Conference USA leader No. 9 Louisville and No. 17 Cincinnati are both on the road Saturday for nationally-televised games. The Cardinals travel to Birmingham for an 8 p.m. EST tip-off for ESPN2. UAB is in a four-way ties for second place in the conference standings with DePaul, Memphis and UC. The Bearcats have a 4 p.m. EST match-up with Charlotte on ESPN. Memphis and National Freshman of the Week Darius Washington are also on the road Saturday to play Houston, who has posted a 9-1 record at Hofheinz Pavilion this season.
CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Moussa Badiane, East Carolina Senior, Center, Les Ulis, France Badiane became Conference USA's all-time leader in blocked shots Saturday by swatting three shots against Charlotte. Badiane has totaled 294 blocks during his career, breaking the record of 292 held by former Cincinnati All-America Kenyon Martin. In the final minute of the game against Charlotte, Badiane blocked a field goal attempt and drew a charge with ECU holding a one-point advantage. He scored 13 points in the second half against the 49ers en route to a team-high 16 points. He averaged 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in ECU's two wins over Saint Louis and Charlotte.
Larry O'Bannon, Louisville Senior, Guard, Louisville, Ky. O'Bannon averaged 21.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and shot 54.2 percent from the field in a pair of C-USA victories for the Cardinals. O'Bannon scored a career-high 30 points, hitting six three-point goals, and added five rebounds, two steals and a career-best seven assists with no turnovers against Marquette. O'Bannon was one of six Cardinals in double figures with 12 points and four rebounds at Tulane. O'Bannon has scored in double figures in a team-best 19 games this season. He was one of six Cardinals on the U of L Athletic Director's Honor Roll for the 2004 fall semester with a 3.0 or better GPA.
C-USA POLLING PLACE Associated Press (Jan. 31) 1. Illinois 2. North Carolina 3. Kansas 4. Duke 5. Boston College 6. Kentucky 7. Wake Forest 8. Syracuse 9. LOUISVILLE 10. Oklahoma State 11. Alabama 12. Michigan State 13. Washington 14. Oklahoma 15. Arizona 16. Pittsburgh 17. Gonzaga 18. CINCINNATI 19. Wisconsin 20. Texas 21. Utah 22. Maryland 23. Connecticut 24. Villanova 25. Georgia Tech ARV: CHARLOTTE MARQUETTE
USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll (Jan. 31) 1. Illinois 2. North Carolina 3. Kansas 4. Kentucky 5. Boston College 6. Duke 7. Wake Forest 8. Syracuse 9. LOUISVILLE 10. Michigan State 11. Oklahoma State 12. Washington 13. Arizona 14. Alabama 15. Pittsburgh 16. Oklahoma 17. CINCINNATI 18. Texas 19. Wisconsin 20. Connecticut 21. Gonzaga 22. Utah 23. Georgia Tech 24. Maryland 25. Villanova ARV: UAB CHARLOTTE
FORTY-VILLE With Louisville's 99-52 win against Marquette on Jan. 26, the Cardinals became the first Conference USA team to win five games by 40 points or more in a single season. The victory over Marquette was the most lop-sided loss in Golden Eagles' school history. Louisville's 104-40 win on Dec. 27 against Morehead State was the second largest margin of victory in C-USA history for all games. U of L leads the nation with a 24.5-point average margin of victory in the first 21 games. Gonzaga, the team that led the nation in that category last season, only outscored opponents by 15.6 points per game in 2003-04.
A GRAND COUGAR Following Wednesday night's 63-43 victory against Saint Louis, the Houston Cougars have now compiled a 999-672 record in the storied history of the program. Head Coach Tom Penders and his squad will look for the 1,000th victory since the program began in 1946 as they host Memphis this Saturday.
SAGARIN AND RPI RATINGS SAGARIN RATINGS (Feb. 4) Schools 9. Louisville 15. Cincinnati 36. UAB 45. Charlotte 49. DePaul 77. Marquette 85. Memphis 97. TCU 105. Houston 167. USF 193. East Carolina 210. Southern Miss 211. Saint Louis 212. Tulane
Conferences 1. ACC 2. Big 12 3. Big East 4. Big Ten 5. SEC 6. Pac-10 7. Missouri Valley 8. CONFERENCE USA 9. West Coast 10. Mountain West
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2005-06 The 2005-06 season will see the introduction of six new programs to Conference USA. Marshall University, Rice University, Southern Methodist University (SMU), the University of Central Florida (UCF), the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the University of Tulsa and will all begin competition in C-USA beginning with the 2005-06 season. UTEP (52) is ranked among the Top 65 in the RPI Ratings.
