SAN ANTONIO – Following its first win since January 5, UTSA will look to make it two in a row as it welcomes the C-USA preseason number one team, UAB, to the Convocation Center for a Saturday matinee. Saturday's contest is set to tip off at 3 p.m., will be streamed on Stadium and will be broadcast on Ticket 760 AM.
The Roadrunners (8-19, 2-14) enter Saturday's contest coming off a Thursday-night victory where they snapped a school-record 11-game losing streak to Rice, defeating the Owls 84-79. The Blazers (19-8, 10-6 C-USA) have won six of their last seven, dropping the only game at North Texas, 79-82 in overtime.
Leading the Roadrunners
UTSA is led on offense by a quartet of double-digit scorers. Leading the way is JUCO transfer Japhet Medor who churns out a team-high 12.9 points per game. Medor not only leads the team in scoring but also in assists (86) and steals (35) while pulling down 3.3 boards per contest – the fourth most by any Roadrunner. Medor has five 20+ point outings this season and scored a career-high 30 points against Rice on 1/16. Medor leads C-USA in free throws attempted.
Flanking Medor in the backcourt is fellow JUCO newcomer guard John Buggs III. Buggs chips in 10.4 points per game and he has three 20+ point outings this year. Buggs hit a buzzer-beating three against Middle Tennessee on Jan. 5 to give the Roadrunners its lone C-USA victory. Freshman DJ Richards also averages double-digit points as the rookie has upped his average to 10.3 points per game. Richards, a two-time C-USA Freshman of the Week (D12, D19), is shooting the three ball at a 34.4% clip which is the second-best best on the team to Buggs who shoots 38.8%. Richards is second on the team in rebounding, pulling in 4.7 boards a game.
Senior stalwart Jacob Germany is the final double-digit scorer and averages 12.4 points per game. The fourth-year Roadrunner out of Kingston, Okla. is pulling in 8.0 rebounds per contest too, the second-most by any player in C-USA. Germany, a 2021-22 Conference USA All-Conference Honorable Mention, adds a team-high 20 total blocks to the mix. Germany has seven double-doubles this season.
Overall, the Roadrunners are shooting 40.3 percent as a team from the field and holding foes to 44.2 percent. UTSA averages 67.7 points, 35.0 rebounds, 10.6 assists, 3.9 steals and 2.4 blocks per game as a team.
Scouting the Blazers
UAB currently has five student-athletes who have scored at least 1,000 career points in the collegiate ranks, the only known school in the country to have such a claim. Of those 1,000-point scorers is last year's C-USA Player of the Year, Jordan "Jelly" Walker. Walker is back leading the Blazers and currently leads all D1 players in points per game, averaging 22.5.
UAB's starting lineup consists of all transfers and its top seven scorers all began their collegiate careers elsewhere. Besides the aforementioned Walker, Ledarrius Brewer, Tavin Lovan, KJ Buffen and Ty Brewer are all 1,000-point scorers.
Clemson transfer Trey Jemison pulls in eight rebounds a game, the second-most in C-USA, and leads the team in blocks with 49. Gaines leads the team with 132 assists on the season and also leads the team in steals, owning 51.
Overall, the Blazers are shooting 45.8 percent as a team from the field and holding foes to 41.4 percent. UAB averages 82.1 points, 45.8 rebounds, 15.2 assists, 8.3 steals and 4.4 blocks per game as a team.
Series History
Saturday's game between the Roadrunners and UAB will be the 13th meeting ever between the two teams. The Blazers lead the all-time series 8-5 and won the previous outing over the Roadrunners earlier this season, 90-67.
Up Next
UTSA will be back in action next weekend when it hits the road for the "Florida trip." The Roadrunners will face current top-25 squad Florida Atlantic on Thursday, Feb. 23, in the first leg of the trip. Next Thursday's game against the Owls is scheduled to tip at 6 p.m. (CT), will be streamed on ESPN+ and will be broadcast on Ticket 760 AM.
