven games played this season. The Blazers will look to move to 5-0 against ETSU (5-2) in the all-time series.
The Blazers knocked off the Buccaneers 65-61 in Johnson City, Tennessee, this past season. Michael Ertel paced the Blazers with 19 points, while center Trey Jemison pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds to earn the four-point road victory.
UAB LATELY
The Blazers battled back from an 11-point halftime deficit to tie the game against San Francisco in the Las Vegas Invitational championship game. UAB, however, could never take the lead in the second half as the Green and Gold fell 63-61 to the Dons in the championship matchup. Three Blazers reached double figures in the loss, highlighted by guard Tavin Lovan who led the team with 14 points. The Blazers won their opening-round matchup against New Mexico 86-73 on Thanksgiving Day. Jordan Walker paced UAB with 26 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals.
COMMON OPPONENTS – ETSU
The Blazers and Bucs share two common opponents during the 2021-22 season -- UNC Asheville and Morehead State. UAB opened the season 2-0 with a pair of double-digit victories over the Bulldogs and Eagles. ETSU will face UNC Asheville and Morehead State in December.
ETSU LATELY
ETSU has caught fire since a 94-62 defeat at then-No. 17 Tennessee, winning five straight games including an MTE victory at the Naples Invitational. The Bucs opened their winning streak with a home win over USC Upstate before sweeping their three opponents in Naples, Florida, in a trio of close matchups. ETSU won all three of its games in Naples by fewer than 10 points, moving to 3-1 in games decided by 10 points or less this season. Kansas State transfer David Sloan leads the Bucs with 13.9 points per game, while forward Ty Brewer paces ETSU with 42 total rebounds and 6.0 boards per game.
UAB GAME-BY-GAME AGAINST ETSU
12/15/84 ETSU_______________________ W, 72-57
12/4/85_ ETSU_______________________ W, 63-44
12/4/09_ ETSU_______________________ W, 74-52
12/12/20 at ETSU_____________________ W, 65-61
1,500 IN HIS SIGHTS
Graduate guard Quan Jackson has had quite the collegiate basketball career, playing in 129 games with 98 starts over his career. With two points in Wednesday's game against ETSU, he will register the 1,500th point of his career. Since arriving at UAB in 2020-21, he has poured in 357 points as a Blazer.
PICKING POCKETS
With 23 steals in Nov. 14's win over Rhodes College, the Blazers tied a school record for steals in a single game. UAB tallied 15 of its 23 steals in the first half, helping the Blazers tie their single-game steals record for the first time since 2005. UAB has recorded double-digit steal tallies in six of its seven games so far this season, posting 12 or more in all but one contest. The Blazers rank first nationally with 13.9 steals per game and first nationally with 97 total steals. UAB is the first team this season to reach 90 steals with the next closest school (LSU) at 89 takeaways through seven games.
EFFICIENCY IS KEY
In 2020-21, the UAB defense led the Blazers to a 22-7 record and a league-best 13 C-USA victories. So far this season, both the offense and defense have fueled UAB's success, ranking first in the nation in turnover margin (10.0) while ranking 30th nationally with 86.8 points per game on offense. The Blazers also rank second nationally with 153 total turnovers forced this season.
THE MURRY BARTOW CONNECTION
After coaching the Blazers to an 103-83 record over six years, current UAB radio color commentator and former Green and Gold head coach Murry Bartow coached at ETSU for 12 years, compiling a 224-165 career record with the Bucs for a win percentage of .576. Bartow was twice named a conference Coach of the Year, once in the SoCon (2003-04) and once in the Atlantic Sun (2006-07). In his first year with the program in 2003-04, the Bucs went 27-6 and won the Southern Conference Tournament to punch at ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
NOTCHED A THANKSGIVING FIRST
Entering this week's tournament in Las Vegas, the Blazers were 0-2 all-time on Thanksgiving Day. UAB rewrote the narrative on Thursday, defeating New Mexico 86-73 to earn the program's first-ever Thanksgiving Day win. The Green and Gold were 0-2 in Thanksgiving Day contests, dropping tournament matchups to Florida in 2014 and Florida State in 2018. UAB fell 56-47 to No. 16 Florida in the 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis before dropping its Advocare Invitational opener to No. 13 Florida State in 2018. A win over New Mexico on Thursday also avenged a narrow defeat to the Lobos from the 2013 Charleston Classic.
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
Wednesday's game will be broadcasted live on ESPN+. This is a subscription-based service.
UP NEXT
The Blazers will travel to Saint Louis (6-1) for a matchup against the Saint Louis Billikens. Saint Louis has won three straight matchups, posting a perfect 3-0 record at the 2021 Cancun Challenge.
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. Season tickets are also still on sale and provide the most cost-effective way to attend games during the 2021-22 men's basketball season with individual season tickets starting as low as $100 within Blaze's Corner. Season ticket holders also have access to the best seating locations in Bartow Arena. You can request more information or purchase by clicking here.
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.
