Conference USA Tournament Semifinal Recap
by Ryan Westin
No. 1 Memphis 71, No. 4 Tulane 49
Day three of the Conference USA tournament brought about the semifinals at the FedEx Forum and looked eerily similar to day two as Memphis absolutely pummeled Tulane in the first twenty minutes of contest in yet another impressive first half effort. The Tigers held David Gomez (Tulane’s leader in scoring and rebounds) scoreless, with his most significant statistical contribution being 3 boards.
It will be interesting to see this squad play a higher-seeded team in the big dance and see whether Memphis is really that good or if the competition they have been playing is that bad. The Tigers’ are a different team in the FedEx Forum, but seem to be mortal when the play outside the friendly confines of Memphis.
Tom Penders’ Houston Cougars should note before their date with destiny tomorrow that the Tigers can be beat at home. Look at when Southern Miss took the Tigers down to the wire before losing by three in late January. There are two keys to beating the Tigers home: you need a solid guard and need to limit Memphis’ ability to put up a run. Southern Miss had one of these in Conference USA Freshman of the Year Jeremy Wise, who put up 25 against the Tigers in January. Southern Miss was not able to contain Memphis as they went on an 8-0 run late in the game to hold on for the victory.
No. 3 Houston 77, No. 7 Rice 62
Houston has one of the best guards in the conference in Robert McKiver, who led his team to victory over Rice with 25 points. Houston was able to hold off Rice after boasting a double-digit lead in the second half and was able to coast to the championship game after McKiver and the Cougars combined for six three-pointers in the second half.
There is a little jingle that goes “sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t.” Well, after Morris Almond was able to dominate in the first two rounds of the tournament with two 30-plus point performances, he was the one that was dominated today as he was held to three points in the first half and 11 for the game in the losing effort to Houston.
The key to tomorrow’s championship game will be if Houston can limit Memphis’ first half run that has put their past two opponents away before heading to the lockers at the break. If Houston is unable to slow down the Tigers in the first half when they get on a run, not if they get on a run, it will be a very, very long day for Cougar Nation.
Notes
- It’s the holiday season. Well, not really, but Memphis has not lost since before Christmas when they lost Arizona on the road. From the looks of it, Memphis will definitely not lose before St. Patrick’s day, as the Tigers look more destined to play after April Fools day in the national championship game on April 2nd.
- In order to defeat Memphis, a team will need to play a nearly perfect forty minutes on the hardwood. Tulane started out doing just that, shooting 7-13 from the floor early on. Things went downhill from then on as the Green Wave shot a dismal 10-45 the remainder of the contest.
- Former NBA head coach Larry Brown was in attendance during the Memphis game to watch former colleague John Calipari coach the Tigers’ to the victory.
- Another NBA name made an appearance at the FedEx Forum was a McGrady making a brief appearance. No, not T-Mac, but his cousin Chance McGrady saw two minutes of action for Memphis in the closing minutes of the contest for his ninth appearance of the year. McGrady has one point on the season, which ironically came in Memphis’ blowout of Tulane earlier this season.
- Rice was able to come from behind in the second half of their first two matchups of the tournament, but looked like the comeback efforts had worn the Owls out, as they were flat and looked like out of gas in the second half as Houston beat them to a pulp.
Saturday, March 10
Conference USA Basketball Championship Game, 11:35 A.M. EST on CBS
No. 1 Memphis vs. No. 3 Houston
