Conference USA Notebook: Balance on display in the heartland
Joshua Parrott, Columnist
Memphis has established itself as the king of Conference USA basketball, winning the league tournament in five of the past six years.
This season the Tigers (3-2) have plenty of talent and are nationally ranked again, but a few of their C-USA peers have grabbed some headlines in recent weeks.
UCF rallied from a 17-point deficit with 16 minutes left against defending national champion and No. 4 UConn for a 68-63 win on Nov. 25 at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas. UConn’s loss snapped the nation’s longest active winning streak at 16 games.
It was the third win over a ranked opponent for the 4-2 Knights, who beat No. 16 Florida last season and No. 25 College of Charleston in 2002. The victory was also the first for a C-USA school in the regular season against a top-five opponent since 2007.
UCF’s Marcus Jordan and Keith
Clanton scored 20 points apiece against UConn, but defense
was the difference down the stretch. During the final 15 minutes,
38 seconds the Knights outscored (35-13) and outshot (57.9
percent-28.6 percent) the Huskies to secure the biggest upset in
program history.
“I am really just proud of my team and how they fought back when we were down with 14 minutes to go in the game,” second-year UCF coach Donnie Jones told UCFAthletics.com after the win. “We put in a great effort and we just kept fighting and we were fortunate that the ball bounced our way at the end of the stretch.”
The Knights lost to upstart Harvard in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game, but the wins over UConn and College of Charleston – a possible NCAA tournament team – in the Bahamas are encouraging.
UCF is eager to improve on last season’s trip to the College Basketball Invitational semifinals and will get a boost when senior guard A.J. Rompza becomes eligible on Dec. 30 once he repays $900 in improper benefits. Rompza has sat out this season pending the NCAA’s ruling.
After posting three victories against power-conference schools from 1984 to 2010, UCF is 4-1 vs. major programs in the past two years under Jones. The win over UConn was easily the biggest one.
“I think this just shows that we can compete with anybody, compete with any team in the country,” Clanton recently told UCFAthletics.com. “I just feel like even against the big-name schools, we can compete with them and go out and play them really hard.”
Tulane (8-0), Marshall (5-1) and Rice (5-2) have also started strong this season.
Second-year coach Ed Conroy has the Green Wave
off to its best start in 20 years. Marshall, which won 22 games and
advanced to the College Invitational Tournament last season under
new coach Tom Herrion, was off to its best start
since 1999 before Wednesday’s 70-68 loss to Ohio. Rice has
split its past four games after a 3-0 start.
Houston coach James Dickey is hardly surprised with C-USA’s early success.
“We have terrific coaches and terrific players in this league,” Dickey said. “It’s a very underrated league.”
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Required Reading
***Memphis has lost the rebounding battle in four of this season’s five games, and the Tigers know eventually that has to change.
***UAB coach Mike Davis talks about the importance of effort before the Blazers lost to South Alabama.
***UCF forward Keith Clanton is named C-USA’s Player of the Week after a great performance in the Bahamas.
***Marshall is focused on a quick recovery after its first loss of the season Wednesday to Ohio.
***Rice snapped a two-game losing streak with a solid win over Houston Baptist despite missing its top player.
***Houston is eager to forget its third straight loss, this time falling in the final seconds to LSU.
What I Knew …
Memphis (3-2) still needs to a grow up a bit. While definitely talented, the No. 21 Tigers have a lot to learn. After moving into the top 10 nationally with a season-opening win over Belmont, Memphis allowed No. 15 Michigan to shoot 54 percent and made only 33.3 percent of its own shots in a 73-61 loss. The Tigers rebounded for a double-overtime win against Tennessee before falling to Georgetown in overtime. Memphis has been able to score but must get more consistency from its key players, especially sophomore guards Joe Jackson and Will Barton.
What I Should Have Known …
UAB (1-5) was going to struggle this season. The Blazers returned three starters from last season’s NCAA tournament squad, but the loss of guards Aaron Johnson (2011 C-USA Player of the Year) and Jamarr Sanders (all-conference selection) have loomed large. Quincy Taylor, a sophomore, has replaced Johnson at the point but has more turnovers (19) than assists (13). No true playmaker has resulted in the Blazers shooting only 38.2 percent from the floor and having 11 more turnovers than assists as a team.
Stat of the Week
51.6 points – That’s the average number of points allowed per game this season by Tulane. Through games played on Nov. 27, the Green Wave ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense. Tulane has already held two opponents to fewer than 50 points. Only one team – Alabama A&M in Tulane’s 72-63 win – has topped 60 points. Green Wave opponents are also shooting only 36.3 percent from the floor this season.
