The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

https://medium.com/the-red-towel/2021-co...5719b576c3

2W. UAB really comes into the tournament with a confidence boost, sweeping North Texas in Denton, a really tough place to play. Before the UNT trip, UAB had gone 4–4 in February, really sliding and struggling against the likes of La Tech (swept), ODU (split), and UTSA (Split). Before that stretch, UAB was frankly the shock of the league, sporting only two losses, albeit against a weaker schedule. Everyone kept waiting for UAB to completely meltdown and turn into a middle-to-low seed and it never happened. They were solid.
There a couple of wild cards to UAB. First, Head Coach Andy Kennedy. That man knows what he’s doing and has immediately turned around a proud program into a contender in months. Second, UAB’s weak schedule. Until sweeping North Texas, UAB’s lone impressive win was a home game against Old Dominion. The next most impressive was sweeping UTEP. So how good are they? They didn’t play WKU. They were swept by La Tech. They swept what had been a sputtering North Texas team that really seems to have lost its mojo. Does that really count? The non-conference was weak with a lone loss to a decent Chattanooga by three.
UAB is a mystery, but they play great defense, barely allowing 60 per game. They force turnovers and take care of the ball. They average outscoring opponents by 13. This is an extremely well-coached team and my third favorite, simply for offensive and defensive efficiency and some good, experienced players. Their toughest obstacle, like Marshall, is the draw and a lack of a proven superstar. Fortunately for them, they only have to win three games. They could absolutely do it.