These six schools will join current members East Carolina University, University of Houston, University of Memphis, Southern Mississippi University, Tulane University and University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The teams will play a 14-game conference schedule with a single round robin and three mirror games.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Conference USA will name Players of the Week each Monday during the season. Players of the Week are voted on by a media panel consisting of one representative in each league city. Here is a look at this season's winners:
Conference USA Players of the Week N22 Travis Diener, Marquette N29 Taquan Dean, Louisville D6 Quemont Greer, DePaul D13 Francisco Garcia, Louisville / Quemont Greer, DePaul D20 Quemont Greer, DePaul / Jasper Johnson, Southern Miss D27 Donell Taylor, UAB J3 Francisco Garcia, Louisville J10 Armein Kirkland, Cincinnati J17 Taquan Dean, Louisville J24 Sammy Mejia, DePaul J31 Moussa Badiane, East Carolina / Larry O'Bannon, Louisville
AROUND C-USA
CHARLOTTE (14-4, 5-2): Despite a double-double from junior Curtis Withers, the 49ers were defeated by intrastate rival East Carolina, 54-51, on Saturday. Withers led the Niners with 23 points and 13 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season and 23rd of his career. The rest of the starting line-up was held to just 16 points and the ECU defense held Charlotte scoreless the final 6:41. Junior E.J. Drayton came off the bench to toss in 10 points and grab four rebounds. Charlotte, which has won its last five games at Halton Arena, hosts No. 18/17 Cincinnati today at 4 p.m. EST on ESPN.
NO. 18/17 CINCINNATI (17-4, 6-2): Despite a gutsy performance from junior forward Eric Hicks, the Bearcats lost their second game of the season to a No. 9 Louisville team, 77-70. Hicks tallied a team-high 21 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots. Senior Nick Williams scored 12 points and junior James White added 11 points and seven boards. Senior Jason Maxiell chipped in nine points and moved into 15th place on the C-USA career scoring chart with 1,371 points. Maxiell passed former Bearcat Danny Fortson, who scored 1,367 points during the first two seasons of the league. He also now has 228 career blocks (fourth in C-USA history). The Bearcats, who entered the game ranked first in the nation in field goal percentage defense, allowed the Cardinals to shoot 41.5 percent from the field - only the sixth time this season they have allowed a team to shoot better than 40 percent. With the loss, the Bearcats dropped out of a first place tie with U of L into a four-way tie for second place at 6-2. UC stays on the road for a 4 p.m. EST tilt on ESPN today.
DE PAUL (14-5, 6-2): The Blue Demons posted a 64-62 win against a visiting TCU team on Tuesday to improve to 14-5 overall, their best start since the 1986-87 season. DePaul moved into sole possession of third place at 6-2 in the conference race, which is the best since the 1991-92 campaign. Senior Quemont Greer registered his sixth double-double of the season with game-highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard LeVar Seals contributed 13 points and two steals. Classmate Drake Diener, who broke the school record for career three-point field goals on Jan. 27, chipped in seven points. Diener is now just 16 points away from becoming the 42nd player in school history to reach 1,000 points in his career, joining teammate Greer. The Blue Demons, who have won six of their last seven games, are on the road for a Super Sunday 1:10 p.m. CST tip-off on Feb. 6 at Saint Louis.
EAST CAROLINA (7-14, 2-7): The Pirates had their two-game win streak snapped on Wednesday with a 72-66 loss on the road to Memphis on Wednesday. ECU took a 33-28 advantage into the locker room at halftime, holding the Tigers to just three field goals in the first 10 minutes of play. (The ECU defense held its last two opponents scoreless for six-plus-minute stretches.) Sophomore Mike Cook led the Pirates' offense with 17 points. Senior center Moussa Badiane, the C-USA Co-Player of the Week, added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Badiane holds the C-USA career blocked shots record with 295. East Carolina looks for its first win on an opponent's home court as the Pirates will play at TCU today at 3:05 p.m. EST.
