paul delaney iii – Rush The Court

Conference USA Wrapup & Tourney Preview

rtmsf — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:31:08 +0000

Memphis passed its last regular season road test and now only has a few games to go to return to the “promised land” that they’ve never really left.

While the Tigers’ dominance over the rest of CUSA is nearly unparalleled in the history of modern college basketball, it doesn’t mean that every other team is chopped liver. Basically anything can happen in a tournament setting and the Tigers have endured a few close calls this year.

So here are the teams as they are seeded and some pertinent info:

#1: Memphis Tigers

Allen R of Houston Basketball Junkies is the RTC correspondent for Conference USA.

Conference Standings.

Memphis: 20-3 (8-0) Tulsa: 17-7 (7-2) UAB: 16-8 (6-3) Houston: 14-7 (5-3) UCF: 15-8 (5-4) UTEP: 13-9 (4-4) East Carolina: 12-10 (4-5) Southern Miss: 13-9 (3-5) Marshall: 11-13 (3-6) Tulane: 9-13 (3-6) Rice: 7-15 (2-6) SMU: 7-14 (1-7)

Slowly but surely, Conference USA basketball has rounded back into the form that’s earned it the nickname of: Memphis and the 11 dwarves in recent seasons. I don’t want to completely trash every other team in the league, because there are some good teams and good players out there. Just because things are so ‘top-heavy’ [...]

Checking in on… Conference USA

rtmsf — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 19:25:45 +0000

Allen R of Houston Basketball Junkies is the RTC correspondent for Conference USA.

Same song, just the second verse now.

This was another tough week for Conference USA basketball as the league desperately tries to find respect in non-conference play.

If we were to stop non-conference play today and commence CUSA play, I’d practically guarantee that this league would only get one bid to the NCAA tournament. But there are a few more opportunities for the teams in this league to prove themselves.

1.) Let’s Get the Bad News Out of the Way: There were a few losses that were just [...]

Checking in on… Conference USA

rtmsf — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:12:46 +0000

Allen R of Houston Basketball Junkies is the RTC correspondent for Conference USA.

Feast week and turkey day are now in the rear view mirror and another week of basketball is in the books.

There were good moments and bad moments, but ultimately this was a positive week for Conference USA basketball. During the UAB/Oklahoma game in the pre-season NIT, ESPN commentator Steve Lavin gushed about the depth of CUSA, talking about how UAB, UTEP and Tulsa could join Memphis in the NCAA Tournament this year. This kind of coverage is the best thing this conference could hope for.

ATB: pre-Thanksgiving Pass/Fail

rtmsf — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 07:01:00 +0000

We’re really not in the mood for this tonight, so it’s going to be short/sweet. Either you pass or fail, that’s the deal.

Game of the Night. UNC 102, Notre Dame 87.

Notre Dame. EPIC FAIL. Carolina shot 58% on you. Just. Go. Home. Tyler Hansbrough. PASS. He’s back (34/5 on 13-19 shooting). Kyle McAlarney. PASS. 39 pts on 10 threes, many of which seemed from halfcourt. The only ND player who came to play tonight. Luke Harongody. FAIL. 13/7 and thoroughly outplayed by Psycho-T. Rest of College Basketball. FAIL. If Carolina is going to play like this…

Preseason NIT. Oklahoma 77, UAB [...]

Checking in on… Conference USA

rtmsf — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:00:34 +0000

Allen R is the RTC correspondent for Conference USA.

The first week or so of Conference USA basketball is in the books and really you can’t tell too much from these contests.

My biggest complaint is that teams like Central Florida, Marshall, East Carolina and Southern Miss scheduled Division II and NAIA teams to start out the season. I realize that many schools struggle to find quality non-conference opponents, but there are over 300 Division I teams out there that could be potentially scheduled. In a conference desperate for an RPI boost, this does very little good.

Okay, the rant is now [...]

ESPN Marathon of Hoops Live Blog, Part II

jstevrtc — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:32:22 +0000

10:02 am — OK, back for more. A little Drexel-Penn for your Tuesday morning. Come on, is ESPN serious about this this stuff? They don’t even have a GameCast going for this one. Amateurs! OK, I’ll stop. Right now I have to give props to the Drexel students, because they have stepped up, here. They’re in full face/body paint, wigs, etc. Even for the ones who are just in their “Fear the Fire” t-shirts, they’re there in force. They’ve filled that arena. It’s rare that ANY college student is gonna get up at 10am for anything, so to show [...]