| Date: Sunday, February 26 Time: 12:00 p.m. CT Teams: Middle Tennessee (24-4, 14-1) vs. UAB (15-13, 8-7) Location: Birmingham, Ala. Arena: Bartow Arena (8,500) TV: CBS Sports NetworkLive Audio | Live StatsNOTE: At the time of this article, La Tech had just lost to Rice, leading to a Blue Raider guaranteed share of Conference USA title.Still the possibility to win it outright. MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee looks to clinch the No. 1 seed and at least a share of the Conference USA regular season title on Sunday as they take on the Blazers of UAB at Noon in Birmingham. The Blue Raiders and Blazers are meeting for the second time this season, with Middle Tennessee taking the first match-up, 60-49, in Murfreesboro on New Year’s Day. UAB leads the all-time series 10-4 and is 4-1 against the Blue Raiders in Birmingham. MT has defeated the Blazers three times in eight tries since joining Conference USA at the beginning of the 2013-14 season. Middle Tennessee (24-4, 14-1) comes into the contest having won four straight to follow up its lone league loss. The Blue Raiders were especially impressive last weekend, notching a pair of double-digit wins on the road against WKU and Marshall, giving them 13 double-digit wins in 15 C-USA games. The Raiders are 13-2 away from home on the season, including 10 true road wins in 12 attempts. Senior forwards JaCorey Williams and Reggie Upshaw have been two of the best posts in the league all season long. Williams averages 17.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game and has 11 double-doubles on the season. Upshaw adds 14.2 points and 6.6 boards per game and in eight career games against the Blazers he has shot 50 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three while totaling 100 points. Junior guard Giddy Potts adds 15.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per outing while freshman point guard Tyrik Dixon has 59 assists to just 18 turnovers in league play. UAB (15-13, 8-7) is struggling of late, dropping three straight and six of its last nine in league play. The Blazers have been their best at home, going 10-3 in Bartow Arena this season and 5-1 since league play began. Junior forward William Lee leads the Blazers in scoring (13.0), rebounding (6.6), blocks per game (2.4) and steals per game (0.9). His 2.4 blocks per night are tops in Conference USA and 23rd in the nation. Sunday’s Noon tip between the Blue Raiders and Blazers will be televised on CBS Sports Network. |
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