After the upset in Blacksburg it doesn't get any easier as the Blazers are coming off a Conference-USA Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA where they upset third seed and ninth-ranked Iowa State in the opening round.
 
"We have a lot of work to do and a long way to go before conference season rolls around," Head Coach Lewis Jackson said.  "It was good to get that win Saturday night, but once you look at film of the game there were so many things we did wrong and we will not be able to get away with it Monday night."
 
The Blazers return 11 players from last season's championship squad and that includes all five starters.  UAB lost their season-opener at Auburn by a narrow 75-74 score, a game which UAB led late only to see a late field goal from the Tigers seal the loss.
 
"We know how good UAB is," Jackson added.  "They are very well coached and have a lot of talent.  We will be playing on their home court so we will have to pick up our play to stay in the game with them."
 
These two teams are only 90 miles apart, but they have only met on the hard court seven times and the Blazers have won all seven of those meetings and they know they will be facing a much taller team again in this outing.

UAB boasts two 6'-9" players in their opening line up and their leading scorer in the opener was 6'-8" Chris Cokley who came off the bench to post a double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Jackson said, "Once again we will face a team that will outsize us at every position.  We will have to play hard every possession on both ends of the court for a full 40 minutes.  We will need to do a better job on the boards and fight to win the 50-50 possessions."
 
The Hornets did manage to get four players in double-digits led by returners Jamel Waters (21) and Bobby Brown (14).  Two newcomers Torloft Thomas (13) and Corvan Butler (10) also reached double figures.
 
The game will have an 8 p.m. tip off and can be seen live on the All Sports Network (ASN).  The game can be listened to live on the ASU Hornets Sports Network.