The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Friday, November 11
Philadelphia, Pa.
4 p.m.
UAB
vs
Toledo
UAB MBB Travels to Philadelphia to Face Toledo in Barstool Invitational
11/10/2022 10:16:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM – UAB men's basketball (1-0) will take on Toledo (1-0) on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. CT as a part of the inaugural Barstool Invitational in Philadelphia, Pa. at the Wells Fargo Center. UAB will look to move to 2-0 against a talented Rockets team. Each team is receiving votes in both the Coaches and AP polls. The two programs have never met.
The Rockets will serve as the first big test for the Blazers. Toledo currently sits at No. 83 in KenPom's college basketball rankings while UAB is ranked No. 47. The Blazers went 4-5 in 2021-22 against teams ranked in the top 100. Each team finished 2021-22 among the top-10 nationally in points per game.
RADIO
Monday's contest is set to air on 100.5 ESPN JOX 2 with David Crane on the call.
BROADCAST
Fans can watch the game on Barstool.tv. Dave Portnoy, Dan Katz and Jake Marsh will be on the call.
PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF
Jordan "Jelly" Walker dropped 38 points in the season opener against Alabama State, the most scored by a UAB player in a season opener ever. Walker shot 11-for-19 from the field and 5-for-9 from three. He also knocked down all 11 of his free throw attempts, marking the third time he has shot 100 percent from the free throw line with at least 11 attempts. He and Andy Kennedy are the only two Blazers to have ever accomplished that feat twice. "Jelly" has recorded three of the top eight single-game scoring efforts in UAB history.
Nov. 7 marked the beginning of the Blazers' 45th season. UAB's 111-70 victory moved the Green and Gold to 31-14 in season openers, extending their winning streak in season openers to seven in-a-row.
BUILDING SOME BUZZ
Nationally, UAB was ranked No. 46 in Sports Illustrated's annual preseason rankings of all 358 Division I teams. The Blazers also earned accolades in Jon Rothstein's "10 mid-majors to watch for the 2022-2023 season," where Rothstein said, "Andy Kennedy wanted a running mate for Jordan "Jelly" Walker following last season's Conference-USA title and NCAA Tournament appearance. He got one in LSU transfer Eric Gaines, who along with Walker should form one of the fastest backcourts in all of college basketball... For UAB, anything less than hearing its name called on Selection Sunday will be a disappointment."
AK IN SEASON OPENERS
Andy Kennedy is 15-1 in his season-opening contests, almost doubling up Alcorn State 99-50 to open the 2020-21 season and then surpassing the century mark in a 102-77 win over UNC Asheville in the 2021-2022. Kennedy followed that up with a 111-70 win over Alabama State to start the 2022-23 season. The third-year head coach now has his squads averaging 104 points per game in regular season openers as UAB's head coach.
WELCOME TO THE 205
Once again, head coach Andy Kennedy's philosophy over the offseason was to target the transfer portal and hit it hard. He succeeded. The Blazers added six new players over the offseason, five of which were transfers. UAB added two SEC transfers to its 2022-23 roster – Eric Gaines (LSU) and Javian Davis (MSU). The Blazers also added Division I transfers Tyler Bertram (Binghamton) and brothers Ty and Ledarrius Brewer (ETSU) to round out their five Division I transfers. First-year guard Efrem "Butta" Johnson was the only player to join the roster out of high school.
SCOUTING THE ROCKETS
Toledo defeated Valparaiso in its home opener on Monday, Nov. 7. The Rockets were led by RayJ Dennis with 23 points and five assists. Setric Millner Jr. and Ra'Heim Moss added 15 points apiece. In 2021-22, Toledo finished 10th nationally in points per game at 79.9. JT Shumate, a second team all-MAC performer last season, averaged 15 points and 6 rebounds per game while shooting .482 from three.
TICKETS
UAB men's basketball single-game tickets are now available for the 2022-23 season. Season tickets for are also still available starting as low as $110. Season ticket packages provide the most cost-effective way to attend games during the upcoming season. For more information about season ticket pricing, call the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 or request more information by clicking here.
GROUP TICKETS AND FAN EXPERIENCE PACKAGES
Individual and corporate groups can plan a memorable experience at Bartow Arena by filling out the UAB Basketball Group Ticket Request Form. Discounted group tickets and fan experiences are available for a minimum purchase of 15 tickets, and fan experiences are available on a first come, first served basis to any home basketball game during the 2022-23 season.
