SAN ANTONIO – Nearly delivering what would have been one of the biggest upsets in program history, the UTSA men’s basketball team (7-9, 1-2 AAC) returns to action in the Convocation Center on Saturday with yet another massive American Athletic Conference contest, hosting Charlotte (8-7, 2-1 AAC) on ESPNU. In addition to live TV, the tipoff is set for 7 p.m. with a radio broadcast airing on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket.
On TV, on the Air and the Web
Saturday’s game will tip off at 7 p.m. at the Convocation center and is slated for the second of three ESPNU broadcasts from the Convo this year. On the call for ESPNU, Lowell Galindo will be on play-by-play with Sean Harrington as the analyst. Subscribers can also catch the game live on ESPN+.
The radio broadcast will air live with Andy Everett (play-by-play) and Tim Carter (analyst) on the call. The broadcast will appear on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket and, as always, will feature a 30-minute pregame and 15-minute postgame show – available online at Ticket760.com or via the free iHeartRadio app.
UTSA Athletics will also provide LIVE STATS from the Convocation Center.
Family Night at UTSA
With the new semester just over the horizon and classes back in session on Jan. 16, UTSA invites students to bring their families out to the Convo to cheer on the Roadrunners!
For just $13, fans can purchase the Convo Ticket Combo and receive a ticket to both the men’s game against Charlotte on Saturday, as well as the Sunday (2 p.m.) women’s matchup – also with Charlotte.
There will be a photo booth and fans will have the opportunity to have their photo taken with the UTSA Football Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl Trophy that the Roadrunners earned last month.
Men's Basketball Tickets
Single-Game Tickets
UTSA Men’s Basketball Home Schedule
Direct Link: https://bit.ly/UTSATix
Single Game Adult Reserved: $13
Single Game Military/Youth (ages 3-18)/Senior (ages 65+): $11
Students: Free Admission with UTSA ID, download tickets at goUTSA.com/studentlogin.
Coaches Show Back on Monday Night
After opening up the new season on Jan. 8, the UTSA Basketball Coaches show will be back on Monday, Jan. 15 at Chicken N Pickle, on the east side of I-10 off UTSA Blvd (5215 UTSA Boulevard, 78249), featuring men’s basketball head coach Steve Henson and women’s basketball head coach Karen Aston alongside host Andy Everett.
Last Time Out
‣ It came down to the wire between the Roadrunners and No. 13 Memphis Tigers on Wednesday at the FedEx Forum, extending into overtime before the Tigers pulled away to a 107-101 victory.
‣ Guard Jordan Ivy-Curry knocked out his third performance over 20 points in six games this season with a game-high and career-best 28 points, on top of nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.
‣ Trey Edmonds gave the Roadrunners their first lead at 12-11, but after a few lead switches, Ivy-Curry dropped the first of his career-high six three-pointers at 12:44 to keep UTSA ahead most of the half.
‣ UTSA led for 13:48 of the opening period and grew an advantage as large as seven, but the Tigers weren’t about to make it easy. Rallying from UTSA’s largest lead, Memphis knotted things at a brief 28-all tie, but back-to-back threes from Ivy-Curry and Chandler Cuthrell gave the Roadrunners some breathing room. In the final minute of the half, the Tigers’ David Jones knocked the lead to a single point, but an Edmonds free throw at :02 gave UTSA a 37-35 advantage heading into the locker room.
‣ Four ties and a lead change highlighted the opening four minutes of the second half, but the Tigers started to gain a little ground after new-found success from long range. Memphis put away a string of eight shots in nine attempts, with five coming from beyond the arc and generating an eight-point advantage. However, the Roadrunners were undeterred, wiping away the deficit in half the time it took Memphis to build it, as Carlton Linguard Jr., Massal Diouf and Isaiah Wyatt combined for a 7-0 run across a two-minute stretch that trimmed the Memphis lead to 63-62.
