2023–24 UAB Blazers men's basketball team

2023–24 UAB Blazers men's basketball
AAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record23–12 (12–6 AAC)
Head coach
Associate head coachRyan Cross
Assistant coaches
Home arenaBartow Arena
Seasons
2023–24 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
South Florida 16 – 2   .889 25 – 8   .758
Florida Atlantic 14 – 4   .778 25 – 9   .735
Charlotte 13 – 5   .722 19 – 12   .613
UAB † 12 – 6   .667 23 – 12   .657
Memphis 11 – 7   .611 22 – 10   .688
SMU 11 – 7   .611 20 – 13   .606
North Texas 10 – 8   .556 19 – 15   .559
East Carolina 7 – 11   .389 15 – 18   .455
Tulsa 7 – 11   .389 16 – 15   .516
Tulane 5 – 13   .278 14 – 17   .452
Temple 5 – 13   .278 16 – 20   .444
Wichita State 5 – 13   .278 15 – 19   .441
Rice 5 – 13   .278 11 – 21   .344
UTSA 5 – 13   .278 11 – 21   .344
† 2024 AAC tournament winner

The 2023–24 UAB Blazers men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Andy Kennedy, and played their home games at the Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama as first-year members of American Athletic Conference (AAC).

Previous season

The Blazers finished the 2022–23 season 29–10, 14–6 in Conference USA (C-USA) play to finish in third place.[1] They defeated Rice in the quarterfinals[2] and North Texas in the semifinals,[3] before losing in the championship of the C-USA tournament to Florida Atlantic.[4] They received an at-large bid to the NIT, where they defeated Southern Miss in the first round,[5] Morehead State in the second round,[6] Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals[7] and Utah Valley in the semifinals,[8] before losing to North Texas in the championship game.[9]

The season marked the team's last season as members of Conference USA before joining the American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2023.[10]

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Ledarrius Brewer 2 G 6'5" 190 RS Senior Meridian, MS Graduated
Tavin Lovan 3 G 6'4" 210 Senior Franklin, KY Graduated
KJ Buffen 5 F 6'7" 230 Senior Gainesville, GA Graduated
Jordan Walker 10 G 5'11" 170 RS Senior Port Washington, NY Graduated/undrafted in 2023 NBA draft; signed with the Dallas Mavericks
Ty Brewer 15 F 6'7" 200 Senior Meridian, MS Graduated
Tyler Bertram 23 G 6'3" 170 RS Junior Cooperstown, NY Transferred to Albany
Rongie Gordon 25 F 6'8" 225 Sophomore Montgomery, AL Transferred to Kennesaw State
Trey Jemison 55 C 6'11" 260 Senior Birmingham, AL Graduated/undrafted in 2023 NBA draft; signed with the New Orleans Pelicans

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Daniel Oritz 2 G 6'0" 187 Junior Shreveport, LA North Alabama
Yaxel Lendeborg 3 F 6'9" 230 Junior Pennsauken, NJ Arizona Western College
James White 5 G 6'5" 190 Junior Conyers, GA Ole Miss
Alejandro Vasquez 10 G 6'4" 205 Junior Queens, NY Salt Lake CC
Christian Coleman 13 F 6'9" Junior Winnsboro, LA South Plains College
Marquis Hargrove 15 G 6'3" 180 Junior Sacramento, CA Arizona Western College
Barry Dunning 22 G 6'6" 195 Sophomore Mobile, AL Arkansas
Will Shaver 25 F 6'10" 260 RS Sophomore Birmingham, AL North Carolina

Recruiting classes

2023 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
KJ Satterfield
SG 		Columbus, OH Whitehall Yearling High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Mar 17, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports:3/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2023–24 UAB Blazers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Javian Davis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 265 lb (120 kg) RS Sr Mississippi State Canton, MS
G 2 Daniel Ortiz 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr North Alabama Shreveport, LA
F 3 Yaxel Lendeborg 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Arizona Western College Pennsauken, NJ
G 4 Eric Gaines 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr LSU Lithonia, GA
G 5 James White 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Ole Miss Conyers, GA
G 10 Alejandro Vasquez 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Salt Lake Community College Queens, NY
G 11 KJ Satterfield 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr The Patrick School The Bronx, NY
G 12 Tony Toney 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Mae Jemison High School Huntsville, AL
F 13 Christian Coleman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr South Plains College Winnsboro, LA
G 15 Marquis Hargrove 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Arizona Western College Sacramento, CA
G 21 Jon Coleman (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Hall High School Little Rock, AR
G 22 Barry Jr. Dunning 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Arkansas Mobile, AL
F 23 Seth Sigmon (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Huntsville High School Houston, TX
G 24 Efrem "Butta" Johnson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Grissom High School Huntsville, AL
F 25 Will Shaver 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 270 lb (122 kg) RS So North Carolina Birmingham, AL
G 30 Ryan Donohoo (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Briarwood Christian School Birmingham, AL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 10, 2023

