#12 UAB Blazers vs. #5 Houston Cougars
Let’s start this off with one of the more talented mid-majors in the field. UAB finished 2022 with a record of 27-7. They own some impressive nonconference outings before they finished in second place in Conference USA behind North Texas. The Blazers beat Louisiana Tech to punch their way into the dance with a decisive 82-73 victory.
Their only game played against another NCAA Tournament team came on November 26th against San Francisco. UAB lost that game by two points and held a potent San Francisco offense to only 63 points. They hold an adjusted efficiency rating of 51st in KenPom and the 29th best offense.
If you want to ride with the Blazers, get used to the name Jelly Walker. Jelly (Jordan) Walker does it all for this team, averaging over 20 points per game and 4.9 assists per game. He has the making of a mid-major guard that becomes a household name during the tournament. Max Abmas (Oral Roberts) and Javion Hamlet (North Texas) were two to take that role last year and led their teams to major upsets in round one. Walker shoots 40% from three and is more than able to stick with any Division 1 guard on defense.
Pairing with Walker in the backcourt are Quan Jackson and Michael Ertel. Jackson, a GA Southern transfer, averages 12 ppg and owns a nice bit of explosiveness off the bounce. Michael Ertel shoots the three at a 40% clip. These three wreak havoc on the defensive end, as UAB generates nearly 10 steals per game (7th in the country).
The UAB team really checks all the boxes for a Cinderella run. They can shoot, they’re feisty on defense and have some true professional-level talent. Most importantly, the UAB seems to be playing their best basketball at the right time of the year.
At the end of the year, it sometimes does well to remember how we thought of teams a few months ago. Conference play can be a weird beast sometimes, especially for the overwhelming favorites in a conference like UAB was. There was a time this year that UAB was a real pick to be an at-large candidate and was receiving votes for the AP Top 25. This team a really, really good—don’t forget that because of a couple lackadaisical C-USA losses.
Houston is coached exceptionally well, don’t get me wrong. But, they have very few wins against big-time competition and haven’t played a ranked team without Marcus Sasser. Sasser’s injury really challenges this Houston team, especially with teams that like to create chaos on defense.