SAN ANTONIO – Coming off a nailbiter on Saturday against Temple, the UTSA men’s basketball team (4-16, 0-8 AMER) is back home at the Convocation Center to host UAB (12-8, 3-4 AMER) for the annual Coaches vs. Cancer game, presented by UT Health San Antonio on Wednesday night. Due to weather-related changes to the women’s schedule, the game will be at the back end of a doubleheader, following the women’s game at 3 p.m. For the men, tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will stream live on ESPN+.
Ticket Information
Single Game Tickets
Direct Link: UAB Tickets
Adults: $15
Juniors (ages 3-18): $13
Seniors (ages 65+): $13
Military (with ID): $13
UTSA Students: Free Admission with UTSA ID, download tickets at goUTSA.com/studentlogin.
Coaches vs. Cancer
Presented by UT Health San Antonio, UTSA Athletics is looking to raise awareness for those affected by cancer via the annual NABC Coaches vs. Cancer game, with the coaching staff donning suits and sneakers as their gameday attire. There’s plenty of on-court contests opportunities for fans and UT Health San Antonio will have giveways. In addition, fans can fill their own “I play for” cards to recognize the people in their lives affected by cancer and there will be pink UTSA “Birds Up” t-shirts available for a small donation to the American Cancer Society while supplies last. The game will feature a halftime performance from the Twirling Sweet Sensations and National Anthem performance by the Children's Chorus of San Antonio.
On the Air and on the Web
Wednesday’s 7 p.m. tipoff with the Blazers at the Convocation Center will be streamed on ESPN+, with Jordy Fee-Platt (play-by-play), San Antonio and UTSA Hall-of-Famer Devin Brown (analyst) and former UTSA women’s basketball star Carlie Heineman (reporter) on the call.
The radio broadcast will appear on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket with Andy Everett (play-by-play) and former coach Tim Carter (analyst) covering the action live from the Convo. The broadcast will feature a 30-minute pregame and 15-minute postgame show – available online at Ticket760.com or via the free iHeartRadio app.
UTSA Athletics will also provide Live Stats.
About the UTSA Roadrunners
Hosting the preseason No. 4 American pick UAB Blazers, the Roadrunners aim to snap the current losing skid. The last time out, UTSA led at half but couldn’t maintain the momentum as an early second-half run gave Temple the upper hand to edge in front in the second half. The Roadrunners narrowed the game to a one-point deficit with just over eight minutes to go, but the Owls stayed just a step ahead and finished things off at the free throw line in the 70-64 setback. The Roadrunners average 68.8 ppg on 38.8 percent shooting, averaging 37 rpg with 4.5 bpg.
Coming on strong lately and showing his versatility, sophomore Baboucarr Njie not only broke the UTSA blocks standard with seven rejections at North Texas, he followed up with a career-best 25-point, 10-rebound double-double against Temple – which also included five blocks to bring his weekly total to 12 and his four-game count to 19. Njie averages 8.3 ppg and now leads the Roadrunners in rebounds at 5.5 rpg. Collecting his 18th double-figure game, grad guard Jamir Simpson leads UTSA with 15.6 ppg and adds in 4.1 rpg. Knocking out a 14.3 ppg average since starting conference play, junior Austin Nunez has scored double-digits in eight consecutive games and has a 10.2 ppg average, leading UTSA with 86.8 percent at the free throw line.
About the UAB Blazers
Typical under Andy Kennedy, the Blazers boast an efficient and high-power scoring offense at 82.4 ppg, moving at a 91st-ranked pace of play that includes an NCAA 21st-ranked 15.9 fast break ppg – leading the American. UAB shoots 44.4 percent but only 28.8 percent from three, holding opponents to 42.9 percent shooting. The Blazers protect the ball extremely well, allowing a league-best 9.1 turnovers per game that ranks seventh in the NCAA. Despite being one of the shorter rosters on UTSA’s schedule, UAB averages an American second-best 41.6 rpg.
Despite their prowess, the Blazers found some stumbles against some of the league’s top teams, falling to Tulsa, South Florida, Florida Atlantic, and a stunner at home against Wichita State. UAB lost their last two at home in back to back dates with the Golden Hurricane and Bulls.
Spreading out the scoring effort, the Blazers have five players with double-figure scoring averages, led by Syracuse transfer Chance Westry with 14.4 ppg, who also dishes out a team-high 4.5 assists per game and leads the team with 29 steals. Depaul transfer Jacob Meyer averages 14.2 ppg and combines with Westry for 8.1 rpg between the pair. UMass transfer forward Daniel Rivera grabs 6.7 rpg and scores 11.7 ppg, while Murray State transfer Kyeron Lindsay-Martin grabs 6.8 rpg with 11.3 ppg. Junior college transfer Evan Chatman is third in the American and 53rd nationally with a team-high 8.4 rpg.
Series History
The Roadrunners and Blazers meet for the 20th time on Tuesday, with UAB holding up a 14-5 lead overall and a 6-4 advantage in San Antonio. The teams first started playing in 2014 when UTSA joined Conference USA. UAB has claimed the win in six consecutive meetings and the last UTSA series win was a 92-76 victory on Feb. 27, 2021 at the Convocation Center. The last three meetings have been grinding nailbiters, decided by a total of 10 points, including last year’s 81-78 heartbreaker in Birmingham, as Christian Coleman got a fingertip on Damari Monsanto’s game-tying three-pointer.
Up Next
The Roadrunners then catch their first BYE of the conference season over the weekend. Next time on the court, the Roadrunners will be at South Florida in the Yuengling Center on Feb. 4, before returning to the Convo for the North Texas rematch on Feb. 7.
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