HOUSTON (13-9, 4-4): Senior Andre Owens recorded his third consecutive 20-point game (10th this season) with a game-high 26 points in Wednesday's 63-43 win against Saint Louis. Owens jumped four slots on the C-USA career scoring chart into 31st place with 1,221 career points. Sophomore guard Lanny Smith added 11 points, and junior forward Ramon Dyer led the Cougars on the boards with 10 rebounds and added six points. UH only committed eight turnovers in the game, the second straight contest where they kept that number under 10. Houston has posted a 999-672 record in the program's storied history and needs just one more to reach 1,000 since the program began in 1946. The Cougars, who improved to 9-1 at Hofheinz Pavilion, will host Memphis for a 2 p.m. CST tip-off today.
NO. 9 LOUISVILLE (19-3, 7-1): The Cardinals won their eighth straight game and moved into sole possession of first place in C-USA with a 77-70 victory against Cincinnati on Wednesday. The battle for the top conference spot was seen by a national ESPN audience and 20,064 fans, the sixth-largest crowd in Freedom Hall history. U of L has won 10 straight games on its home court and it was the 600th win at Freedom Hall, where the Cardinals own a 600-125 mark (.828). Junior Taquan Dean led the Cards with 19 points. Freshman Juan Palacios posted his second consecutive double-double (fourth of the season) with 17 points and 10 rebounds, draining 8-of-10 attempts from the floor. Junior Francisco Garcia added 11 points and five rebounds in just 29 minutes, while senior Ellis Myles contributed 13 points, nine rebounds and four steals. The Cardinals, who broke into the Top 10 in this week's AP and Coaches polls, will travel to UAB for a sold out game at Bartow Arena on today at 8 p.m. EST. That game will also be televised on ESPN2.
MARQUETTE (15-6, 3-5): Playing without their leading scorer, senior point guard Travis Diener, for the third game in a row, the Golden Eagles lost an 86-63 decision to UAB on Wednesday night. Junior guard Joe Chapman did a nice job filling the All-America's shoes with a team-high 21 points. Chapman scored 19 in the first half, draining a perfect 5-of-5 three-point attempts. Classmate Steve Novak added 16 points and sophomore Dameon Mason tossed in 11. Senior Marcus Jackson grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. The Golden Eagles had a one-point lead (39-38) at the half and opened the game shooting 60.9 percent from the field, but they only converted on eight field goals in the second half. Marquette stays home at the Bradley Center to host Southern Miss at Noon CST on today on ESPN Plus.
MEMPHIS (13-9, 6-2): Junior Rodney Carney scored a game-high 19 points, surpassing 1,000 for his career, in a 72-66 Tiger victory against East Carolina on Wednesday night. Carney joins teammate Anthony Rice, who reached the 1,000-point milestone on Jan. 30, in the exclusive club. Senior forward Duane Erwin registered his second career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds against the Pirates. Erwin scored 10 of those points at the free throw line. Freshman Darius Washington added 13 points and junior forward Simplice Njoya came off the bench to contribute 14. With the victory, the Tigers have now won three straight and move into a four-way tie for second place in the conference standings. Memphis is on the road to play at Houston today. Tip-off is 2 p.m. CST and will be televised on ESPN Plus.
SAINT LOUIS (5-15, 3-5): Senior guard Reggie Bryant was the Billikens only double-figure scorer with 12 points in a 63-43 loss to Houston on Wednesday night. Saint Louis was plagued by turnovers in the game with 18, but did hold the Cougars to 36.8 percent shooting. The Billikens have held all opponents to a 39.3 percent average and ranked 26th in the nation for that category. Saint Louis is back at the Savvis Center this Sunday for a "super" tip-off at 1:10 p.m. CST.
SOUTHERN MISS (10-10, 1-7): The Golden Eagles got 33 points from their bench, but suffered a 72-61 loss to USF on Wednesday night. Junior guard Rashaad Carruth led the team with 19 points, draining three treys in the game. Sophomore Jerekus Singleton and junior Jason Forte came off the bench to add 15 and 14 points, respectively. Forte also had a team-high six rebounds and three steals. Southern Miss recorded their second-best field goal percentage in conference play at .457, hitting 21-of-47 attempts. The Golden Eagles just couldn't get the put-back, losing the battle of the boards by a 37-22 margin. It was the first time USF had won in Hattiesburg in its last five trips. Southern Miss is on the road for a noon CT tip-off today at Marquette for ESPN Plus. In the 10th game of the series, Southern Miss will hope to even the series at 5-5.
