UAB wins the AAC Conference Tournament

On Sunday UAB defeated Temple to win the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship game. The 85 to 16 win guaranteed the 23 and 11 Blazers an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Last year, the Blazers lost the championship game and were denied a berth in the NCAA field of 68. Undaunted, that team advanced all the way to the NIT championship game. UAB refused to be at the mercy of the committee this year. This is the second time in the last three years that UAB has played in the NCAA tournament under head Coach Andy Kennedy.

"I am really proud of this group," Kennedy told freelance reporter Steve Irvine. "I've been doing this as a head coach for 17 years, been in the game over 30. I don't know if I've ever had a team that grew as much as this team throughout the course of the season."

Alejandro Vasquez had the best game of his career in the AAC Championship game scoring 29 points. Eric Gaines had 15 points and six rebounds. Gaines also had five steals and three blocks. Christian Coleman scored 15 points and had 3 rebounds. Forward/center Yaxel Lendeborg dominated the paint scoring 14 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.

The Blazers will have to go to Spokane, Washington for the first round of the NCAA tournament. They will play San Diego State on Friday, March 22 at 12:45 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised on TNT.

This is win 101 for Coach Kennedy with the Blazers. He has 367 wins in his career.

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