The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Thursday, March 10
Frisco, Texas
8:30 p.m.
UAB
vs
Florida Atlantic
Photo by: Ken Shepherd
UAB Opens C-USA Tournament Thursday Night at The Star
3/9/2022 5:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FRISCO, Texas – After recording four straight wins to conclude its regular season, the UAB men's basketball team will open postseason play Thursday night at the Conference USA Championships at the Ford Center at The Star. Thursday night's tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. and will be carried live on Stadium.
The Blazers (24-7, 14-4 C-USA) will face the winner of Southern Miss and Florida Atlantic on Thursday. The Golden Eagles and Owls face off Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. for a spot in Thursday's quarterfinal matchup against the Blazers.
UAB holds an 8-1 record against opponents on its side of the bracket, which includes a win over C-USA East Division winner Middle Tennessee in February. UAB is 10-9 in Conference USA quarterfinal matchups, winning its most recent quarterfinal battle this past season with a 73-60 win over Rice on March 11, 2021.
With a win on Thursday night, the Blazers would advance to a semifinal matchup Friday at 2 p.m. Both semifinal matchups and the Conference USA Championships title game will be broadcasted live on CBS Sports Network.
UAB LATELY
UAB (24-7, 14-4 C-USA) closed out its regular season home schedule in Bartow Arena with authority, posting its 16th double-digit victory in its on-campus home with an 87-74 win over Louisiana Tech on Senior Day. Four Blazers -- Jordan Walker (24), Michael Ertel (20), Quan Jackson (16) and Trey Jemison (16) -- scored 16 points or more to lead the balanced attack for the Blazers. Jemison fell just one rebound short of a double-double, tallying nine rebounds to go along with a career-high 16 points. UAB also posted a 34-26 rebounding advantage and blocked eight LA Tech shots in the victory, securing the regular season sweep of the Bulldogs.
"JELLY" NAMED THIRD CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE YEAR IN UAB HISTORY
Jordan "Jelly" Walker was named UAB's third conference Player of the Year in UAB men's basketball history on Monday, joining UAB legends Aaron Johnson (2010-11) and Oliver Robinson (1981-82) in the exclusive club. Walker's Conference USA Player of the Year award is only UAB's second C-USA Player of the Year honor. The transfer guard was also named Conference USA's Newcomer of the Year, joining Robert Vaden (2007-08) and Chad Frazier (2013-14) as the three Blazers to earn C-USA Newcomer of the Year honors. The junior not only led UAB in points per game (19.3) and assists per game (5.1), but he also led the C-USA in points per game (21.6), assists per game (5.33) and 3-pointers made per game (3.83) in league play.
MAN OF STEAL
Quan Jackson became just the fourth player in UAB history to earn C-USA All-Defensive Team honors in back-to-back seasons and the first Blazer to do it since William "HaHa" Lee in 2015-16 and 2016-17. The lockdown defender led Conference USA in total steals (75) and steals per game (2.42). He also tied for sixth in defensive rebounds per game (5.22) in conference play.
UAB ALL-CONFERENCE USA HONORS
• Jordan Walker: Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, First Team All-C-USA
• Quan Jackson: Third Team All-C-USA, C-USA All-Defensive Team
• KJ Buffen: Honorable Mention All-Conference USA
• Michael Ertel: Conference USA All-Academic Team
SCHOLAR AND A BALLER
Michael Ertel, who holds a 3.87 GPA as he pursues a master's degree in communication management, became the first Blazer to earn C-USA All-Academic Team honors since Nick Norton in 2016. The second-year UAB guard was named a C-USA Academic Medalist and earned a spot on the C-USA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll in his first year at UAB in 2021. Ertel has reached double figures in scoring 36 times as a Blazer, earning a spot on the Conference USA All-Championship Team in 2021 after a strong finish to the year a season ago.
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, Jordan Walker and Justin Brown have all three surpassed 1,000 points in their college careers with the Blazers this season. Buffen (1,059), Walker (1,150) and Brown (1,039) are joined by fellow Blazers Mike Ertel (2,053), Quan Jackson (1,775) and Tavin Lovan (1,241) to have scored more than 1,000 points in their college basketball careers. UAB is the only known program in Division I with six 1,000-point scorers. Notre Dame and Florida each both have five 1,000-point scorers on their rosters.
UAB IN THE CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP: BY ROUND
First 9-4
Second 0-1
Quarterfinal 10-9
Semifinal 3-8
Final 1-2
UAB IN THE CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP: BY CITY
Birmingham 5-3
Cincinnati 2-3
El Paso 0-2
Frisco 5-3
Louisville 4-2
Memphis 5-8
St. Louis 2-1
Tulsa 1-2
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.
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
Thursday's quarterfinal matchup will be carried live on Stadium. Josh Appel (play-by-play) and Tim Scarborough (analyst) will be on the call.
UP NEXT
The winner of Thursday night's game will play again on Friday. Friday afternoon's tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on CBS Sports Network.
MEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
UAB men's basketball season-ticket packages for the 2022-23 season are on sale now and start for as low as $110 in Blaze's Corner. The public season-ticket price is set at $275, while season tickets for UAB employees and alumni are available for $245 per seat. Scholarship seating is also available, and fans can also request more information by clicking here.
The Blazers (24-7, 14-4 C-USA) will face the winner of Southern Miss and Florida Atlantic on Thursday. The Golden Eagles and Owls face off Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. for a spot in Thursday's quarterfinal matchup against the Blazers.
UAB holds an 8-1 record against opponents on its side of the bracket, which includes a win over C-USA East Division winner Middle Tennessee in February. UAB is 10-9 in Conference USA quarterfinal matchups, winning its most recent quarterfinal battle this past season with a 73-60 win over Rice on March 11, 2021.
With a win on Thursday night, the Blazers would advance to a semifinal matchup Friday at 2 p.m. Both semifinal matchups and the Conference USA Championships title game will be broadcasted live on CBS Sports Network.
UAB LATELY
UAB (24-7, 14-4 C-USA) closed out its regular season home schedule in Bartow Arena with authority, posting its 16th double-digit victory in its on-campus home with an 87-74 win over Louisiana Tech on Senior Day. Four Blazers -- Jordan Walker (24), Michael Ertel (20), Quan Jackson (16) and Trey Jemison (16) -- scored 16 points or more to lead the balanced attack for the Blazers. Jemison fell just one rebound short of a double-double, tallying nine rebounds to go along with a career-high 16 points. UAB also posted a 34-26 rebounding advantage and blocked eight LA Tech shots in the victory, securing the regular season sweep of the Bulldogs.
"JELLY" NAMED THIRD CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE YEAR IN UAB HISTORY
Jordan "Jelly" Walker was named UAB's third conference Player of the Year in UAB men's basketball history on Monday, joining UAB legends Aaron Johnson (2010-11) and Oliver Robinson (1981-82) in the exclusive club. Walker's Conference USA Player of the Year award is only UAB's second C-USA Player of the Year honor. The transfer guard was also named Conference USA's Newcomer of the Year, joining Robert Vaden (2007-08) and Chad Frazier (2013-14) as the three Blazers to earn C-USA Newcomer of the Year honors. The junior not only led UAB in points per game (19.3) and assists per game (5.1), but he also led the C-USA in points per game (21.6), assists per game (5.33) and 3-pointers made per game (3.83) in league play.
MAN OF STEAL
Quan Jackson became just the fourth player in UAB history to earn C-USA All-Defensive Team honors in back-to-back seasons and the first Blazer to do it since William "HaHa" Lee in 2015-16 and 2016-17. The lockdown defender led Conference USA in total steals (75) and steals per game (2.42). He also tied for sixth in defensive rebounds per game (5.22) in conference play.
UAB ALL-CONFERENCE USA HONORS
• Jordan Walker: Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, First Team All-C-USA
• Quan Jackson: Third Team All-C-USA, C-USA All-Defensive Team
• KJ Buffen: Honorable Mention All-Conference USA
• Michael Ertel: Conference USA All-Academic Team
SCHOLAR AND A BALLER
Michael Ertel, who holds a 3.87 GPA as he pursues a master's degree in communication management, became the first Blazer to earn C-USA All-Academic Team honors since Nick Norton in 2016. The second-year UAB guard was named a C-USA Academic Medalist and earned a spot on the C-USA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll in his first year at UAB in 2021. Ertel has reached double figures in scoring 36 times as a Blazer, earning a spot on the Conference USA All-Championship Team in 2021 after a strong finish to the year a season ago.
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, Jordan Walker and Justin Brown have all three surpassed 1,000 points in their college careers with the Blazers this season. Buffen (1,059), Walker (1,150) and Brown (1,039) are joined by fellow Blazers Mike Ertel (2,053), Quan Jackson (1,775) and Tavin Lovan (1,241) to have scored more than 1,000 points in their college basketball careers. UAB is the only known program in Division I with six 1,000-point scorers. Notre Dame and Florida each both have five 1,000-point scorers on their rosters.
UAB IN THE CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP: BY ROUND
First 9-4
Second 0-1
Quarterfinal 10-9
Semifinal 3-8
Final 1-2
UAB IN THE CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP: BY CITY
Birmingham 5-3
Cincinnati 2-3
El Paso 0-2
Frisco 5-3
Louisville 4-2
Memphis 5-8
St. Louis 2-1
Tulsa 1-2
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.
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
Thursday's quarterfinal matchup will be carried live on Stadium. Josh Appel (play-by-play) and Tim Scarborough (analyst) will be on the call.
UP NEXT
The winner of Thursday night's game will play again on Friday. Friday afternoon's tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on CBS Sports Network.
MEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
UAB men's basketball season-ticket packages for the 2022-23 season are on sale now and start for as low as $110 in Blaze's Corner. The public season-ticket price is set at $275, while season tickets for UAB employees and alumni are available for $245 per seat. Scholarship seating is also available, and fans can also request more information by clicking here.
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