GAME NOTES: The quarterfinal round of the Conference USA Tournament continues Wednesday with a matchup pitting the fifth-seeded Western Kentucky Hilltoppers against the fourth-seeded UAB Blazers at Legacy Arena.

The winner advances to the semifinal round of the tournament, with a shot at reaching the conference title game on the line.

Western Kentucky pushed past Marshall in the opening round of the tournament Wednesday, 59-45, to advance on to the quarterfinal round. The Hilltoppers are hoping four wins in their last five outings will be enough momentum to propel them forward.

UAB didn't have the strongest season in non-conference play, but the Blazers caught fire when Conference USA action started up. They finished the 2014-15 campaign with a 12-6 mark against league opponents, but capped off the regular season with two consecutive losses. UAB gets the advantage of playing in the host city this season.

The two teams met only once during the regular season, which saw UAB come away with a 71-66 victory in Birmingham in late February.

Western Kentucky only hit on 35 percent of its shot attempts on Wednesday against Marshall. But fortunately for the Hilltoppers, their defense was on point, holding Marshall to a mere 30.5 shooting percentage in the contest. Chris Harrison-Dicks netted 18 points to lead WKU, while T.J. Price added 13 points with seven rebounds, and Trency Jackson chipped in with 11 points of his own with five boards. The Thundering Herd were held to a dismal 3-of-19 shooting from 3-point distance by the Hilltoppers.

Price entered the postseason leading the league in scoring, averaging 17.6 ppg on 44.7 percent shooting from the floor. He was followed by George Fant (13.9 ppg), Harrison-Docks (10.9 ppg) and Jackson (10.5 ppg) to round out a solid offense for the Hilltoppers. The game for WKU against Marshall was the first Conference USA Tournament match in program history. When the Hilltoppers met UAB in the regular season, Price scored a team-best 22 points, but he couldn't help lead Western Kentucky to victory.

UAB closed out the regular season with a 70-66 defeat at the hands of FIU, which set the Blazers back to 16-15 overall. The Panthers connected on 51.9 percent of their shots from the floor in the game, while UAB made only 36.5 percent of its attempts in the four-point loss. The youthful Blazers got 17 points from freshman Nick Norton, and 11 points each from Robert Brown and William Lee. UAB shot 7-of-18 from 3-point range, and went a sub-par 13-of-20 from the free-throw line in the defeat.

Brown finished the regular season as the only UAB player to average a double- digit scoring total, netting 12.9 ppg. Defense was a bit of an issue this season, as the Blazers allowed opponents to score 68.6 ppg on 42.3 percent shooting. UAB owns a 15-19 all-time Conference USA Tournament record, but has no league titles to show for it. The last time the Blazers were in the title bout was back in the 2006 season - a 57-46 loss to Memphis. In the one win over WKU during the regular season, UAB got a 10-point, 10-rebound double- double from Chris Cokley, and was led by Norton's 13 points in the five-point win over the Hilltoppers.

This matchup might not be so favorable for UAB, considering Western Kentucky possesses a strong offensive game. Playing in Birmingham will give the Blazers a boost, but Western Kentucky, led by Price, could make a serious run after a sub-par season in which expectations going in were sky high.