# 2018–19 UAB Blazers men's basketball team

The 2018–19 UAB Blazers basketball team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blazers, led by third-year head coach Robert Ehsan, played their home games at the Bartow Arena as members of Conference USA. They finished the season 20–15, 10–8 in C-USA Play to finish in 5th place. They defeated Middle Tennessee and UTSA to advance to the semifinals of the C-USA tournament where they lost to Old Dominion. They received an at-large bid to the College Basketball Invitational where they lost in the first round to Brown.

## Previous season

The Blazers finished the 2017–18 season 20–13, 10–8 C-USA play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Florida Atlantic in the first round of the C-USA tournament before losing to Western Kentucky. Despite winning 20 games, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Nick Norton | 2 | G | 5'10" | 166 | Senior | Bloomington, IL | Graduate transferred to Drake |
| Chris Cokley | 3 | F | 6'8" | 238 | Senior | Savannah, GA | Graduated |
| Deion Lavender | 5 | G | 6'4" | 190 | RS Junior | Alton, IL | Graduate transferred to Valparaiso |
| Hunter Reynolds | 12 | G | 6'0" | 161 | Freshman | Knoxville, TN | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Nate Darling | 13 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Sophomore | Halifax, NS | Transferred to Delaware |
| Thomas Smallwood | 33 | F | 7'0" | 243 | Junior | Bordeaux, France | Graduate transferred to Chattanooga |
| William Lee | 34 | F | 6'9" | 206 | Senior | Plantersville, AL | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Tyreek Scott-Grayson | 0 | G | 6'5" | | Sophomore | Severn, MD | Junior college transferred from State Fair CC |
| Jeremiah Bell | 2 | G | 6'0" | 171 | Senior | Louisville, KY | Transferred from Milwaukee. Under NCAA transfer rules, Bell will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility. |
| Willesley Butler | 12 | F/C | 6'8" | 230 | Junior | Troy, NY | Junior college transferred from Pensacola State College |
| Will Bathurst | 25 | G | 6'3" | 188 | RS Senior | Olean, NY | Transferred from Cornell. Will be eligible to play immediately since Bathurst graduated from Cornell. |
| Nolan Bertain | 32 | G | 6'4" | 185 | Sophomore | Portland, OR | Junior college transferred from Casper College |

### Incoming recruits

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jude Akabueze #24 C | Farmington, WV | North Marion High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 208 lb (94 kg) | Nov 19, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Tamel Pearson #31 C | Chicago, IL | Morgan Park High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | N/A | Sep 4, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Tavin Lovan SG | Franklin, KY | Hargrave Military Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 186 lb (84 kg) | Apr 6, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| 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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2019

