The 12-seed UAB Blazers will face last year’s NCAA runner-up, the 5-seed San Diego State Aztecs, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon in Spokane, Washington, at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The game will tip off at 1:45 PM ET and air on TNT.

During the 1980s, the UAB Blazers were one of the better programs in college basketball and made the NCAA Tournament eight times from 1981-1990, with three appearances in the Sweet 16 and an appearance in the Elite Eight in 1982. However, the Blazers would only have one appearance from 1991-1998 in the tournament before making the tournament in three consecutive seasons from 2004-2006 but never saw the same success as they did in the 1980s. 

The Blazers have arguably one of their best teams in recent years. They will be making their 2^nd NCAA Tournament appearance in the last three seasons after winning the American Athletic Conference Tournament with wins over the Wichita State Shockers by a score of 72-60 in the Quarterfinals, the South Florida Bulls in the Semifinals by a score of 93-83, and the Temple Owls in the American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game by a score of 85-69 in their first year in the conference. This will be the 4^th time the UAB Blazers have been a 12-seed in the NCAA Tournament in program history, and they have not won as a 12-seed and have lost by double-digits in every NCAA Tournament as a 12-seed. 

The Blazers will look to buck that trend when they face the San Diego State Aztecs, a 12-seed in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

The San Diego State Aztecs made it to the NCAA Tournament Championship game last season before losing to the UConn Huskies by a score of 59-76 and will be playing in the NCAA Tournament for the 4^th year in a row after receiving an at-large bid for the 2024 NCAA Tournament by finishing in 5^th place in the Mountain West with a conference record of 11-7 and an overall record of 24-10. 

The Aztecs made it to the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship game by defeating UNLV in the Quarterfinals by a score of 74-71 in overtime and the Utah State Aggies in the Semifinals by a score of 86-70 before losing to the New Mexico Lobos by a score of 61-68 in the championship game. 

The Aztecs will look to bounce back from the loss against the Lobos when they face the UAB Blazers in the 1^st Round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

JustBet has the San Diego State Aztecs listed as 6.5-point favorites against the UAB Blazers in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Friday night. This will only be the second time the UAB Blazers and San Diego State Aztecs have played each other and the first time since the 1989-90 college basketball season, in which the UAB Blazers won by a score of 91-46 at home.

The UAB Blazers made it to the NCAA Tournament by winning their conference tournament. In contrast, San Diego State made it as an at-large bid and is making its 4^th consecutive tournament appearance. The Aztecs made it to the NCAA Championship game last season and are the more experienced team in this matchup. At the same time, the Blazers have never won an NCAA Tournament game as a 12 seed, losing the previous three times as a 12-seed by double-digits. As a result, I am buying the .5 point and laying the points with the San Diego State Aztecs when they face the UAB Blazers in the Round of 64 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Friday night.