UAB Hosts South Florida In Bartow Classic

Photo courtesy of UAB Athletics

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - February 16, 2025

Keeping pace in the American Athletic Conference takes a backseat on Sunday at Bartow Arena. Honoring Gene Bartow is at the forefront of the 16th annual Bartow Classic against South Florida with tip-off slated for 3 p.m. CT in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

“You know, I appreciate it simply because it just brings attention back to the legacy of Gene Bartow and what he did and how he built this program,” said UAB head coach Andy Kennedy, who played for Bartow from 1988-91 and was an assistant coach at the school from 1996-2001. “I've affectionately referred to him as the Founding Father of UAB athletics, not just UAB basketball, but all of athletics. He was the athletic director. He was the one that fought so diligently to get football. He's the one that, again, set the vision for this program, not just men's basketball, but for the athletic program in general.”

UAB began the Bartow Classic in December of 2009 with Mike Davis’ team beating Murry Bartow’s East Tennessee State team. The  third Bartow Classic was the first game following Gene Bartow’s death in January of 2012. The most recent Bartow Classic was last season’s AAC victory over Memphis. UAB donates $2 for every single ticket sold to the Bartow Class toward the Gene Bartow Fund for Cancer Research at the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center.

While the current players didn’t have a relationship with Bartow, the game does carry extra significance to them.

“I know very little (about Bartow), but I know AK does preach a lot about Gene Bartow and the respect of the game and of the building and of the fans,” said UAB senior Alejandra Vasquez, a New York native. “So I definitely understand. I know he was very important, a great coach. I definitely believe we're playing for the respect of him, too, and for AK.”

But the importance of keeping pace in the league standings is certainly a factor. UAB (15-9 overall,9-3 AAC) slid into sole possession of third place after Tuesday’s loss at East Carolina, but the Blazers trail second place North Texas by just a half game. A win on Sunday would move UAB back into a second-place tie with North Texas having a bye this weekend.

The Blazers should be focused after the disappointing effort, especially in the second half, at ECU.

“Yeah, you would hope so, to be honest,” said UAB’s Yaxel Lendeborg, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. “Sometimes we really struggle with responding to losses with our intensity and stuff. When we started to win, I thought we started getting a little loosey goosey and stuff. And it's just like, we don't take it serious, which is what happened going into the last game. We were having really bad days in practice, and ended up having us not being prepared to close the game out when we should have had it in your hands.”

UAB is playing a familiar opponent while looking to rebound. The Blazers beat USF, 92-83, on Jan. 15 in Tampa. UAB built a 20-point halftime lead, outrebounded USF, 40-20, and were an efficient 8-of-13 on 3-pointers. Christian Coleman had 21 points, hitting 9-of-11 from the field, and nine rebounds. Tony Toney had four 3-pointers in the win. However, the Blazers had trouble with USF sophomore point guard Jayden Reid, who had 26 points and four 3-pointers, and 6-foot-11, 275-pound post Jamille Reynolds.

“I wouldn't say it’s an advantage (to either team), but I know we know our opponent,” Vasquez said. “We're going to respect them, so we're going to play them the same way, honestly, we beat them the first time. So we're going to use those same tactics and try to do the same thing.”

USF (12-13 overall, 5-7 AAC) is 3-5 since losing to the Blazers and the Bulls have lost two in a row coming into Sunday.

“Things change, man, we all evolve,” Kennedy said. “We're not the same team when we played them weeks ago and they're not the same team. Obviously there's tendencies, and obviously personnel. You know, they're playing different guys, maybe rotations change, but overall, you know, the personnel is going to be the same. The style of play will be the same other than a few tweaks here and there. You reference it, but you really dive into, what are they doing now, how are they playing now.”