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2023*
7:00 p.m., − 		Morehouse W 88–70  −
  13 – Gaines   12 – Lendeborg   3 – Gaines  Bartow Arena (2,317)
Birmingham, AL
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Bradley L 71–73 OT 0–1
  20 – Davis   15 – Davis   2 – Lendeborg  Bartow Arena (3,632)
Birmingham, AL
November 10, 2023*
8:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		vs. Clemson
Asheville Championship semifinals 		L 76–77  0–2
  18 – Gaines   6 – tied   3 – tied  Harrah's Cherokee Center (3,319)
Asheville, NC
November 12, 2023*
11:30 a.m., ESPN2 		vs. Maryland
Asheville Championship consolation 		W 66–63  1–2
  20 – Gaines   7 – Davis   3 – Gaines  Harrah's Cherokee Center (1,507)
Asheville, NC
November 16, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Alcorn State W 80–77  2–2
  25 – Vasquez   9 – Davis   2 – tied  Bartow Arena (3,184)
Birmingham, AL
November 21, 2023*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Middle Tennessee W 58–57  3–2
  21 – Davis   12 – Lendeborg   3 – Vasquez  Murphy Center (3,227)
Murfreesboro, TN
November 25, 2023*
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Furman W 92–86  4–2
  19 – Lendeborg   10 – Lendeborg   6 – Gaines  Bartow Arena (2,953)
Birmingham, AL
November 28, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		McNeese L 60–81  4–3
  20 – Ortiz   11 – Davis   3 – Gaines  Bartow Arena (2,976)
Birmingham, AL
December 1, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Southern Miss L 82–85  4–4
  26 – Vasquez   7 – Lendeborg   6 – Gaines  Bartow Arena (3,337)
Birmingham, AL
December 9, 2023*
2:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Arkansas State L 68–87  4–5
  17 – Lendeborg   10 – Lendeborg   5 – tied  First National Bank Arena (2,699)
Jonesboro, AR
December 13, 2023*
7:00 p.m., − 		at Alabama A&M W 93–82  5–5
  16 – Lendeborg   16 – Lendeborg   8 – Gaines  Alabama A&M Events Center (2,893)
Huntsville, AL
December 17, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Montevallo W 92–56  6–5
  22 – Davis   8 – Coleman   10 – Gaines  Bartow Arena (3,576)
Birmingham, AL
December 22, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Drake W 79–78 OT 7–5
  15 – Davis   8 – Lendeborg   9 – Gaines  Bartow Arena (3,496)
Birmingham, AL
December 29, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UNC Asheville W 90–85  8–5
  24 – Lendeborg   15 – Lendeborg   7 – Gaines  Bartow Arena (3,392)
Birmingham, AL
AAC regular season
January 2, 2024
8:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at UTSA W 78–76  9–5
(1–0) 		 23 – Lendeborg   15 – Lendeborg   6 – Gaines  Convocation Center (744)
San Antonio, TX
January 7, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		South Florida W 75–71  10–5
(2–0) 		 23 – Lendeborg   15 – Lendeborg   3 – Johnson  Bartow Arena (3,677)
Birmingham, AL
January 14, 2024
11:00 a.m., ESPN+ 		at No. 24 Florida Atlantic L 73–86  10–6
(2–1) 		 13 – tied   7 – Davis   4 – Lendeborg  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
January 17, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Tulane W 83–69  11–6
(3–1) 		 28 – Vasquez   18 – Lendeborg   6 – Johnson  Bartow Arena (3,472)
Birmingham, AL
January 20, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		East Carolina W 69–61  12–6
(4–1) 		 17 – Gaines   9 – Davis   8 – Gaines  Bartow Arena (3,872)
Birmingham, AL
January 23, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Charlotte L 70–76  12–7
(4–2) 		 13 – Vasquez   5 – tied   4 – Gaines  Dale F. Halton Arena (4,155)
Charlotte, NC
January 28, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN 		No. 19 Memphis
Battle for the Bones 		W 97–88  13–7
(5–2) 		 23 – Lendeborg   16 – Lendeborg   4 – tied  Bartow Arena (8,127)
Birmingham, AL
January 31, 2024
8:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at North Texas W 82–79 OT 14–7
(6–2) 		 18 – Johnson   10 – Lendeborg   5 – Gaines  The Super Pit (3,689)
Denton, TX
February 4, 2024
5:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at SMU L 69–72  14–8
(6–3) 		 20 – Johnson   13 – Lendeborg   10 – Gaines  Moody Coliseum (5,656)
