BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB men's basketball team (14-8, 6-5 C-USA) will play host to the Cougars of Houston on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. in Bartow Arena. The Blazers defeated the Cougars on Jan. 11, 63-50, in Houston, Texas.

The Cougars enter Saturday night's contest with an overall record of 7-15 and stand 5-6 in conference play - one game behind the Blazers for second place in the National Division standings. Most recently, the Cougars snapped a four-game losing streak when they defeated the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, 46-42, on Tuesday night. Louis Truscott led the team with 15 points on the night. Truscott enters the game as one of the top players in the conference. For the season, he averages 15.7 points and 11.6 rebounds per contest. Guard Andre Owens also averaged double figures in scoring with 13.3 ppg and leads the team in assists, averaging 3.4 per contest.

UAB will be looking to sweep the Cougars in a season series for the first time since the 2000 campaign. The Blazers are led by Mo Finley who is averaging 17.6 ppg. Newcomers Demario Eddins and Gabe Kennedy are second and third on the team in scoring with 10.2 and 9.6 ppg, respectively.

In the Blazers' last contest, Tony Johnson hit a jumper with 21.6 seconds left in overtime to defeat TCU, 88-85. It was the second time this season UAB and TCU went to extra time. Eric Bush and Morris Finley each scored 19 points to lead UAB. Bush also added seven assists, seven steals and six rebounds on the night. Sidney Ball had a career-best 13 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds.

The game can be heard live on 1070 WAPI-AM, with the pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. Gary Sanders will handle play-by-play, Matt Coulter will be the color analyst and Jon Gentile will produce the broadcast. The postgame show will follow immediately after the game. The game can also be heard by accessing the UAB website (www.uabsports.com). The first 1,000 kids (age 14 and under) will receive a full-size Glow-in-the-Dark basketball.