UAB Concludes Road Swing at Marshall on Saturday

Saturday, January 29

Huntington, W.Va.

6 p.m.

UAB

Marshall

NCAA Basketball 2021-22: UAB vs WKU_Kennedy

Photo by: Evan Brown/ for UAB Athletics

UAB Concludes Road Swing at Marshall on Saturday

1/28/2022 4:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

UAB Notes Marshall Notes Watch Live Stats Listen Listen on JOX2 Digital Program

HUNTINGTON, W.VA. – The UAB men's basketball team will conclude its weekend road swing Saturday when the Blazers face Marshall in the Cam Henderson Center. Saturday's game will tip off at 6 p.m. CT and will stream live on ESPN+.

UAB (17-4, 7-1 C-USA) has won four straight C-USA games and four consecutive matchups against the Thundering Herd. The Blazers are 22-8 against the Thundering Herd (7-13, 0-7 C-USA) in the all-time series history, which includes a 10-4 record in Huntington, West Virginia.

Jordan Walker's game-winner in Thursday's 68-65 victory at WKU helped UAB head coach Andy Kennedy notch his 39^th victory back at his alma mater. Kennedy holds a 39-11 record as UAB's head coach, which is the best 50-game start for a UAB head coach in program history.

UAB LATELY
The Blazers sure love some late drama, and guard Jordan Walker loves to deliver the "onions" in the primetime moments. UAB trailed for only 10 seconds in Thursday's 68-65 win at WKU, but the Blazers found themselves behind with just 43 seconds remaining when the Hilltoppers made three free throws to take a 63-62 lead. A clutch 3-pointer off the bench from Justin Brown vaulted the Blazers back in front before a dunk on the other end made it 65-65 with 22 seconds remaining. Jordan "Jelly" Walker then nailed the game-winner with five seconds left after center Trey Jemison set a high screen to give his point guard space at the top of the arc. Walker paced the Blazers with 21 points, while guards Michael Ertel (10) and Quan Jackson (10) rounded out the Blazers in double figures. Thursday's victory marked the first time since 1989-90 that the Blazers have won back-to-back games at WKU. The Blazers' victory also means UAB still holds the tiebreaker for the top spot in the Conference USA's West Division at 7-1 in league play.

MARSHALL LATELY
Marshall, who opened the season 7-3, has struggled since a loss at nearby Ohio, dropping 10 straight games. The Thundering Herd have struggled on the defensive end, allowing 70 or more points in all but one of their losses during their current slide. Marshall, however, is led by Conference USA's leading scorer in Taevion Kinsey. Kinsey, a junior from Columbus, Ohio, averages 20.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, reaching double figures in all 20 games for the Thundering Herd this season. Andrew Taylor (12.7) and Obinna Anochili-Killen (12.4) round out the trio of Marshall players who have averaged double figures in scoring in 2021-22. Anochili-Killen has also been a force on the defensive end, ranking second in Conference USA with 74 total blocks and first on the Marshall roster with 6.5 rebounds per game.

LAST 10 MATCHUPS IN THE SERIES
2/21/15_ Marshall_____________________ W, 72-54
1/30/16_ at Marshall___________________ W, 81-78
2/25/16_ Marshall_____________________ W, 95-91
1/14/17_ Marshall_____________________ W, 94-78
2/16/17_ at Marshall____________________ L, 59-74
1/20/18_ at Marshall____________________ L, 78-86
3/1/18__ Marshall_____________________ W, 91-77
2/14/19_ at Marshall___________________ W, 77-68
1/11/20_ Marshall_____________________ W, 61-50
2/27/20_ Marshall_____________________ W, 88-80

NEW WEEK, SAME NEWS: JELLY AGAIN NAMED C-USA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
With a career-high 36 points in Saturday's key Conference USA road victory at Louisiana Tech, Jordan Walker was once again named Conference USA's Player of the Week for the second straight week. After earning C-USA Player of the Week honors for the first time this past week, Walker followed up a then career-high 27 points with 36 points and nine made 3-pointers in Saturday's 83-76 road win at LA Tech. His clinical performance from behind the 3-point line helped him tie a school record with nine made 3-pointers, while his 36 points tied a Thomas Assembly Center record and his nine 3-pointers set a new Thomas Assembly Center record. His performance not only helped UAB snap LA Tech's 18-game home winning streak, but it also helped the Blazers capture their first win in Ruston in program history. Walker joins LA Tech star Kenneth Lofton, Jr. as the only C-USA players to earn Player of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks this season.

ONIONS!
Clutch. That's exactly what Justin Brown and Jordan Walker were for the Blazers in the closing seconds of UAB's victory at WKU on Thursday. Brown, who played only 2:23 in Thursday's win, drilled the biggest shot of his UAB career to push the Blazers back in front at 65-63 with a 3-pointer off the bench just moments after WKU took its first lead of the game at 63-62 behind three free throws from the Hilltoppers' Camron Justice. A dunk from WKU's Jamarion Sharp tied the game with 22 seconds remaining, but after an ensuing UAB timeout, Walker pulled up from well beyond the 3-point line to bury the game-winner with five seconds left. The clutch shot garnered attention on Twitter from a variety of college basketball's biggest names, including Jon Rothstein, Seth Davis and Kevin Connors.

AK'S REVIVAL
Head coach Andy Kennedy often talks about re-establishing the "Bartow Standard" in Birmingham by competing for and winning championships year after year. On Nov. 14, he accomplished yet another first in the history of UAB men's basketball, becoming the first head coach to start both his first and second seasons 3-0. His record of 31-9 through his first 40 games as UAB's head coach also marks a program best. A win on Sunday, Dec. 12, made Kennedy the first UAB head coach to start both his first and second seasons with at least an 8-2 record through the first 10 games of each of his first two campaigns. Kennedy added another UAB head coaching milestone to his resume on Thursday, moving to 39-11 through his first 50 games as UAB's head coach, another UAB men's basketball coaching record.

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 Saturday's slate of league games, UAB ranks first in the league in field-goal percentage defense (39.4%), scoring margin (17.5), scoring offense (80.5), 3-point field-goal percentage (37.9%), steals per game (10.6), total steals (223), turnover margin (6.6), turnovers forced per game (17.9), fewest turnovers committed per game (11.2) and win-loss percentage (.810) at 17-4.

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
Saturday's game will stream live on ESPN+. This is a subscription-based service.

UP NEXT
The Blazers will return to Birmingham for the Bartow Classic against Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 5. Next Saturday's tipoff in Bartow Arena is set for 3 p.m. and will stream 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.