UAB Takes on Saint Joseph’s in First Round of NIT

BIRMINGHAM – UAB men's basketball will travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday to take on Saint Joseph's in the first round of the NIT. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT.

WATCH
Wednesday's game will stream on ESPN+ with Derek Jones and Noah Savage on the call.

LISTEN
David Crane and Steve Mitchell will call the game for UAB on 100.5 ESPN.

SERIES HISTORY
The Blazers won the only meeting between the two teams during the 1998-99 season in an MTE played in Puerto Rico.

LAST TIME OUT
UAB fell to Memphis in the title game of the American Conference Tournament by a score of 84-72. Yaxel Lendeborg scored 19 points and grabbed 17 boards while Efrem "Butta" Johnson added 17 points.

UAB IN THE NIT
The Blazers will appear in the NIT for the first time since reaching the title game during the 2022-23 season and their 14th appearance in program history. UAB is 18-13 all-time in the NIT.

YAX SEASON
Yaxel Lendeborg is posting even more impressive numbers during his second year at UAB. He is averaging 17.7 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists this season for the Blazers, leading the team in each category. He is the third Blazer (Carlos Williams, Andy Kennedy) to open a season with three straight games with at least 20 points. Lendeborg earned AAC Player of the Week honors after averaging 23.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists in a pair of wins over Tulane and Florida Atlantic. He has also shown his ability to find his teammates, recording five or more assists in 14 games this season, including a streak of seven-straight games with at least five assists. Lendeborg set the UAB program record with 42 career double-doubles and has 23 on the season, surpassing his single-season program record that he set last season.

JUCO DAWGS
UAB has embraced the JUCO ranks during Andy Kennedy's time in Birmingham and the 2024-25 roster features seven players that have played at a Junior College including Christian Coleman (South Plains), Greg Gordon (Dyersburg State), Marquis Hargrove (Arizona Western), Ja'Borri McGhee (Garden City/South Plains), Yaxel Lendeborg (Arizona Western), and Alejandro Vasquez (Salt Lake). JUCO players accounted for 41.7% of the Blazers' scoring last season and 48.4% of their rebounding. This season, JUCO players have accounted for 70.6% of the Blazers' scoring and 64.0% of their rebounding.

FAST PACED, HIGH POWERED OFFENSE
Tempo has often been a theme of Andy Kennedy's teams, and the 2024-25 roster has continued that. The Blazers rank 79th in the country in tempo while scoring 82.5 points per game, which is 15th nationally and leads the American Conference. UAB is also eighth in the nation in fast break points per game with 15.5 per contest. The Blazers have scored 90+ points in 10 games this season, tying their most in a single season in program history (1988-89).

BLAZER BOOSTERS
As we launch into the 2025 giving year, we encourage you to further your support across UAB Athletics and help the Blazers reach new heights in the American Athletic Conference. For more information on ways to show your generosity to Blazer student athletes through the Blazer Scholarship Fund, capital initiatives, and sport specific giving go to blazerboosters.com or call us at (205) 996-9969.

FOLLOW THE BLAZERS
For more information on the UAB men's basketball team, follow @UAB_MBB on Twitter and Instagram.

UAB Takes on Saint Joseph’s in First Round of NIT

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Players Mentioned

Christian Coleman

Marquis Hargrove

Yaxel Lendeborg

Ja'Borri McGhee

Alejandro Vasquez

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics