Memphis Beats UAB in AAC Championship Game
By Steve Irvine
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - March 16, 2025
Andy Kennedy and his UAB men’s basketball players were the first ones to meet with the media on Sunday afternoon following the American Athletic Conference Tournament championship game at Dickies Arena.
In this case, being first is not a good thing. While Kennedy, Yaxel Lendeborg and Efrem “Butta” Johnson were explaining their view of what just happened, the Memphis players were on the floor, covered in confetti and celebrating an 84-72 victory over the Blazers and getting ready to find out their NCAA Tournament first round destination.
“Obviously, as we hear the celebration going on behind us, it's not the seat that we wanted to be in,” Kennedy said after his team played in the conference championship game for the fourth consecutive year. “But congratulations to Memphis. When somebody beats you three times in a season, there's no argument. They were most certainly the better team and I think they were the best team in this league. So kudos to Penny (Hardaway) and his crew.”
Once again, UAB (22-12) had trouble containing Memphis big men Dain Dainja and Moussa Cisse, who combined for 30 points, 26 rebounds, five assists, three steals and seven blocked shots. And PJ Haggerty hitting up in the second half, scoring 16 of his 22 points. Both of those things were an integral part of the recipe during Memphis wins over UAB at the FedExForum and Bartow Arena. UAB’s inability to capitalize on open shots was also a big part of the equation in all three meetings with Memphis (29-5).
“This group, man -- again, I've got it right here, we chart it, it's called clean looks, right shot by the right player at the right time,” Kennedy said. “Now, when you're in the championship game against a top-20 team, not everything is going to be completely clean, but it's the right shot for the right guy. On the season, in league play, this team is 40 percent. You need to be in the mid-50s. So we've just struggled with it all year. You know, Cisse and Dainja inside, they combined for 26 rebounds. They're a good players in there, man, getting those balls. So in order to be able to overcome some of that, you're going to have to make some perimeter shots, and we have just struggled with it all year long.”
That put extra pressure on Lendeborg, who put the Blazers on his shoulders all season long. In what was may have been his final game in a UAB uniform, Lendeborg had 19 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, a steal and a blocked shot. In the second half, though, Lendeborg finally wore down.
“Yeah, I feel like I couldn't go, but had to, so I tried to push through it,” said Lendeborg, who played all but five minutes in three tournament games. “But it was hard to breathe. But, you know, I guess I got to get more in shape or if I get to play basketball next year and stuff, just figure it out.”
Kennedy said Memphis had a lot to do with that.
“I think what Memphis does is they speed you up,” Kennedy said. “I think they're fast. For instance, North Texas, physical. I think Memphis is physical, but they're fast. That was a very, very physical game, I think, and justifiably so. Man, I mean, Yax has carried this group for a long, long time, and I thought he ran out of gas a little bit. While the game was still a two-possession game, his inability to get through contact against those big bodies just because -- goodness, he's got a tired back. He's been carrying a lot of us.”
Lendeborg led the way as UAB carried a 35-32 lead into halftime. In the second half, though, Memphis began to control the game. UAB hung any in the game, despite not capitalizing offensively, but Memphis finally built the lead to double digits on an 8-0 run that concluded with 5:27 on the clock. UAB never got closer than nine points afterward.
Johnson, who scored 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point territory, was the only UAB player in double figures. He helped keep the Blazers in the game with his shooting.
In the end, it was not enough to get into the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year and third time in the past four seasons.
“Last night when we met, and I think it's maybe the most valuable traits any of us can have, and that's the ability to persevere,” Kennedy said. “Sounds easy sitting on a stage to talk about perseverance, but when you're in the middle of it, having the fortitude to keep moving forward when things are not going your way, these are very valuable traits. And I think this group epitomized that. We started off pretty rocky and we really didn't have much of an identity. And guys were thinking, Man, what has happened. Because the group that we had returning wanted to get back to this moment, and they forgot the journey that it takes to get back to this moment. So we had some bumps along the road, but I'm just proud that these guys continued to battle and continued to move forward and put ourselves in a position on a big stage to try to go repeat as the tournament champion.”
He then tipped his cap to Memphis once again.
“Today Memphis was the better team,” Kennedy said. “They made the plays that are necessary. And I told them, they will be able to reiterate this. Again, I know this sounds crazy, I wanted to win as much as anybody. But I really, I think they deserved to win. They beat us in effort areas and they made more plays than us. I think that they deserved the opportunity to be champions, and not only in the regular season, but also in the conference tournament.”