The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Monday, November 7
Birmingham, Ala.
6:30 p.m.
UAB
vs
Alabama State
Men's Basketball Opens 2022-23 Season Against Alabama State
11/6/2022 5:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM – The Blazers will open the 2022-23 season against in-state foe Alabama State on Monday night at 6:30 p.m. in Bartow Arena. Andy Kennedy is looking to lead the Blazers back to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since making three-straight tourney appearances in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The Blazers return C-USA Player of the Year Jordan Walker while adding a plethora of talented transfers.
RADIO
Monday's contest is set to air on 100.5 ESPN JOX 2 with David Crane and Mo Finley on the call.
In addition, Crane will host Blazer Sportsline every Monday beginning Dec. 19. The show takes place live from Walk-Ons Sports Bistreaux in Hoover and features men's basketball head coach Andy Kennedy and women's basketball head coach Randy Norton. The 11-episode show, airs from 6 p.m. to 7 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
Monday's game will stream live on CUSA.tv. This is a subscription-based service.
EXPECTATIONS WELCOMED
In October, the league's coaches selected UAB as the favorite to win the Conference USA regular season championship for the second consecutive year. The Blazers, who are coming off their first CUSA tournament championship since 2015, earned nine of the 11 first-place votes.
WELCOME TO THE 1K CLUB
With a dunk in the first half of a 24-point win over Rice on Feb. 17, KJ Buffen became the sixth current Blazer to join the 1,000-point club. Buffen and Jordan Walker have surpassed 1,000 points in their college careers with the Blazers. Buffen and Walker are joined by fellow Blazers Ty Brewer, Ledarrius Brewer and Tavin Lovan to have scored more than 1,000 points in their college basketball careers. UAB is the only known program in Division I with five 1,000-point scorers.
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. AK lived up to the standard in 2022, winning his first league tournament championship during his tenure as the Blazers' head coach. A win on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021, 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.
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."
GAINING AN EDGE
During the offseason, UAB added former four-star LSU transfer Eric Gaines to the roster. Gaines, who averaged nine points a game and was 29th in the NCAA with 2.1 steals per contest, will look to become more of a two-way player for the Blazers in the 2022-23 slate. After starting eight games with the Tigers a year ago, Gaines will look to become a full-time starter with the Blazers in his first season on the southside. Gaines was also named to the Conference USA preseason All-conference team alongside Walker.
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.
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.
RADIO
Monday's contest is set to air on 100.5 ESPN JOX 2 with David Crane and Mo Finley on the call.
In addition, Crane will host Blazer Sportsline every Monday beginning Dec. 19. The show takes place live from Walk-Ons Sports Bistreaux in Hoover and features men's basketball head coach Andy Kennedy and women's basketball head coach Randy Norton. The 11-episode show, airs from 6 p.m. to 7 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
Monday's game will stream live on CUSA.tv. This is a subscription-based service.
EXPECTATIONS WELCOMED
In October, the league's coaches selected UAB as the favorite to win the Conference USA regular season championship for the second consecutive year. The Blazers, who are coming off their first CUSA tournament championship since 2015, earned nine of the 11 first-place votes.
WELCOME TO THE 1K CLUB
With a dunk in the first half of a 24-point win over Rice on Feb. 17, KJ Buffen became the sixth current Blazer to join the 1,000-point club. Buffen and Jordan Walker have surpassed 1,000 points in their college careers with the Blazers. Buffen and Walker are joined by fellow Blazers Ty Brewer, Ledarrius Brewer and Tavin Lovan to have scored more than 1,000 points in their college basketball careers. UAB is the only known program in Division I with five 1,000-point scorers.
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. AK lived up to the standard in 2022, winning his first league tournament championship during his tenure as the Blazers' head coach. A win on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021, 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.
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."
GAINING AN EDGE
During the offseason, UAB added former four-star LSU transfer Eric Gaines to the roster. Gaines, who averaged nine points a game and was 29th in the NCAA with 2.1 steals per contest, will look to become more of a two-way player for the Blazers in the 2022-23 slate. After starting eight games with the Tigers a year ago, Gaines will look to become a full-time starter with the Blazers in his first season on the southside. Gaines was also named to the Conference USA preseason All-conference team alongside Walker.
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.
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
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
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