William Lee helped propel No. 14 seed UAB past No. 3 Iowa Thursday in the NCAA Tournament. (Getty)
The NCAA Tournament fireworks went off early Thursday afternoon when UAB, the No. 14 seed in the South Regional, pulled off a huge upset of No. 3 Iowa State.
The Blazers won 60-59 to send them into the third round. where they will face No. 11 UCLA, which knocked off No. 6 SMU 60-59.
It was UAB’s first March Madness win in 10 years. In 2004, the Blazers made the Sweet 16.
The victory was also the first as a head coach for the Blazers’ Jerod Haase, who is in his third season.
The selection committee caught some grief for including UCLA in the field of 68, but the Bruins responded by knocking off the surging Mustangs.
The Bruins have already beaten the Blazers once this season. UCLA won 88-76 during the Battle 4 Atlantis before conference play began.
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
The Basics
Who:
No. 14 UAB vs. No. 11 UCLA
What:
NCAA Tournament – Third Round
When:
Saturday
Where:
KFC Yum! Center – Louisville, Kentucky
Time:
12:10 p.m. Eastern
Channel:
CBS
Line:
UCLA -6. Line provided by sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Scouting UAB
(Getty)
(Stats do not reflect NCAA Tournament games)
Record: 20-15 overall, 12-6 Conference USA
Coach: Jerod Haase, 3rd season
Offensive Points Per Game: 68.9
Defensive Points Allowed Per Game: 67.7
Scoring Leader: Robert Brown, 13.1
Rebounding Leader: William Lee, 5.8
Assists Leader: Nick Norton, 3.9
Scouting UCLA
Bryce Alford of UCLA. (Getty)
(Stats do not reflect NCAA Tournament games)
Record: Overall: 21-13, Pac-12: 11-7
Coach: Steve Alford
Offensive Points Per Game: 72
Defensive Points Allowed Per Game: 68
Scoring Leader: Norman Powell, 16.4
Rebounding Leader: Kevon Looney, 9.2
Assists Leader: Bryce Alford, 5 .0
