Some things in life are never truly settled.

Did Daniel LaRusso win the Under-18 All-Valley Karate Championship with an illegal crane kick to Johnny Lawrence’s head? Possibly.

Did Han shoot first? George Lucas would like you to think so, but we all know the truth.

A two-game regular-season series and conference tournament bout were not enough to satisfy the UAB basketball team against one of its most competitive league rivals and the fourth and final meeting comes in the last matchup of the year for each team.

The Blazers wrap up a historic season as they face off against North Texas in today’s NIT championship at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

Read more on UAB sports:

Ty Brewer’s career night carries UAB past Utah Valley in NIT semifinal

Rewinding UAB’s 88-86 NIT semifinal win over Utah Valley

UAB running back Demetrius Battle punishing way into role alongside Jermaine Brown

UAB enters the NIT title game at 29-9 overall after outlasting Utah Valley in the semifinals — winning 16 of its last 18 games and setting the program record for wins in a season — and is 1-2 this season against North Texas.

The Blazers won the last meeting between the two rivals in the C-USA tournament semifinals.

“We know what they (North Texas) are going to do; they know what we are going to do,” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy said. “Ultimately the champion will come against two teams that have had a lot of battles and it will be about the one that makes the most plays.”

The Blazers were picked to win C-USA in the league’s preseason coaches poll but finished third in the regular-season standings behind FAU and North Texas. The Owls are set to take on San Diego State this weekend in the NCAA tournament Final Four while UAB and North Texas square off for the fourth time this season with the NIT crown on the line.

North Texas’ path to the NIT title game does not come without a cost.

The Mean Green plowed through Alcorn State and Sam Houston in the first two rounds before rallying against Oklahoma State and Wisconsin. Unfortunately for North Texas, junior forward Abou Ousmane suffered an injury in the Alcorn State game that ended his season prematurely.

“Obviously, the absence of Ousmane changes the dynamic of their team,” Kennedy said. “He was an all-league player at that 5-spot and now they have to have other guys step up. To their credit, they certainly have.”

Along with Ousmane’s frontcourt mate, Aaron Scott, North Texas is receiving valuable contributions from Jayden Martinez and Moulaye Sissoko to supplement the loss of its big man.

However, the Mean Green run a frustrating pace of basketball — ranking first in defensive scoring (55.7 ppg) — and it begins and ends with C-USA Player of the Year Tylor Perry, a clutch shooter who understands better than anyone how the Mean Green’s system operates. Senior transfer Kai Huntsberry has paired well with Perry in the backcourt and Rubin Jones rounds out a potential starting lineup without Ousmane.

Despite being outmatched by the Blazers in the rebounding battle, heading into the championship, North Texas lulls opponents to sleep with the slowest pace in college basketball before pouncing for the death knell.

“I know this game is going to be a roller coaster,” said Ty Brewer, who posted a career-high double-double in UAB’s semifinal win. “I feel that we’ll come out locked in, focused and ready to take care of business.”

Jordan “Jelly” Walker, the nation’s fifth-leading scorer (22.3 ppg) and last year’s conference player of the year, has quietly put together a solid run through the NIT but has been forced to alter his game as opponents focus on his perimeter shooting. While Walker has faced additional pressure the last few games, UAB’s 10-man deep rotation continues to grind with seemingly a different player stepping up each night.

“They have dynamic play-makers, as do we,” Kennedy said. “Again, now it’s about regrouping a little bit, getting your emotions back, get your body back, we have a day off, and I’m sure both teams will be locked-in Thursday.”

The UAB basketball program has made 29 total postseason appearances, between the NCAA tournament and the NIT, but arguably none more important than the first championship game in school history.

Obviously, the Elite Eight and three Sweet 16 runs in the NCAA tournament were epic in nature — gracing the Blazers with national respect as a program built from scratch at the tail end of the 1970s — but winning its last game of the season with a trophy in hand would easily be of the most memorable moments in the history of UAB basketball.

“Remember,” Gaines said. “That’s one thing coach always says, ‘if you can’t make history, be that team that’s remembered.’ Come out, get that dub and make UAB history.”