Conference USA Notebook
Joshua Parrott, C-USA Columnist
Three days after a one-point loss to UCF, Memphis bounced back Saturday with a 63-45 win over SMU behind a game-high 24 points by Will Barton.
Barton’s scoring production was great to see, Memphis coach Josh Pastner said, but he could have done without his five turnovers.
“I keep trying to tell him to stop trying to thread the needle when he drives into the paint,” Pastner said. “When he gets into the paint, he needs to just score the ball.”
Scoring points is what Barton has done best this season for the Tigers.
Coming into this week, Barton led Conference USA in scoring at 18.8 points per game and was sixth in rebounding (8.7). The sophomore guard had scored at least 20 points times this season.
Of the 26 players nationally with at least nine double-doubles this season, Barton is one of only four guards in that group. The Baltimore, Md., native was also recently named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list.
Barton’s performance against SMU was huge for two particular
reasons. Memphis had just lost freshman forward Adonis
Thomas – likely for the season – with an ankle
injury. Plus, Barton was initially going to sit out the game
because of a toe injury suffered in the loss to UCF.
“I knew my team needed me,” Barton said after the win over SMU. “We just came off a loss. If I can walk – or even hobble a little bit – I’m going to go out there and give it everything I’ve got and provide for my team.”
Barton is one of several players from C-USA schools capable of producing big scoring nights.
Marshall guard DeAndre Kane is second in the league in scoring at 16.4 points. C-USA’s third-leading scorer is East Carolina guard Miguel Paul (16.3 points).
UCF has two strong scoring threats in guard Marcus Jordan (16.1 points), the son of NBA legend Michael Jordan, and forward Keith Clanton (15.4 points).
UAB forward Cameron Moore (15.5 points), Tulsa guard Jordan Clarkson (15.4 points), SMU forward Robert Nyakundi (14.8 points), Houston guard Jonathon Simmons (14.4 points) and Rice forward Arsalan Kazemi (13.9 points) also rank among the league’s top 10 scorers.
And some reason to be optimistic about the league’s future: Only two of C-USA’s top 10 scorers – Moore and Nyakundi – are seniors. Paul, Jordan, Clanton and Kazemi are juniors. Barton, Kane and Clarkson are sophomores, while Simmons is a freshman.
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Required Reading
***Houston (10-9, 2-4 C-USA) is looking for someone to lead its young team after a sluggish start this season.
***Memphis (14-6, 5-1) expects veteran guard Charles Carmouche to sit out the rest of the season due to knee pain.
***Defense has been the key for UCF (15-5, 5-2) as the Knights have climbed up the C-USA standings.
What I Knew …
I knew we’d start to see some separation in the C-USA standings at this point in the season. On Wednesday, Southern Miss beat East Carolina and Memphis downed Rice as both teams improved to 5-1 in conference play. Tulsa upended UCF, putting both squads at 5-2 in the league. UAB stunned Marshall, which is now 4-2 vs. C-USA foes.
What I Should Have Known …
Tulane (14-6, 2-4) was going to keep fighting despite losing leading scorer Kendall Timmons (torn Achilles) on Jan. 14 against Rice. The Green Wave lost that game on a buzzer-beating 3 and fell to Tulsa four days later as part of a 0-4 start in league action. But Tulane has won back-to-back C-USA games at home, knocking off UTEP and SMU behind the strong play of freshman guard Ricky Tarrant.
Stat of the Week
33: Guard Ricky Tarrant scored 33 points for Tulane in Wednesday’s 80-74 win over SMU to break the school record for points by a freshman. He’s led the team in scoring in each of the past four games.
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not
Who’s Hot: Southern Miss (18-3) is off to
its best start since the 1990-91 season … Tulsa has won five
straight, while Memphis is 8-2 in its past 10 games… UCF
forward Keith Clanton recently won C-USA Player of
the Week honors after averaging 16.5 points in the program’s
first wins over Memphis and UAB … Tulane guard Ricky
Tarrant was C-USA Freshman of the Week after scoring 15
points in a loss at Tulsa and a game-high 22 points in a win over
UTEP … Coming into the week, East Carolina guard
Miguel Paul led the league in scoring (18 points)
and assists (5.0) … Houston forward TaShawn
Thomas had 17 points and 12 rebounds in a Jan. 21 win over
East Carolina … SMU forward Robert Nyakundi
had 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting (4-of-6 from 3) in
Wednesday’s loss to Tulane. He shot 34.6 percent overall and
25 percent from 3 in the previous four games.
Who’s Not: East Carolina fell to 9-10 and 0-6 in league play with Wednesday’s 72-60 loss to Southern Miss. It was the sixth straight loss for the Pirates … Rice and Marshall are also slumping with three consecutive losses … Marshall guard DeAndre Kane had five turnovers and only 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting in Wednesday’s 56-49 loss to UAB … Houston guard Joseph Young has scored in double figures only once in the past four games while shooting 27.3 percent from the floor … SMU forward Shawn Williams, a Texas transfer, has scored five combined points in his past two games … UCF guard Marcus Jordan had seven points on 1-of-8 shooting in Wednesday’s loss to Tulsa.
Games to Watch
Southern Miss (18-3, 5-1) at UCF (15-5, 5-2), Saturday: The Golden Eagles have lost three games this season by a combined 18 points, while UCF has split its last four games.
Marshall (13-7, 4-2) at Memphis (14-6, 5-1), Saturday: Marshall has dropped three straight and must travel to face a Tiger squad that’s won eight of nine.
Tulsa (12-9, 5-2) at SMU (10-10, 2-4), Saturday: Tulsa is streaking with five straight wins, and SMU is 3-6 since a double-OT loss to Oklahoma State on Dec. 28.
Parrott’s Take
The C-USA race is going to be close, fun to watch and a little unexpected. Southern Miss, Memphis, UCF, Tulsa and Marshall are the league’s top five teams in the standings but are hardly unbeatable. They’ll be challenged by some of the young teams like UTEP, Tulane, Houston and Rice, all of whom have shown flashes of their potential.
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Internal Barton photo also courtesy Joe Murphy; Neil Watson photo courtesy Joe Harper.
