Conference USA Tourney recap
By: Alex Bustillo
What a week it was for the city of Frisco, Texas and Conference USA. The Ford Center at the Star was a wonderful facility and it showcased some top talent across the conference. Both the men and the women competed to earn a spot in the NCAA March Madness tournament. A total of 22 games on both sides but only two tickets punched to the Big Dance.
Coming into the tournament the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders were the #1 seed for the men and the UAB Lady Blazers were the top seeded women's team lead by Coach of the Year Randy Norton. Middle Tennessee was led by C-USA Player of the Year Nick King. The Blue Raiders stumbled into the tournament losing their final game of the regular season to Marshall, 76-67 dropping out of the Top 25. MTSU was now a bubble team in danger of not earning an at-large bid according to Joe Lunardi if it didn't capture the C-USA title.
The UAB Lady Blazers were undefeated in the month of March and were confident coming into the tournament ready to dethrone the Lady Toppers atop the conference. UAB was looking to earn a trip to the dance for the first time since 2000 when they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
MTSU had a first round bye and faced the Golden Eagles of Southern Missouri in the Quarterfinals after posting a 16-2 Conference record during the regular season. USM had come off a 69-68 first round victory over FIU. Cortez Edwards scored 29 points in their victory and was poised to send C-USA POY Nick King home early. It was a back and forth game and evenly matched. Middle Tennessee needed a last second three from Giddy Potts as part of his 14 points to force OT. In the extra session it was too much Cortez Edwards as he out-dueled Nick King scoring 23 to King's 17 and had two other teammates in double figures to upset the Blue Raiders 71-68.
Marshall, Western Kentucky and Old Dominion had also earned victories in the Quarterfinals and advanced into the Semifinals. The Herd and Hilltoppers won in convincing fashion while the Monarchs of ODU barely escaped La Tech, 62-58. The Thundering Herd matched up against upstart Southern Miss for a trip to the C-USA final and a chance to represent the conference in the NCAA tournament.
The Herd were poised to continue their run and ultimately their offense was too much for the Golden Eagles despite Edward's 30 points. Jon Elmore had 26 for Marshall who had 5 players in double figures and shot 43% from deep. The other semifinal saw the Hilltopper men advance with a victory over Old Dominion, 57-49 behind a double double from their senior leader Justin Johnson with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
The final was set between two basketball programs with very different histories. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers are no strangers to the postseason and have the eighth best winning percentage in NCAA history, WKU's most recent NCAA tournament appearance came as a member of the Sun Belt conference in 2013. The Marshall Thundering Herd last tournament berth was in 1987 when Bon Jovi was still relevant.
Marshall led the going into the half, 34-31 and never looked back. It was tough down the stretch as Western Kentucky went on an 11-0 run to close within one, but WKU's Lamonte Bearden could not hit the go ahead bucket down low and freshman Jannson Williams secured the board to send Marshall to the NCAA tournament. Justin Johnson led the Hilltoppers with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Jon Elmore hit 7-13 from long range for 27 points and also added 6 assists.
The women's bracket had a lot less drama and little surprise with the exception of the Mean Green ladies advancing to the semifinals after defeating Charlotte and the Lady Techsters. UNT faced the 2nd seed WKU in the semifinals and gave the Lady Toppers a run for their money but came up a bit short despite two ladies fouling out for WKU. C-USA POY Tashia Brown started cold but finished 10-22 from the field with 25 points. Terriell Bradley led the Mean Green with 17 points and 7 rebounds. The Mean Green will return all their starters next year and are expected to compete for the Conference USA title.
The other semifinal saw the Lady Owls of Rice take on the #1 seed UAB Lady Blazers. UAB led wire to wire and dominated on the boards and in the paint and shot almost 50% from the field and 56% from three on the way to a 67-55 victory. Rachael Childress led all scorers with 18 points. Erica Ogwumike led the Owls with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
As expected, the top two seeds faced off in the final for the women. WKU was looking to repeat as champs and return to the NCAA tourney and UAB was looking to repeat it's success from 2000 when they made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen, the farthest a C-USA team has reached in the NCAA tournament. The Lady Toppers dominated the entire game and were led by Tashia Brown with 25 and Whitney Creech with 16 points. WKU out-rebounded UAB, 45-33 and had the advantage in the paint and on the free throw line on their way to a 72-57 victory and second straight trip to the Big Dance. Rachael Childress led the Blazers again with 16 points in the loss.
The Thundering Herd are a #13 seed and will face off against Wichita State Shockers Friday afternoon in the first round in the East Region of the NCAA tournament. A lot of experts are predicting a first round upset for the upstart Herd over the Shockers. The Lady Toppers are a #11 seed and will face Oregon State in the Lexington Region in the first round of the NCAA Women's Championship. The men's game will be on TNT and the women's game will be televised on ESPN2.