UAB (5-2) ranks first in the nation in steals (97), steals per game (13.9) and turnover margin (10.0) through seven games played this season. The Blazers will look to move to 5-0 against ETSU (5-2) in the all-time series.
The Blazers knocked off the Buccaneers 65-61 in Johnson City, Tennessee, this past season. Michael Ertel paced the Blazers with 19 points, while center Trey Jemison pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds to earn the four-point road victory.
UAB LATELY
The Blazers battled back from an 11-point halftime deficit to tie the game against San Francisco in the Las Vegas Invitational championship game. UAB, however, could never take the lead in the second half as the Green and Gold fell 63-61 to the Dons in the championship matchup. Three Blazers reached double figures in the loss, highlighted by guard Tavin Lovan who led the team with 14 points. The Blazers won their opening-round matchup against New Mexico 86-73 on Thanksgiving Day. Jordan Walker paced UAB with 26 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals.
COMMON OPPONENTS – ETSU
The Blazers and Bucs share two common opponents during the 2021-22 season -- UNC Asheville and Morehead State. UAB opened the season 2-0 with a pair of double-digit victories over the Bulldogs and Eagles. ETSU will face UNC Asheville and Morehead State in December.
ETSU LATELY
ETSU has caught fire since a 94-62 defeat at then-No. 17 Tennessee, winning five straight games including an MTE victory at the Naples Invitational. The Bucs opened their winning streak with a home win over USC Upstate before sweeping their three opponents in Naples, Florida, in a trio of close matchups. ETSU won all three of its games in Naples by fewer than 10 points, moving to 3-1 in games decided by 10 points or less this season. Kansas State transfer David Sloan leads the Bucs with 13.9 points per game, while forward Ty Brewer paces ETSU with 42 total rebounds and 6.0 boards per game.
UAB GAME-BY-GAME AGAINST ETSU
12/15/84 ETSU_______________________ W, 72-57
12/4/85_ ETSU_______________________ W, 63-44
12/4/09_ ETSU_______________________ W, 74-52
12/12/20 at ETSU_____________________ W, 65-61
1,500 IN HIS SIGHTS
Graduate guard Quan Jackson has had quite the collegiate basketball career, playing in 129 games with 98 starts over his career. With two points in Wednesday's game against ETSU, he will register the 1,500th point of his career. Since arriving at UAB in 2020-21, he has poured in 357 points as a Blazer.
PICKING POCKETS
With 23 steals in Nov. 14's win over Rhodes College, the Blazers tied a school record for steals in a single game. UAB tallied 15 of its 23 steals in the first half, helping the Blazers tie their single-game steals record for the first time since 2005. UAB has recorded double-digit steal tallies in six of its seven games so far this season, posting 12 or more in all but one contest. The Blazers rank first nationally with 13.9 steals per game and first nationally with 97 total steals. UAB is the first team this season to reach 90 steals with the next closest school (LSU) at 89 takeaways through seven games.
EFFICIENCY IS KEY
In 2020-21, the UAB defense led the Blazers to a 22-7 record and a league-best 13 C-USA victories. So far this season, both the offense and defense have fueled UAB's success, ranking first in the nation in turnover margin (10.0) while ranking 30th nationally with 86.8 points per game on offense. The Blazers also rank second nationally with 153 total turnovers forced this season.
THE MURRY BARTOW CONNECTION
After coaching the Blazers to an 103-83 record over six years, current UAB radio color commentator and former Green and Gold head coach Murry Bartow coached at ETSU for 12 years, compiling a 224-165 career record with the Bucs for a win percentage of .576. Bartow was twice named a conference Coach of the Year, once in the SoCon (2003-04) and once in the Atlantic Sun (2006-07). In his first year with the program in 2003-04, the Bucs went 27-6 and won the Southern Conference Tournament to punch at ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
NOTCHED A THANKSGIVING FIRST
Entering this week's tournament in Las Vegas, the Blazers were 0-2 all-time on Thanksgiving Day. UAB rewrote the narrative on Thursday, defeating New Mexico 86-73 to earn the program's first-ever Thanksgiving Day win. The Green and Gold were 0-2 in Thanksgiving Day contests, dropping tournament matchups to Florida in 2014 and Florida State in 2018. UAB fell 56-47 to No. 16 Florida in the 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis before dropping its Advocare Invitational opener to No. 13 Florida State in 2018. A win over New Mexico on Thursday also avenged a narrow defeat to the Lobos from the 2013 Charleston Classic.
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
Wednesday's game will be broadcasted live on ESPN+. This is a subscription-based service.
UP NEXT
The Blazers will travel to Saint Louis (6-1) for a matchup against the Saint Louis Billikens. Saint Louis has won three straight matchups, posting a perfect 3-0 record at the 2021 Cancun Challenge.
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. Season tickets are also still on sale and provide the most cost-effective way to attend games during the 2021-22 men's basketball season with individual season tickets starting as low as $100 within Blaze's Corner. Season ticket holders also have access to the best seating locations in Bartow Arena. You can request more information or purchase by clicking here.
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.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
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