Blue Raiders to close out road stand at UAB

Sunday, December 1

Birmingham, Ala.

3 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

UAB

11/30/2024 3:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

MT Game Notes UAB Game Notes

By: Logan Hasselbach

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee men's basketball is set to close our its road stand this weekend in Birmingham, Ala., facing off against UAB at Bartow Arena. The matchup will tip off at 3 p.m. Sunday, December 1 and will be streamed on ESPN2.

Series History
UAB leads the all-time series, 19-10.
The Blazers narrowly took the last contest, 58-57, in Murfreesboro during the 2023-24 season.

Blue Raider Notes
• Middle Tennessee is coming off a strong showing at the Myrtle Beach Invitational, downing Ohio and South Florida en route to the tournament championship game before falling to Bradley in the final.
• In the contest against Bradley, Chris Loofe not only led the team in scoring, but also set a career-high in points for himself with 15. The sophomore shot 5-for-8 from the field and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe, while also earning three blocks and three rebounds.
• With a 5-2 record, the Blue Raiders are off to their best start since the 2021-22 season, a campaign that saw the team win the Conference USA East Division Regular Season title and Coach McDevitt earn CUSA Coach of the Year honors.
• Middle Tennessee has outscored opponents 570-507 in the opening seven games of the 2024-25 campaign.
• MTSU has scored at least 40 points in the paint in five of the seven games played thus far, earning 50 in two contests.
• Averaging 3.57 offensive rebounds per game, Essam Mostafa leads Conference USA in that category. With 8.7 rebounds per contest, he is also first in the conference in boards per game.
• Racking up four double-doubles already, Mostafa ranks first in the conference and seventh in the country in total double-doubles.
• Big man Chris Loofe leads the team in total blocks seven games into the season, swatting away an average of 1.29 per game, good for fourth in the conference.
• The contest against UAB will mark just the second true road game of the season for the Blue Raiders. MT handily won its first road test at Abilene Christian, defeating the Wildcats 79-56 for the biggest road win margin since 2017.

Blazer Notes
• UAB went 1-2 at the Paradise Jam, finishing the tournament with a 98-86 win over Louisiana. Alejandro Vasquez scored 25 points, while Yaxel Lendeborg added 20 of his own to lead the team. Christian Coleman finished with a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double.
• The Blazers have dropped just one contest at home this season, falling to Vermont 67-62 in their season opener.
• Alejandro Vasquez was ranked the No. 6 JUCO player in the nation before transferring to UAB ahead of the 2023-24 season. He struggled during the beginning of the season, but found his footing at the Paradise Jam, putting up 19 points against Illinois State and 25 against Louisiana.
• JUCO players account for 71.4 percent of the Blazers' scoring and 64.2 percent of their rebounding.
• UAB averages the second-most fastbreak points in the country, scoring 22.38 fastbreak points per game.
• The Blazers are a strong rebounding team, ranking 27th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game, pulling down 14.63 offensive boards per contest, and 40.13 total boards per game.