Sunday, November 15th, 2:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (6,327) -- Kent, Ohio. Television: None. Home Record: Samford 0-0, UAB 0-0. Away Record: Samford 0-1, UAB 0-1. Neutral Record: Samford 0-1, UAB 1-0. Conference Record: Samford 0-0, UAB 0-0. Series Record: UAB leads, 3-0.

GAME NOTES: The 2009 Hispanic College Fund Classic continues in Kent, Ohio, and the Samford Bulldogs take on the UAB Blazers this afternoon.

Samford is desperate for a victory, as it has lost its first two games by a grand total of five points. After falling by three points to Kent State in the opener, the Bulldogs dropped a 70-68 decision to Wisconsin-Green Bay yesterday. There are four returning starters in the fold for Samford, a member of the Southern Conference, and so a lack of experience cannot be sighted as a reason for the narrow losses.

As for UAB, it opened the season on Friday with a 68-56 triumph over the same Green Bay team that just beat Samford. But like the Bulldogs, the Blazers fell to Kent State by a final of 72-65 yesterday. The Blazers are fielding almost an entirely new team in 2009-10, as they lost seven letterwinners and nearly 90 percent of their scoring and rebounding from last year's NIT club.

UAB has won all three previous meetings with Samford.

Trey Montgomery tried to play the role of hero for Samford last night, but his eight-foot runner in the final seconds against Wisconsin-Green Bay fell short, and the Bulldogs lost the game by two points. Montgomery played tremendously well in defeat, as he scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc. Josh Davis pitched in 19 points, and Andy King tallied 10 points. The Bulldogs only turned the ball over 11 times and connected on 52.3 percent of their field goal attempts, including a 10- of-19 showing from three-point range. Unfortunately, they allowed the Phoenix to nail 12-of-21 three-pointers. In the opening loss to Kent State, Samford got 20 points from Montgomery and 19 points from Davis.

In the season-opening victory over Green Bay, UAB's Elijah Millsap was dominant, as he posted 22 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 5-of-6 from three-point range. Obviously, fans were anxious to see how the transfer from UL-Lafayette would perform against Kent State on Saturday. Millsap tallied 18 points against the Golden Flashes, but he simply didn't get enough offensive support from his teammates. UAB surrendered a 13-2 run in the first half, but did manage to fight back and take a one-point lead with 7:41 remaining in the tilt. Unfortunately, the Blazers surrendered a 10-2 run down the stretch that proved to be the difference in the game.

Millsap and Montgomery will duel for the Bulldogs and Blazers today. While both players may reach 20 points, expect UAB to emerge victorious.

Predicted Outcome

UAB 75, Samford 64