College recruiting information (2019) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jahein Spencer SG | Napoleonville, LA | Assumption High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Aug 3, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Jalen Benjamin PG | Norcross, GA | Meadowcreek High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 135 lb (61 kg) | Aug 28, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| 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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Oct 18, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Georgia Charity Exhibition Game | L 54–56 | | Bartow Arena (3,437) Birmingham, AL |
| Nov 1, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Morehouse | W 75–54 | | Bartow Arena (2,828) Birmingham, AL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, CUSA.TV | | Mercer | W 75–67 | 1–0 | Bartow Arena (3,185) Birmingham, AL |
| Nov 14, 2018* 7:00 pm, CUSA.TV | | New Orleans | W 75–68 | 2–0 | Bartow Arena (2,874) Birmingham, AL |
| Nov 18, 2018* 4:00 pm, CUSA.TV | | West Alabama AdvoCare Invitational non-bracket game | W 77–47 | 3–0 | Bartow Arena (2,602) Birmingham, AL |
| Nov 22, 2018* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 14 Florida State AdvoCare Invitational quarterfinals | L 63–81 | 3–1 | HP Field House (2,226) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| Nov 23, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. College of Charleston AdvoCare Invitational consolation semifinals | L 51–74 | 3–2 | HP Field House (2,185) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| Nov 25, 2018* 9:30 am, ESPNU | | vs. Canisius AdvoCare Invitational | W 68–58 | 4–2 | HP Field House (3,127) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| Nov 29, 2018* 7:00 pm | | at Alabama A&M | W 67–57 | 5–2 | Elmore Gymnasium (2,109) Huntsville, AL |
| Dec 4, 2018* 7:00 pm | | North Alabama | W 73–67 | 6–2 | Bartow Arena (3,222) Birmingham, AL |
| Dec 8, 2018* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Memphis | L 76–94 | 6–3 | FedEx Forum (14,652) Memphis, TN |
| Dec 15, 2018* 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. No. 8 Auburn Rivalry/Mike Slive Invitational | L 71–75 $^{OT}$ | 6–4 | Legacy Arena (15,856) Birmingham, AL |
| Dec 18, 2018* 3:30 pm | | Alcorn State | W 76–49 | 7–4 | Bartow Arena (2,299) Birmingham, AL |
| Dec 21, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Troy | L 73–74 | 7–5 | Bartow Arena (3,212) Birmingham, AL |
| Dec 29, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Arkansas–Monticello | W 75–67 | 8–5 | Bartow Arena (2,629) Birmingham, AL |
| Conference USA regular season ||||||
| Jan 3, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Florida Atlantic | W 67–50 | 9–5 (1–0) | Bartow Arena (2,667) Birmingham, AL |
| Jan 5, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | FIU | W 84–65 | 10–5 (2–0) | Bartow Arena (2,878) Birmingham, AL |
| Jan 10, 2019 6:30 pm, beIN | | at Louisiana Tech | L 53–64 | 10–6 (2–1) | Thomas Assembly Center (3,081) Ruston, LA |
| Jan 12, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Miss | L 68–73 | 10–7 (2–2) | Reed Green Coliseum (2,886) Hattiesburg, MS |
| Jan 17, 2019 7:00 pm | | UTEP | W 76–63 | 11–7 (3–2) | Bartow Arena (2,927) Birmingham, AL |
| Jan 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UTSA | W 83–73 | 12–7 (4–2) | Bartow Arena (3,256) Birmingham, AL |
| Jan 24, 2019 7:00 pm, beIN | | at North Texas | W 52–49 | 13–7 (5–2) | The Super Pit (4,368) Denton, TX |
| Jan 26, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Rice | W 89–86 | 14–7 (6–2) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,731) Houston, TX |
| Jan 30, 2019 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Middle Tennessee | L 65–71 | 14–8 (6–3) | Murphy Center (3,963) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Feb 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Middle Tennessee | L 78–79 | 14–9 (6–4) | Bartow Arena (4,075) Birmingham, AL |
| Feb 7, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Old Dominion | L 59–70 | 14–10 (6–5) | Bartow Arena (3,276) Birmingham, AL |
| Feb 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Charlotte | L 62–69 | 14–11 (6–6) | Bartow Arena (3,601) Birmingham, AL |
| Feb 14, 2019 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Marshall | W 77–68 | 15–11 (7–6) | Cam Henderson Center (5,521) Morgantown, WV |
| Feb 16, 2019 1:00 pm, Stadium/Facebook | | at Western Kentucky | W 68–60 | 16–11 (8–6) | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,839) Bowling Green, KY |
| Feb 23, 2019 2:00 pm, Stadium | | at Southern Miss | W 76–72 $^{OT}$ | 17–11 (9–6) | Reed Green Coliseum (4,456) Hattiesburg, MS |
| Feb 28, 2019 6:30 p.m., beIN | | Western Kentucky | L 67–73 | 17–12 (9–7) | Bartow Arena (3,021) Birmingham, Al |
| Mar 3, 2019 2:00 pm | | at UTSA | L 70–76 | 17–13 (9–8) | Convocation Center (1,259) San Antonio, TX |
| Mar 9, 2019 2:00 pm | | Old Dominion | W 64–50 | 18–13 (10–8) | Bartow Arena (2,868) Birmingham, Al |
| Conference USA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 2019 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (12) Middle Tennessee First Round | W 70–61 | 19–13 | Ford Center at The Star (2,704) Frisco, TX |
| Mar 14, 2019 6:30 pm, Stadium | (5) | vs. (4) UTSA Quarterfinals | W 85–76 | 20–13 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| Mar 15, 2019 12:30 pm, CBSSN | (5) | vs. (1) Old Dominion Semifinals | L 59–61 | 20–14 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| College Basketball Invitational ||||||
| Mar 20, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Brown First round | L 78–83 | 20–15 | Pizzitola Sports Center (683) Providence, RI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
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