UAB Takes On St. Joe’s In NIT Opening Round

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - March 19, 2025

It’s not the tournament they hoped to be participating in but the UAB men’s basketball team still opens postseason play on Wednesday night.

The Blazers came up one win short of reaching the NCAA Tournament for the second season in a row and third time in the past four seasons. Instead, they will try to chase NIT title, beginning with Wednesday’s visit to Saint Joseph’s for a first-round game with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at Hagan Arena in a game that will be telecast on ESPN+.

Potentially, UAB could have a long road – literally – if the Blazers can advance through the NIT bracket. There is a possibility of a pair of California trips if the Blazers can find a way to win in Philadelphia. But it also could be one road trip and done for the Blazers in the survive and advance format of postseason basketball.

St. Joe’s (22-12) finished in a fifth-place tie in the Atlantic 10 standings. The Hawks beat No. 14 seed La Salle (75-70) and No. 3 seed Dayton (73-68 in overtime) before falling to No. 2 seed George Mason (74-63) in the A-10 Tournament semifinals.

The Hawks are led by 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Xzayvier Brown, who averages 17.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. He made 60 3-pointers and was 146-for-163 (89.6 percent) from the free throw line. During the A10 Tournament, he averaged 22.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and was 10-for-24 on 3-pointers. He scored 26 points and hit five 3-pointers in the semifinal loss to George Mason but also committed seven turnovers.

Erik Reynolds II, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior averages 16.2 points per game with a good chunk of his offensive focus coming on 3-pointers. Reynolds was 88-for-292 on 3-pointers with a season-high of seven made 3-pointers against Richmond. He missed all seven of his 3-point attempts in the A10 Tournament loss to George Mason. Rasheer Fleming, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound junior, is thought to be a NBA Draft first round possibility. Fleming averages 14.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He can also stretch a defense his ability to hit 3-pointers. He was 62-of-155 on 3-pointers.

UAB (22-12) is coming off an American Athletic Conference Tournament championship game loss to Memphis. During the three tournament games, UAB senior Yaxel Lendeborg averaged 24 points, 16.6 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while playing all but about four minutes. He committed just turnovers in the tournament with both coming in the championship game.

Lendeborg will essentially be playing a home game. Pennsauken High in New Jersey, which is where Lendeborg graduated, is about 12 miles from Hagan Arena. It will be the closest that Lendeborg plays to his family home during his two seasons at UAB.

The winner of Wednesday’s game will advance to play the winner of Santa Clara and UC Riverside, which were playing in a late game on Tuesday night.

*Samford also begins play in the NIT on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs (22-10) play at A10 regular season co-champion George Mason (26-8) in a first-round game. Samford hasn’t played since losing to Furman in the quarterfinals of the SoCon Tournament on March 8.

George Mason is led by 6-foot-9, 265-pound senior Jalen Haynes (14.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and 6-foot-5 senior Darius Maddox (13.7 points, team high 60 3-pointers). Samford, which won the second most regular season games in program history, is led by 6-foot-4 senior Trey Fort (14.9 ppg, 79 3-pointers), 6-foot-9 junior Jaden Brownell (13.6 ppg, 52 3-pointers) and 6-foot graduate student Rylan Jones (11 ppg, 5.1 apg, 74 3-pointers.)

The winner of the Samford-George Mason game will advance to play the winner of Wednesday’s game between visiting North Alabama and Bradley. If UNA and Samford can both win as lower seeds then the Lions will host Samford in the next round.