2015 Conference USA Tournament Preview

(SportsNetwork.com) – A new team will be crowned the Conference USA Tournament Champion for the third year in a row as 12 teams head to Legacy Arena at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex to battle for an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament field.

Louisiana Tech (24-7, 15-3) earned the top-seed for the conference tourney after falling to Tulsa in last season’s championship game. The Bulldogs are the favorite to win it this season after clinching an outright regular-season crown with a 15-3 league record. The Bulldogs are led by the senior trio of Raheem Appleby, Michale Kyser, Kenneth Smith and junior guard Alex Hamilton. Appleby and Hamilton provided over 15 ppg apiece, while Smith paced the C-USA in assists (7.5 apg). LaTech finished the regular season ranked second in the conference in scoring offense (73.2 ppg) and fourth in scoring defense (64.5 ppg).

The top-seeded Bulldogs will take on the victor of the first round tilt between No. 8 North Texas (14-16, 8-10) and No. 9 Rice (11-19, 8-10), who both finished the regular season tied with FIU (15-16, 8-10) and Texas-San Antonio (14-15, 8-10) for seventh place in the league standings.

The Mean Green fell apart down the stretch, as they followed a season-long five-game winning streak with three consecutive setbacks to end their regular season slate. Senior guard Jordan Williams (14.9 ppg) was held in single- digits in all three losses after accumulating 25 double-digit outings before the slide. The All-C-USA Third Team selection will need assistance from forward Jeremy Combs (9.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and guard Colin Voss (8.9 ppg) if North Texas is going to make a run towards an automatic bid.

A win over the Mean Green would give Rice five more wins than it had finished the 2013-14 campaign, even though the Owls lost star freshman Sean Obi as he decided to transfer to Duke. Senior forward Seth Gearhart took over the role of go-to-guy for Rice, netting a team-high 15.6 ppg on 45.3 percent shooting from the field, while Marcus Jackson is netting 14.0 ppg. Junior floor general Max Guercy is one of the top point guards in the conference, averaging just under 10 points and ranking third among C-USA players with 4.6 apg.

Tim Floyd’s Miners (21-9, 13-5) will be the second-seed thanks to their ownership of a tie-breaker over the third-seeded Old Dominion Monarchs (24-6, 13-5). UTEP has a double-double machine and NBA prospect in sophomore forward Vince Hunter (15.2 ppg, 9.3 rpg) and a streaky leader out of the backcourt in Earvin Morris, Jr. (11.1 ppg). Senior big man Cedrick Lang (10.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Julian Washburn (10.0 ppg) also play vital roles within Floyd’s system.

UTEP will take on the victor of the tournament opening bout between No. 7 Texas-San Antonio and No. 10 FIU. The Miners defeated UTSA twice and earned a three-point decision in their only regular season matchup versus the Panthers.

The Roadrunners snapped a five-game losing streak in their regular-season finale with a one-point win over North Texas (14-16, 8-10). The offensive- minded Roadrunners rank fourth in the C-USA in points per game (71.2) and 12th in scoring defense with an allowance of 70.8 ppg. They defeated FIU, 74-63, in the only regular season matchup between the programs this season. Jeromie Hill (16.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg), Keon Lewis (15.4 ppg, 3.1 apg) and Kaj-Bjorn Sherman (12.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg) all play vital roles in UTSA’s attack.

The Panthers finished the regular season strong with back-to-back wins over Middle Tennessee (16-15, 9-9) and UAB (16-15, 12-6). Despite being one of the lowest scoring teams in the conference a 62.3 ppg, FIU has a certified scoring machine in Dennis Mavis, who ranks third in the C-USA in scoring (17.1 ppg) as well as 11th in assists (3.1). The Panthers also have a reliable low-post presence in Adrian Diaz, who registered the first-ever triple-double in school history with 14 points, 12 boards and a program-record, and NCAA season-high 13 blocks in his last outing. Diaz has already set a single-season FIU record with 95 rejections.

The third-seeded Monarchs will take on the winner of No.6 Middle Tennessee (16-15, 9-9) and No. 11 Charlotte (14-17. 7-11), who will square off in the second matchup of the tourney. ODU could possibly earn an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament if it comes up short in Birmingham. The Monarchs rattled off six consecutive victories to conclude a terrific season, which began with a school record 13 wins through their first 14 games. Campbell transfer Trey Freeman made an immediate impact with the program en route to All-C-USA First Team accolades. Freeman enters the postseason ranked second in the conference in scoring at 17.2 ppg.

Middle Tennessee needs just one more win to clinch its fourth consecutive winning season and seventh in eight tries. The Blue Raiders lost nine out of their last 10 games outside the Murphy Center before ending the regular season with a 77-54 rout of Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton. Coach Kermit Davis has one of the deepest rotations in college basketball with 10 players clocking over 12 minutes per outing. Reggie Upshaw Jr. is spearheading the charge for the Blue Raiders with 10.5 points and 6.9 boards per game.

The 49ers are the only team in the field to have previously won the C-USA Tournament, but both of those championships came during a previous membership to the conference. Charlotte alternated losses and wins over its final eight games of the regular season, but two of those setbacks came in overtime to Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky (19-11, 12-6). Third Team All-C-USA and All-Defensive Team selection Pierria Henry (10.1 ppg, 5.5 apg, 2.5 spg) will be making his final postseason appearance for the 49ers, who will look towards C- USA Freshman of the Year Torin Dorn (11.8 ppg) to pace the team in the scoring column.

UAB earned the final first round bye despite dropping its final two games of the season to FAU and FIU. Coach Jerod Haase was rewarded with a two-year contract near the midpoint of the season and for good reason. The Blazers have as much potential as any mid-major level program as only C.J. Washington (7.4 ppg) is the only senior on the roster. Junior guard Robert Brown is providing a team-high 12.8 ppg for UAB, while six of his teammates are chipping in 7.0 ppg or more. Rookie point guard Nick Norton has operated the offensive efficiently en route to 4.0 apg.

The Blazers will take on the fifth-seeded Hilltoppers or No. 12 Marshall (11-20, 7-11). WKU was a contender to finish atop the C-USA standings in the early going with eight wins through its inaugural nine league bouts, but a four-game losing streak during the month of February ruined its chances of even clinching a first round bye. The Hilltoppers bounced back with three consecutive decisions before an embarrassing, 23-point loss at ODU in their season finale. WKU will still be a tough out in the tourney due to the stellar inside-outside combination of T.J. Price (17.6 ppg, 3.8 apg) and George Fant (13.9 ppg, 8.5 rpg).

The Hilltoppers were defeated at Marshall, 87-82, when these teams last met on Feb. 14. Coach Dan D’Antoni’s Thundering Herd lost 15-straight games to Division I opponents this season, but they earned wins in seven of their final 12 regular season games. Marshall has one of the top forwards in the conference in Ryan Taylor (14.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg), but struggled to provide a reliable second option throughout the campaign.

The Bulldogs have to be the favorite to win the C-USA Tournament, but only slightly. The top five teams in the league are pretty even and UAB does have a hometown advantage in its favor. The Monarchs allowed only 56.6 ppg their opposition during the regular season. If defense wins championships, ODU will be cutting down the nets in Birmingham.

Sports Network Predicted Champion: Old Dominion.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball