Halftime Report
Middle Tennessee is on the road but looking no worse for wear. They have jumped out to a quick 38-28 lead against UAB.
Middle Tennessee came into the matchup with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We’ll see if they’re able to flip the script or if it’ll just be more of the same.
Who’s Playing
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders @ UAB Blazers
Current Records: Middle Tennessee 5-2, UAB 4-4
How To Watch
- When: Sunday, December 1, 2024 at 4 p.m. ET
- Where: Bartow Arena — Birmingham, Alabama
- TV: ESPN2
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
What to Know
Middle Tennessee is 1-9 against UAB since March of 2019 but they’ll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Sunday. The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will be staying on the road to face off against the UAB Blazers at 4:00 p.m. ET at Bartow Arena. The Blue Raiders are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 81.4 points per game this season.
Last Sunday, Middle Tennessee couldn’t handle Bradley and fell 80-69.
Middle Tennessee’s loss came about despite a quality game from Chris Loofe, who went 5 for 8 en route to 15 points plus three blocks. Loofe had some trouble finding his footing against South Florida on Friday, so this was a nice turnaround.
Meanwhile, even though Louisiana scored an imposing 86 points on Monday, UAB still came out on top. UAB took their contest against Louisiana 98-86.
UAB’s success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Alejandro Vasquez led the charge by scoring 25 points. What’s more, Vasquez also racked up four offensive rebounds, the most he’s had since back in February. Yaxel Lendeborg was another key player, going 9 for 12 en route to 20 points plus six rebounds.
UAB smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Louisiana only pulled down 11.
Middle Tennessee’s defeat dropped their record down to 5-2. As for UAB, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Middle Tennessee has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 39 rebounds per game. However, it’s not like UAB struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 40. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we’ll see if one team can grab an edge.
Middle Tennessee and UAB were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, but Middle Tennessee came up empty-handed after a 58-57 loss. Can Middle Tennessee avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll find out soon enough.
Series History
UAB has won 9 out of their last 10 games against Middle Tennessee.
- Nov 21, 2023 – UAB 58 vs. Middle Tennessee 57
- Feb 11, 2023 – UAB 92 vs. Middle Tennessee 69
- Jan 16, 2023 – Middle Tennessee 74 vs. UAB 73
- Mar 11, 2022 – UAB 102 vs. Middle Tennessee 98
- Feb 05, 2022 – UAB 97 vs. Middle Tennessee 75
- Jan 31, 2021 – UAB 63 vs. Middle Tennessee 52
- Jan 28, 2021 – UAB 70 vs. Middle Tennessee 59
- Feb 15, 2020 – UAB 79 vs. Middle Tennessee 66
- Feb 12, 2020 – UAB 83 vs. Middle Tennessee 72
- Mar 13, 2019 – UAB 70 vs. Middle Tennessee 61