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not
Who’s Hot: Tulane (8-0) is undefeated largely due to the play of sophomore forward Josh Davis, who is averaging 14.4 points and 11.0 rebounds this season. Davis, a transfer from North Carolina State, led the nation with six double-doubles this season through games played on Nov. 27 … Houston sophomore forward Alandise Harris is averaging 18.3 points in five games this season on 67.2 percent shooting. Harris averaged 9.4 points and shot 46.4 percent from the floor as a freshman … UAB (1-5) is having a tough start, but senior center Cameron Moore is dominating in the post. Moore, the 2012 C-USA Preseason Player of the Year is averaging 15.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.7 blocked shots. Through games played as of Nov. 27, Moore led the nation in blocks and was eighth in rebounding … Robert Nyakundi is shooting 48.7 percent from 3-point range this season for SMU (3-2). The 6-foot-8 senior forward is averaging 15.3 points, including 27 points in a 64-55 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 22. Nyakundi will get some help when forwards Leslee Smith (torn ACL) and Shawn Williams (Texas transfer) return to action later this month … When Memphis beat Belmont 97-81 on Nov. 15, Josh Pastner became the fastest coach to win 50 games at the school. The third-year coach is still the nation’s youngest head coach at 34 years old … East Carolina junior guard Miguel Paul is averaging a league-best 6.0 assists this season to go with 16.2 points and 2.0 steals. The Missouri transfer also has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3-to-1. Paul had eight assists in a 76-74 loss to Campbell on Nov. 14 and had seven in a 63-58 loss to Old Dominion on Tuesday … Southern Miss senior guard Angelo Johnson poured in a career-high 29 points in last Sunday’s 90-81 double-overtime loss to Murray State in the Great Alaska Shootout championship game. Johnson, who made the all-tournament team, made 10-of-21 shots and 3-of-5 from 3-point range. In his previous three games he had scored a combined 24 points and connected on 9-of-32 shot attempts.
Who’s Not: Coming off its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2006, reigning C-USA regular-season champion UAB (1-5) is struggling this season. The only victory this season for the Blazers was a 71-59 win over Troy on Nov. 22 … UTEP (1-4) has also slumped this season as second-year coach Tim Floyd looks for answers with a new-look roster. The Miners challenged Oregon in a 64-59 loss on Nov. 29, but that came three days after a 53-35 loss to Stephen F. Austin … Since its first 3-0 start in five years, Houston (3-3) has lost three straight games by no more than two points – all at home. The past two losses were especially painful. TCU won, 81-80, last Saturday on J.R. Cadot’s putback at the buzzer. LSU escaped with a 59-58 win Tuesday as Storm Warren made two free throws in the final seconds … Memphis senior guard Charles Carmouche was suspended for Monday’s game against Jackson State for an “internal matter,” according to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal. Carmouche (8.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.0 spg) had started the team’s first four games and is the league co-leader in steals with Paul … Rice played without junior forward Arsalan Kazemi (11.7 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 53.2% shooting) Wednesday against Houston Baptist due to back pain. He is one of the nation’s most underrated players and must be on the floor for coach Ben Braun to have a winning season … Julian Washburn, a freshman guard/forward from Texas, signed with UTEP over offers from Kansas, Texas, Memphis, Arizona and Baylor but is shooting only 38.5 percent from the field through the season’s first five games. He is the son of former North Carolina State and NBA player Chris Washburn … Memphis senior forward Wesley Witherspoon has scored in single digits for the past four games since exploding for 22 points in a season-opening win over Belmont. He is averaging 9.6 points this season. Witherspoon averaged a career-high 12.5 points as a sophomore before his scoring dipped to 9.0 points last season.
Games to Watch
Georgia Tech (4-3) at Tulane (8-0), Saturday: The Green Wave is undefeated so far and gets to play at home against the Yellow Jackets from the ACC. This will be a test for Tulane, which has played a relatively soft schedule this season.
New Mexico State (5-2) at Southern Miss (4-2), Sunday: Back on Nov. 26, Southern Miss beat New Mexico State on the road. Now the Eagles will go for the season sweep of the Aggies.
Marshall (5-1) at Syracuse (7-0), Tuesday: The Thundering Herd beat Big East foe Cincinnati in overtime on Nov. 25. Now they’ll face another Big East school in undefeated Syracuse after falling to Ohio, 70-68, on Wednesday.
UMass (6-2) at East Carolina (4-2), Tuesday: ECU is perfect at home this season and hoping to rebound from Tuesday’s 63-58 loss to Old Dominion. The two losses for UMass this season were to No. 20 Florida State and College of Charleston.
No. 21 Memphis (3-2) at Miami (4-2), Tuesday: The Tigers had some tough losses to No. 15 Michigan and Georgetown in Maui Invitational. Miami, now led by coach Jim Larranaga, has dropped two straight with losses to Ole Miss and Purdue.
Parrott’s Take
Memphis will get better as the season progresses, granted the Tigers can stay healthy. The key will be to see how their younger players adjust to the college game and develop better chemistry in the next few weeks. They’re still the favorite to win the C-USA championship, but Marshall, UCF and Southern Miss will be right there to challenge them.
ECU, Tulane and Rice will take some bumps as their respective schedules get tougher, but those teams are improved from last season and will pull some upsets. If UAB and UTEP continue to struggle, the C-USA standings will require a double-take by the end of the season.
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Photo of Marcus Jordan: Courtesy of UCF Athletics
Photo of Ed Conroy: Courtesy of Parker Water, Tulane Athletics Communications
