UAB set to Open AMerican Play Against Wichita State

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - December 30, 2025

Plenty of American College men’s basketball questions need to be answered over the next few months.

Where does UAB fit into the American Conference men’s basketball pecking order? Can Tulsa turn non-conference success into a legitimate shot at an at-large NCAA Tournament berth if needed? Is Memphis still the team to beat despite a 5-7 record against one of the more difficult schedules in the country? Has first-year South Florida head coach Bryan Hodgson built a conference-winning roster in his first season at the school? How many teams have a legit shot at chasing a regular season conference title?

Those are just the start of the questions that might not be fully answered until the teams get together in Birmingham for the Americn Conference Tournament in March. The quest for answers begins on Tuesday and Wednesday. Temple (8-5) plays at Charlotte (6-7) in the lone game on Tuesday. Wednesday’s slate includes Tulane (9-4) at East Carolina (5-8), UTSA (4-8) at Florida Atlantic (8-5), Rice (6-7) at Tulsa (12-1), Wichita State (8-5) at UAB (9-4) and North Texas (9-4) at Memphis. USF (8-5) doesn’t begin conference play until the Bulls host UAB on Sunday.

Going into conference play, Tulsa has the league’s best Net ranking at 45. The Golden Hurricane is followed by USF (68), Wichita State (86), Memphis (104), FAU (106), UAB (119), Temple (171), North Texas (175), Charlotte (179), Tulane (219), Rice (237), ECU (299) and UTSA (303). The only current Quad 1 wins came from USF (78-61 over No. 19 Utah State) and Wichita State (74-69 in overtime over No. 75 Northern Iowa on the road). The lone current Quad 2 wins came from Tulsa, Memphis and Temple.   

UAB established itself as one of the better rebounding teams in the country during non-conference play. The Blazers are 11th in the country in total rebounds per game (42.85), 21st in rebounding margin (plus-10.3), 9th in offensive rebounds per game (14.62) and tied for 36th in defensive rebounds per game (28.23).

It will be strength versus strength when UAB plays host to Wichita State on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Bartow Arena. The Shockers are tied for 50th in total rebounds per game (40.38), tied for 30th in rebounding margin (plus-8.6), tied for 16th in offensive rebounds per game (14.46) and tied for 146th in defensive rebounds per game (25.92).

Wichita State will have the two biggest players on the floor in Will Berg (7-2, 265) and Emmanuel Okorafor (6-10, 236). But, other than Berg, no other Wichita State starter is bigger than 6-foot-6. Berg is fifth in the American with 8.0 rebounds per game. UAB’s frontcourt of Evan Chatman (6-8, 220). Daniel Rivera (6-7, 215) and KyeRon Lindsay-Martin (6-8, 222) have helped the Blazers outrebound all but one opponent in 13 non-conference games. Chatman is fourth in the conference with 8.5 rebounds per game while Martin-Lindsay (7.3 rpg) is sixth and Rivera (7.1 rpg) is seventh. Lindsay-Martin is 16th in the country in offensive rebounds per game at 3.77 while Berg (3.25) is 42nd and Rivera is 89th (2.85).

Wichita State is second in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 66.5 points per game, and the Shockers haven’t allowed more than 76 points in a game. UAB averages 81.7 points per game and the Blazers offense will be bolstered by the return of Jacob Meyer, who missed the past 2 ½ games with an ankle injury. Meyer is the team’s second leading scorer at 13.6 points per game. Chance Westry is the team leader in scoring 16 points while Ahmad Robinson averages 12.6 points with a team-high 24 3-pointers. Westry and Robinson combine for eight assists per game.

The Shockers are led on offense by 5-foot-10 guard Kenyon Giles, who played at Radford and UNC Greensboro the past two seasons, averages 16.8 points per game with a team-high in 3-pointers (39) and steals (20). Giles hits 40.2 percent on 3-pointers and was 7-for-8 from long range against Loyola Chicago. Senior Michael Gray Jr. is second on the team with 25 3-pointers and 6-foot-6, 225-pound Karon Boyd (10.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg) was the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year at East Tennessee State last season.