FOLLOW THE BLAZERS
For more information on the UAB men's basketball team, follow @UAB_MBB on Twitter and Instagram.
The Rockets will serve as the first big test for the Blazers. Toledo currently sits at No. 83 in KenPom's college basketball rankings while UAB is ranked No. 47. The Blazers went 4-5 in 2021-22 against teams ranked in the top 100. Each team finished 2021-22 among the top-10 nationally in points per game.
RADIO
Monday's contest is set to air on 100.5 ESPN JOX 2 with David Crane on the call.
BROADCAST
Fans can watch the game on Barstool.tv. Dave Portnoy, Dan Katz and Jake Marsh will be on the call.
PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF
Jordan "Jelly" Walker dropped 38 points in the season opener against Alabama State, the most scored by a UAB player in a season opener ever. Walker shot 11-for-19 from the field and 5-for-9 from three. He also knocked down all 11 of his free throw attempts, marking the third time he has shot 100 percent from the free throw line with at least 11 attempts. He and Andy Kennedy are the only two Blazers to have ever accomplished that feat twice. "Jelly" has recorded three of the top eight single-game scoring efforts in UAB history.
Nov. 7 marked the beginning of the Blazers' 45th season. UAB's 111-70 victory moved the Green and Gold to 31-14 in season openers, extending their winning streak in season openers to seven in-a-row.
BUILDING SOME BUZZ
Nationally, UAB was ranked No. 46 in Sports Illustrated's annual preseason rankings of all 358 Division I teams. The Blazers also earned accolades in Jon Rothstein's "10 mid-majors to watch for the 2022-2023 season," where Rothstein said, "Andy Kennedy wanted a running mate for Jordan "Jelly" Walker following last season's Conference-USA title and NCAA Tournament appearance. He got one in LSU transfer Eric Gaines, who along with Walker should form one of the fastest backcourts in all of college basketball... For UAB, anything less than hearing its name called on Selection Sunday will be a disappointment."
AK IN SEASON OPENERS
Andy Kennedy is 15-1 in his season-opening contests, almost doubling up Alcorn State 99-50 to open the 2020-21 season and then surpassing the century mark in a 102-77 win over UNC Asheville in the 2021-2022. Kennedy followed that up with a 111-70 win over Alabama State to start the 2022-23 season. The third-year head coach now has his squads averaging 104 points per game in regular season openers as UAB's head coach.
WELCOME TO THE 205
Once again, head coach Andy Kennedy's philosophy over the offseason was to target the transfer portal and hit it hard. He succeeded. The Blazers added six new players over the offseason, five of which were transfers. UAB added two SEC transfers to its 2022-23 roster – Eric Gaines (LSU) and Javian Davis (MSU). The Blazers also added Division I transfers Tyler Bertram (Binghamton) and brothers Ty and Ledarrius Brewer (ETSU) to round out their five Division I transfers. First-year guard Efrem "Butta" Johnson was the only player to join the roster out of high school.
SCOUTING THE ROCKETS
Toledo defeated Valparaiso in its home opener on Monday, Nov. 7. The Rockets were led by RayJ Dennis with 23 points and five assists. Setric Millner Jr. and Ra'Heim Moss added 15 points apiece. In 2021-22, Toledo finished 10th nationally in points per game at 79.9. JT Shumate, a second team all-MAC performer last season, averaged 15 points and 6 rebounds per game while shooting .482 from three.
TICKETS
UAB men's basketball single-game tickets are now available for the 2022-23 season. Season tickets for are also still available starting as low as $110. Season ticket packages provide the most cost-effective way to attend games during the upcoming season. For more information about season ticket pricing, call the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 or request more information by clicking here.
GROUP TICKETS AND FAN EXPERIENCE PACKAGES
Individual and corporate groups can plan a memorable experience at Bartow Arena by filling out the UAB Basketball Group Ticket Request Form. Discounted group tickets and fan experiences are available for a minimum purchase of 15 tickets, and fan experiences are available on a first come, first served basis to any home basketball game during the 2022-23 season.
FOLLOW THE BLAZERS
For more information on the UAB men's basketball team, follow @UAB_MBB on Twitter and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
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