- Our boys tip off against UAB tonight at 7 in what is expected to be a fast and close affair.
- UAB is currently a -2.5pt favorite and total is set at 144.5
- UAB is coached by one of Frank's best friends, Andy Kennedy, who previously coached Ole Miss to several good seasons before a brief stint working for SEC Network
- As a Power 5 team, I think we as fans too often to dismiss other teams from lower conferences (in football).
- UAB is definitely not the team to make this mistake with.
- UAB finished last year 22-7 and is projected by KenPom to finish 24-6 this year, with an overwhelmingly likely chance to win their conference and make the NCAA Tournament.
- Western Kentucky, Marshall, Old Dominion may be their only competition in that regard, but that competition is soft.
- UAB is a team dominated by incoming transfers the last 2 years.
- Jordan Walker - came over from Tulane where he was a major contributor
- KJ Buffen - came over for Ole Miss where he played around 20 minutes a game
- Trey Jemison - is a Clemson transfer who never got much time there but was a block machine at UAB last year
- Josh LeBlanc - came over from LSU where he was rated 2nd in the SEC last year in Offensive Rating
- Quan Jackson - transfer from Georgia Southern where he was a major contributor playing almost every minute
- Tavin Lovan is not a transfer, but is the other big contributor worth mentioning.
- Overall, UAB is a team that does not turn the ball over much, currently ranking 3rd in the country in that regard, so extra possessions will have to come via Offensive Rebounds where they are much weaker.
- They are 15th in the country in effective FG% at 61.4 and are also a Top 15 team in terms of scoring in the paint.
- They tend to play about 11-12 guys tonight (one of the many similarities Andy Kennedy and Frank share as coaches) so their players keep fresh legs throughout.
- South Carolina's 3 biggest keys to this game will be:
- Limit Turnovers. UAB does not turn the ball over much historically so unless they have a bad game, we will need to treat every possession like it matters.
- Dominate the glass. The one, and frankly only, clear areas of superiority that we have over UAB is on the boards. Both offensive and defensive. We have to take advantage of it. Josh Gray and Josh LeBlanc should be familiar with each other so that could help/hurt, but also getting AJ Wilson back will be a huge help.
- Avoid the drought. The only thing keeping UAB from being a Top 40, maybe Top 35 offensive efficiency team is their lack of offensive rebounding and free throw woes; however, they are Top 53rd in Offensive efficiency because they don't miss many shots. It is unlikely for them to hit a big scoring drought, so we have to avoid one ourselves
- This will be a much tougher game than most think when they see whatever the final score is; however, tough or not, these are the games that Frank and this team have to start winning if we want any shot at a postseason bid. UAB will be a potential Quad 1/no-doubter Quad 2 victory by season's end, so it is crucial for us to capitalize on this. I think there is an argument to be made that UAB is better than us, and could probably compete in the SEC, Big 12, Big 10 this year - but that can't matter in non-conference play when you need these wins for your resume.
