Blazers To Play East Carolina Friday In AAC Tournament

By Steve Irvine

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - March 14, 2025

FORT WORTH, Texas – UAB begins the chase for another American Athletic Conference Tournament championship on Friday night at Dickies Arena against East Carolina.

The opponent was determined late on Thursday night as the Pirates held off UTSA, 70-65, in the final second round game of the day. The game plan was introduced during a late-night walkthrough at the team hotel and the preparation will continue through the day on Friday.

At some point on Friday, probably a bit later than the scheduled 8 p.m. tip, the Blazers will attempt to survive and advance.

“For us, I think the goal is to get here healthy and whole,” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy said after his team’s first practice on Thursday afternoon. “Physically, we're healthy. I would hope that with the disappointment of the last game (a regular season ending loss at Tulane), guys would be anxious, not necessarily defending an AAC championship, because we don't have to give that back. But we've had success in the building. We've been here before, last year as the fourth seed, this year as the three seed. I just hope we can play good basketball. I hope these guys want it to continue because that's the key. Not that they want it to end, but sometimes you just kind of get caught up in thinking about what's next as opposed to making sure you're focused on the here and the now. And I preach it from June until March.”

East Carolina, the No. 6 seed, was pushed to the limit by No. 11 seed UTSA on a night when half of the Pirates dynamic scoring duo had an off night. C.J. Walker finished with just eight points, hitting 2-of-7 shots from the field and 4-of-6 from the free throw line, in 32 minutes. RJ Felton, the other half of the scoring leaders, had 17 points but made just 2-of-8 from outside the 3-point arc. Jordan Riley stepped up to the lead team with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

“I would say it's big for the program and us, but it's always about business right now,” Felton said. “As far as right now, we're more in a business mindset, trying to take care of business.”

UAB will have some added motivation after dropping the only meeting between the teams during the regular season. It was Walker and Felton doing the bulk of the damage in the win. Walker had a season-high 29 points and Felton had 23 points with five 3-pointers in the 82-75 win. East Carolina shot 56.7 percent in the second half and scored 51 points after halftime.

Thursday’s second round scores

Wichita State73, USF 68

FAU 64, Charlotte 59

Tulsa 75, Temple 71

ECU 70, UTSA 65

Friday’s quarterfinal games

Memphis vs. Wichita State, noon

FAU vs. Tulane, 2 p.m.

Tulsa vs. North Texas, 6 p.m.

ECU vs. UAB, 8 p.m.