The Bartow Arena will begin the Conference USA NCAAB season with a matchup between the Charlotte 49ers and the UAB Blazers on Thursday (December 22) evening.
The Hornets are 9-2 this season and are on a five-game winning streak after an 80-46 road win on Saturday against the Monmouth Hawks. The Blazers are also 9-2 and are riding a two-game winning streak after a 92-66 home win over the Southern Jaguars last Sunday.
Charlotte 49ers vs. UAB Blazers Betting Odds
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Charlotte 49ers vs UAB Blazers Match Details
Fixture: Charlotte 49ers vs. UAB Blazers
Time and date: Thursday, December 22, 7:30 pm ET
Venue: Bartow Arena, Birmingham, AL
Charlotte 49ers vs UAB Blazers Key Stats
The 49ers are a decent offensive team, averaging 68.8 points per game. They distributed the basketball well, averaging 15.3 assists over the course of the season.
Sophomore forward Igor Milicic Jr has led the team, averaging 10.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.8 blocks, and 0.5 steals in 25 minutes per game. He definitely made his presence felt throughout the game with his overall production as he is doing a bit of everything.
Their defense has been doing extremely well as they're allowing 58.1 points per game. The 49ers are doing decently, forcing 3.1 blocks and 6.9 steals per game. They need to continue to improve on that side of the floor to do well and continue their winning streak.
The Blazers are an absolutely strong offensive team, as they are scoring 87.9 points per outing and shooting 48.2% from the field. Senior guard Jordan Walker has been doing well, averaging 24.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.7 steals per game in 32.1 minutes this season.
Defensively, they have been doing decently well throughout the year, as they have given up 69.2 points per game. They need to continue playing better, as they're forcing 4.7 blocks and 8.5 steals per game up to this point.
Charlotte 49ers vs UAB Blazers Best Picks and Prediction
Both of these programs have been doing extremely well before the conference portion of their schedule starts off, but the UAB Blazers should have a huge advantage and that is primarily on the offensive side of the ball.
Looking at the offensive side of the ball in the last five games, Charlotte is averaging 74 points per game while UAB is scoring 80.4 points per game.
The rebounding numbers are also on two completely different levels as the 49ers are averaging 31.8 total rebounds per game, while the Blazers are averaging 42.6 total rebounds per game thus far so go with the UAB Blazers to win by double digits.