‣ After five ties and four lead changes over the next eight minutes, it looked like the Roadrunners finally had a breakthrough, as Wyatt collapsed the defense and kicked back to Dre Fuller Jr. for a three and the 89-86 lead. Ivy-Curry made it a four-point advantage with 1:16 to go. A pair of Memphis free throws and then a stolen inbound for a Nick Jourdain bucket led to the game’s 11th tie. Christian Tucker delivered at the line to give UTSA a 94-92 lead with 36 ticks to go, but Jones put away a pair to tie it for the Tigers on the other end. With a shot to win it, officials whistled Diouf for an offensive foul with 6.9 seconds on the clock and regulation ended at a 94-94 deadlock.
‣ The Roadrunners couldn’t maintain the same offensive superiority in the extra period, as three players fouled out, and the Tigers outscored UTSA 13-7 to claim the 107-101 overtime win.
‣ The Roadrunners put down 17 from long range and six players scored in double figures. Tucker added 14 points and dished out a team-high seven assists, while Cuthrell collected a career-best 13 points, including three from distance. In addition, Edmonds, Linguard and Carter each scored 10 apiece.
‣ Doling out his eighth game of at least six assists in Memphis, Tucker leads the American Athletic Conference in total assists (86) for the 10th consecutive week and lists at 31st nationally. He also has a stranglehold on the top per-game ranking, only not being atop the AAC for four days this season. Currently averaging 5.4 apg, Tucker leads the AAC and ranks 32nd in the NCAA.
‣ Showing great offensive diversity, the Roadrunners have six players averaging over nine points per contest, led by Ivy-Curry’s 16.3 ppg, also chipping in a team-high 6.2 rpg and 4.8 apg. Tucker follows at 13.3 ppg, while Dre Fuller Jr. has 11.1 and Linguard has 10.8.
‣ The Roadrunners are averaging 80.6 ppg as a team on 42.2 percent shooting for the third-best scoring offense in the conference (54th nationally), paced by a 13th-ranked (NCAA), AAC-leading 10.4 three-pointers per game. The team averages 11.7 turnovers and a 1.27 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Series with Charlotte
Familiar foes from their shared time in Conference USA, Saturday will mark the 12th meeting between these schools, dating back to 2014. Charlotte holds a 6-5 edge in the overall series, but UTSA claimed the last victory in the history and are 3-2 at home – winning 78-73 last March 2 on Senior Day at the Convocation Center. UTSA’s top scorers from that game have all departed as Japhet Medor scored 22, John Buggs III had 18 and Jacob Germany had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds while UTSA led for all but 10 seconds of the final 15 minutes. Head Coach Steve Henson is 4-4 against Charlotte.
Scouting Charlotte
‣ The 49ers delivered a massive conference victory, knocking off 17th-ranked preseason AAC favorite Florida Atlantic for Charlotte’s first ranked win in over 10 years, with Lu'Cye Patterson’s free throws at 1.7 seconds setting the 70-68 score.
‣ Charlotte is 2-1 in AAC play after downing Tulsa on Wednesday, 84-76, at home. ‣ Including the AAC-opening loss to SMU, the 49ers enter the weekend at 0-4 away from home.
‣ A junior guard, Patterson is an all-around standout for the 49ers, putting up 13.2 ppg on 44.7 shooting, despite a .696 average at the free throw line. He ties for the most assists (42), collected a team-high 18 steals and chips in 3.4 rpg.
‣ In the post, junior forward Igor Milicic Jr. leads Charlotte with 8.8 rpg and 15 blocks, in addition to scoring 12.3 ppg on 49.6 percent shooting – he’s also knocked down a team-high 23 threes and has five double-doubles this year.
‣ Sophomores Nik Graves and Dishon Jackson also add 9.9 ppg and 9.8 ppg to the pot, respectively. Graves ties Patterson with 42 assists on the year and Jackson shoots a team-best 50.6 percent, grabbing 4.9 rebounds with 14 blocks.
‣ The lowest-scoring offense in the AAC, CLT averages 68.8 ppg on 45.3-percent shooting, but have the third-best scoring defense while allowing only 64.8 ppg. The 49ers average 32.7 rpg and limit turnovers to 9.7 per outing – with a league-leading 1.41 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Up Next
UTSA opens next week with a trip to Tulsa on Wednesday, Jan. 17, before facing off with preseason AAC favorite Florida Atlantic on Sunday, Jan. 21 at the Convo.
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