Dallas, TX
February 8, 2024
8:00 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 20 Florida Atlantic W 76–73 OT 15–8
(7–3) 		 17 – Lendeborg   21 – Lendeborg   8 – Gaines  Bartow Arena (5,306)
Birmingham, AL
February 11, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Tulsa W 70–63  16–8
(8–3) 		 17 – tied   11 – tied   7 – Gaines  Reynolds Center (3,124)
Tulsa, OK
February 18, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		North Texas W 71–62  17–8
(9–3) 		 26 – Lendeborg   8 – tied   4 – Gaines  Bartow Arena (4,785)
Birmingham, AL
February 21, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Rice L 71–94  17–9
(9–4) 		 16 – Lendeborg   11 – Lendeborg   5 – Gaines  Bartow Arena (3,751)
Birmingham, AL
February 25, 2024
3:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at Tulane W 78–67  18–9
(10–4) 		 26 – Lendeborg   12 – Lendeborg   5 – tied  Devlin Fieldhouse (1,605)
New Orleans, LA
February 28, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Wichita State L 66–74  18–10
(10–5) 		 22 – Vasquez   15 – Lendeborg   5 – Gaines  Bartow Arena (4,487)
Birmingham, AL
March 3, 2024
4:30 p.m., ESPN2 		at Memphis
Battle for the Bones 		L 87–106  18–11
(10–6) 		 17 – Gaines   8 – Lendeburg   8 – Gaines  FedExForum (13,491)
Memphis, TN
March 7, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at Temple W 100–72  19–11
(11–6) 		 19 – tied   14 – Lendeburg   10 – Gaines  Liacouras Center (2,515)
Philadelphia, PA
March 10, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		SMU W 74–70  20–11
(12–6) 		 22 – Gaines   12 – Lendeborg   3 – Gaines  Bartow Arena (4,037)
Birmingham, AL
AAC tournament
March 15, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(4) vs. (12) Wichita State
Quarterfinals 		W 72–60  21–11
  18 – Lendeborg   14 – Lendeborg   7 – Gaines  Dickies Arena (5,454)
Fort Worth, TX
March 16, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(4) vs. (1) South Florida
Semifinals 		W 93–83  22–11
  21 – Johnson   11 – Lendeborg   5 – Gaines  Dickies Arena (5,545)
Fort Worth, TX
March 17, 2024
2:15 p.m., ESPN 		(4) vs. (11) Temple
Championship 		W 85–69  23–11
  29 – Vasquez   16 – Lendeborg   9 – Gaines  Dickies Arena (5,695)
Fort Worth, TX
NCAA tournament
March 22, 2024
12:45 p.m., TNT 		(12 E) vs. (5 E) No. 24 San Diego State
First round 		L 65–69  23–12
  19 – Johnson   7 – Lendeborg   3 – Gaines  Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena 
Spokane, WA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Source:[11]

References

  1. ^ "2022-23 Men's Basketball Standings". Conference USA. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "UAB MBB Beats Rice to Advance to Semifinal". UAB Athletics. March 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  3. ^ "UNT Falls to UAB In C-USA Semifinal". University of North Texas Athletics. March 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  4. ^ Weinberger, Zach (March 12, 2023). "FAU defeats Alabama-Birmingham in C-USA title game for NCAA tournament berth". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  5. ^ "Buffen scores 26, UAB tops Southern Miss 88-60 in NIT opener". CBS Sports. March 15, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  6. ^ "UAB defeats Morehead State in NIT 77-59". Fox Sports. March 19, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  7. ^ Gerson, Aria (March 22, 2023). "Vanderbilt falls short in NIT quarterfinal for second straight year, ends season vs. UAB". The Tennessean. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  8. ^ "UAB tops Utah Valley, sets up Conference USA showdown in NIT". AP News. March 29, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  9. ^ Wells, Adam (March 31, 2023). "North Texas Wins NIT Title and Fans Want Respect for C-USA CBB with FAU in Final Four". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  10. ^ "UAB to Officially Join American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2023". UAB Athletics. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  11. ^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". UAB Athletics. Retrieved September 27, 2023.