- UTSA has won seven straight home games entering Thursday
- 4-4 Roadrunners to host 3-4 UAB at 7 p.m. on Stadium
- Byron Frohnen needs three rebounds to break the UTSA career record
- Jhivvan Jackson, Keaton Wallace are the nation's highest scoring duo
SAN ANTONIO – UTSA men's basketball looks to extend its home winning streak to eight games with a crucial conference clash against UAB, with tipoff on Thursday slated for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
The game will be televised live on Stadium, with Noah Coslov (play-by-play) and Tim Scarbrough (analyst) calling the action. The contest will also be live on the Roadrunners Sports Network, with the Voice of UTSA, Andy Everett (play-by-play) joined by Jim Goodman (analyst) on the call, live on Ticket 760 AM and goUTSA.com.
UTSA (10-11, 4-4 Conference USA) puts its home winning streak on the line on Thursday vs. the Blazers, with the Roadrunners winning seven straight games at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners are coming off a two-game split on the road last week, posting a win at Rice on Saturday after falling at first-place North Texas on Thursday. UTSA fell on Thursday at UNT as the Mean Green made nine of their first 10 shots en route to a 98-78 win.
UTSA bounced back to earn its first road win in league play on Saturday at Rice, rallying from down 11 points in the second half to post the comeback win. The Roadrunners stole an inbounds pass on the other end of the court with 7.4 seconds left in regulation of an 88-88 game, with senior Byron Frohnen kicking ahead the steal to freshman Erik Czumbel, who sped to the rim and laid in the game-winning bucket with one second to earn the 90-88 win.
The Roadrunners have averaged 78.9 points per game in 2019-20 – second-best in the league – with 13.7 assists, 6.1 steals and 3.0 blocks per game. UTSA leads the league with 39.4 rebounds per game, shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from distance. Opponents are shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from range.
UTSA is led by the nation's leading scoring duo, junior guards Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace. The pair average 44.3 points per game to lead the NCAA, with Jackson averaging 26.3 points per game to rank second in the nation. Jackson adds 6.1 rebounds per game, which ranks second in the NCAA among players six-feet and under, behind only 5-foot-10 Canisius guard Malik Johnson's 6.2 rebounds per game.
Wallace, who averaged 20.2 points per game last year, averages 18 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, averaging 2.2 assists per outing. In conference play, Wallace is averaging 20.8 points per game with five rebounds per outing.
Senior forward Byron Frohnen goes into the game needing just three rebounds to pass Jeromie Hill (2010-15) for the all-time rebounding crown at UTSA. Frohnen has 840 career boards, just shy of Hill's total of 842. Frohnen also ranks second in school history in games started, gracing the starting lineup in all 121 games in his career, the third-longest starting streak in college basketball. Frohnen averages 7.1 rebounds per game – fifth in C-USA – and 3.9 points and 1.9 assists per outing
Junior forward Luka Barisic ranks third on the team with 7.6 points per game, adding 3.1 rebounds. Junior guard Knox Hellums has sported 5.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, while senior forward Atem Bior averages 4.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Freshman center Jacob Germany adds 4.8 points and 3.8 rebounds. Erik Czumbel averages 4.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
UAB (12-8, 3-4 C-USA) comes into the matchup with UTSA after falling in a home matchup with Southern Miss last Thursday night, 84-77. The Blazers have won three of their last five games, including big wins over Western Kentucky and Marshall, and a road win at FAU. UAB owns wins over Troy and Lamar to highlight the non-conference slate, falling at Kentucky, Texas and vs. Memphis.
The Blazers are led by Jalen Benjamin, who averages 12.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Tavin Lovan sports 11.4 points and 4.9 points per game and Tyreek Scott-Grayson averages 9.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per outing.
As a team, the Blazers average 65.1 points per game, with 38.6 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 15.2 turnovers, 5.7 steals and 3.0 blocks per game. UAB shoots 44.2 percent from the field and 31.5 percent from 3-point range, with opponents shooting 39.9 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from distance.
UAB leads the all-time series with UTSA, 5-3, with the Blazers claiming two of the three meetings vs. the Roadrunners. In games played in San Antonio, UTSA leads, 3-1. UTSA lost the meeting in Birmingham, Ala., 83-73, before winning the meeting in C-USA Bonus Play, 76-70 in March. UAB won the meeting in the C-USA Championships.
Last year, UTSA and UAB met three times and the Blazers claimed the win in the meeting in the Conference USA Championships at the Ford Center at The Star. UAB posted an 85-76 win over UTSA, rallying from a 42-35 halftime deficit to outscore UTSA 50-34 in the second half. Jhivvan Jackson had a game-high 35 points, with six rebounds, five assists and two steals in 34 minutes. Keaton Wallace had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists in a full 40 minutes. Giovanni De Nicolao had six points, with Nick Allen adding seven, Adrian Rodriguez six and Adokiye Iyaye chipping in six points. UAB was led by 24 points from all-league guard Zack Bryant, with Lewis Sullivan adding 16 and Jalen Perry charting 18 points. UAB shot 43.3 percent from the field in the game, with UTSA shooting 45 percent but just 9 of 31 from 3-point range. UAB had a 37-19 margin in bench points and owned a 42-30 margin in rebounds.
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