UAB (22-6, 14-5) vs. Western Kentucky (19-6, 12-3)
Conference USA Conference Tourney Semifinals, Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas; Friday, 12 a.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Western Kentucky is ready to take on UAB with a spot in the CUSA championship game on the line. Western Kentucky earned an 80-67 win over UTSA in its most recent game, while UAB won 73-60 against Rice in its last outing.
SUPER SENIORS: Western Kentucky’s Taveion Hollingsworth, Josh Anderson and Carson Williams have collectively scored 41 percent of the team’s points this season, including 38 percent of all Hilltoppers scoring over the last five games.BRILLIANT BASSEY: Charles Bassey has connected on 31.8 percent of the 44 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 2 of 6 over his last three games. He’s also made 75.8 percent of his foul shots this season.
PERFECT WHEN: The Hilltoppers are 15-0 when holding opponents to 42.6 percent or worse from the field, and 4-6 when opponents shoot better than that. The Blazers are 19-0 when they hold opponents to 64 points or fewer and 3-6 whenever opponents exceed 64 points.
ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Hilltoppers have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Blazers. Western Kentucky has 37 assists on 61 field goals (60.7 percent) across its previous three games while UAB has assists on 19 of 72 field goals (26.4 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The UAB defense has forced opponents into turnovers on an impressive 23.4 percent of all possessions, which ranks the Blazers 18th among Division I teams. Western Kentucky has turned the ball over on 21.2 percent of its possessions (ranking the Hilltoppers 284th, nationally).
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