Conference USA Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 7 Tulsa all but handed No. 2 Alabama-Birmingham an invitation to the NIT, ending the Blazers’ hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid with a 78-68 overtime win. Junior guard Robert Vaden hit a jumper with four seconds remaining in regulation for UAB to force overtime. But the Golden Hurricane dominated in overtime, led by sophomore center Jerome Jordan, who finished with 23 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks.
Meanwhile, No. 6 Texas El Paso delivered a knockout punch to No. 3 Houston and the Cougars’ at-large hopes with an 80-77 win. Junior guard Stefon Jackson gave the Miners the lead with 11 seconds remaining, and they held on in the closing seconds. Jackson led UTEP with 23 points. The Miners will play No. 7 Tulsa in the semifinals.
No. 1 Memphis remained on pace to sew up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a 75-56 win against No. 9 Tulane in the quarterfinals. The Tigers were led by junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts with 17 points. Only freshman point guard Derrick Rose played more than 27 minutes for Memphis, who will remain fresh in the semifinals after an easy win against the Green Wave.
No. 5 Southern Mississippi delivered the third upset of the day in the Conference USA quarterfinals by beating No. 4 Central Florida 68-62. Freshman guard R.L. Horton led the Golden Eagles with 18 points. Southern Mississippi shot 52.5 percent from the field to fuel the upset. The Golden Eagles win the right to play Memphis in the semifinals. [3/13/08]
