Utah Valley has had a great run, but I think it sputters to a crawl tonight against an athletic and explosive UAB squad. UAB is efficient on both offense and defense and the Blazers are led by Jordan Walker, who scored 19 second half points against a very solid Vanderbilt team last week. I'm expecting a big game from Walker along the perimeter and Trey Jemison on the inside for the UAB win and cover.

NIT semifinals from Las Vegas. KenPom ranks UAB No. 44 nationally and Utah Valley 64th. UAB's Conference USA was vastly superior to UVU's WAC this season. The Blazers' only two losses in their past 17 games were to fellow NIT Final Four club North Texas in overtime and NCAA Tournament Final Four team FAU. Jordan "Jelly" Walker sits in fourth nationally in points per game at 22.5 and third in three pointers per game at 4.23. Trey Jamison has double-doubles in 10 of the last 22 games. UAB will have a nice size advantage led by Jamison.

UAB has blown through three NIT opponents, winning by an aggregate 54 points. The offense is high-octane, and the defense has yet to yield more than 60 points. The Blazers have a go-to scorer, Jordan Walker, in the clutch. It’s not too often to see an NIT entrant ranked in the top 50 for both offensive and defensive efficiency. Utah Valley has overachieved in getting to this stage. Its coach, Mark Madsden, might be distracted in light of his offer from Cal.