On Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., the Cardinals return to Freedom Hall to face Alabama-Birmingham, coached by former Indiana head coach Mike Davis.

The Hoosier connection does not end there. Senior guard Robert Vaden spent two seasons at IU under Davis, where he started every game, and earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team in 2005.

This season, Vaden leads the Blazers with 19.4 ppg, 14 stl, and 37.2 mpg, all team-highs. Senior forward Lawrence Kinnard has also started every game this year, and leads the team in rebounding with 9.1 rpg.

Saturday’s game will be the toughest home test thus far in the season. The Blazers are outscoring their opponents by 7.5 points per game, and have a signature win at Arizona in the regional final of the NIT Season Tipoff. Once at Madison Square Garden for the semifinals, UAB fell by 10 vs. Oklahoma and 6 vs. Boston College.  read more at straitpinkie.com

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