After losing to Tulane Sunday afternoon at home, Memphis hits the road for a conference matchup against UAB. The Tigers have won four straight against the Blazers, but they are 2-2 in games inside Bartow Arena in Birmingham.
UAB enters the game with a 14-8 record, including a 5-4 conference record, but they struggled at times in conference play. UAB lost at home to Alabama State in its third game of the season, and it also lost to MTSU and Troy in December.
While they are 5-4 in conference play, the Blazers haven’t won a conference game at home this season, but they are undefeated on the road. Andy Kennedy’s team lost back-to-back home games against Tulsa and USF two weeks ago before winning back-to-back road games last week against UTSA and North Texas.
As a team, UAB averages 81.7 points per game, shooting 44.8 percent from the field, 29 percent from three and 70.9 percent from the free-throw line. Five players average more than 10 points per game, and sophomore Chance Westry, who transferred in from Syracuse, leads the team with 14.9 points per game.
The Blazers have struggled shooting the ball from three-point range, and only three players are currently shooting better than 30 percent from deep. In addition to Westry, the other two starting guards, Ahmad Robinson and Jacob Myer, also average more than 10 points per game.
The biggest issue for the Kennedy’s team this season has been shooting. The Blazers rank No. 351 in three-point percentage, No. 203 in two-point percentage and No. 283 in effective field-goal percentage.
UAB doesn’t turn the ball over very often, recording only 9.1 turnovers per game, and they record 15.8 points off 12.3 turnovers per game.
The Blazers are another team in the American Conference that lacks size throughout the roster, and they don’t have anybody on the roster who is taller than 6-foot-8. Both starting guards are 6-foot-2 and shorter, and both players who have seen time at center are 6-foot-8.
While they lack size, they still average 41.3 rebounds per game, with a 5.3 rebounding margin, and it will be interesting to see how they match up against the Tigers. Big man Evan Chatman leads the team with 8.3 rebounds per game, and five players average four or more rebounds per game.
Defensively, UAB allows 74.9 points per game, and opposing teams shoot 42.7 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from deep.