TCU (13-9, 3-5): Senior Marcus Shropshire attempted a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining, but could not convert and the Horned Frogs dropped a 64-62 decision on the road to DePaul. Shropshire, who scored a team-high 17 points, leads TCU in three-pointers made this season (49) and is 40.2 percent from behind the arc (10th in C-USA). Senior forward Aaron Curtis came off the bench for 13 points and nine rebounds - one shy of his first career double-double. Senior Corey Santee added 12 points and ranks eighth on the C-USA all-time scoring chart with 1,640 career points. Santee and Curtis each hit two three-pointers in the game, while junior Judson Stubbs drained his only long-range attempt to put the Frogs to within one-point (63-62) at the 1:23 mark. TCU is trying to snap a four-game losing skid. The Horned Frogs host East Carolina today for a 2:05 p.m. CST tip-off.
TULANE (8-11, 2-6): Coming off its second conference victory in a week with a 63-61 win at Houston Wednesday, No. 12 Louisville proved too much for the Green Wave and handed them a 105-69 loss Saturday. Freshman forward Donnie Stith led the team with a career-high 19 points, hitting 14-of-14 on free throw attempts. The perfect free-throw performance ranks second in the nation this year. Classmate Taylor Rochestie, who nailed both game-winners last week, and junior Quincy Davis each contributed nine points against the Cardinals. Tulane goes on the road to play USF in Tampa today. Tip-off is 7 p.m. CST
UAB (16-5, 6-2): Four Blazers scored in double figures as UAB posted an 86-63 victory at Marquette on Wednesday night. Junior Demario Eddins led the team with a game- and season-high 23 points and nine rebounds (one shy of his second career double-double). On the defensive side, UAB's pressure defense created 22 Golden Eagle turnovers (the 14th time this season a Blazer opponent has lost possession more than 20 times in game). Seniors Donell Taylor and Marques Lewis chipped in 15 and 13 points, respectively. It was the fifth consecutive double-figure scoring game for Lewis, who added four rebounds and two assists in front of his hometown Milwaukee crowd. Junior guard Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson contributed 11 points and three of the Blazers' 13 team steals. UAB, which has led the nation as a team in steals per game the last two seasons, is back in first place with an average of 12.57 steals per game. No team has ever led this category three seasons in a row. With the win, UAB improved to 6-2 in conference play and moved into a four-way tie for second place in the C-USA standings. The Blazers welcome No. 9 Louisville to Bartow Arena today for a sold out game on ESPN2. Tip-off is 7 p.m. CST.
USF (9-10, 2-6): The Bulls snapped a six-game losing streak with a 72-61 victory at Southern Miss on Wednesday night. Senior forward Terrence Leather was one rebound shy of his fifth double-double of the season (14th of his career) with a game-high 22 points and nine boards. Guards Brian Swift and Collin Dennis, who registered a career-high with 25 points in the Bulls' last outing, scored 14 and 10 points, respectively in the win. Sophomore Marius Prekevicius came off the bench for 11 points, drilling 3-of-4 from behind the arc. It was the first win for USF in Hattiesburg in five years. The Bulls return to the USF Sun Dome for the first of two home games, when they host Tulane tonight at 7 p.m. EST.
TWO ON WOODEN AWARD MIDSEASON LIST Senior guard Travis Diener of Marquette and Louisville junior guard Francisco Garcia were each named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 30, which were selected based on individual performance and team records thus far during the 2004-05 season. Players who did not make this list are still eligible for consideration on the National Ballot, which will be released in early March. Diener, a preseason all-conference selection, is currently leading C-USA in scoring (20.2 ppg), assists (6.72 apg) and free throw percentage (.881). He was also a preseason, midseason and final ballot selection for the John R. Wooden Award last season. Diener has led his Golden Eagles to a 14 wins in 18 games played. The 6-foot-1 guard is from Fond du Lac, Wisc. The 2004-05 Conference USA preseason Player of the Year, Garcia leads the U of L offense with 16.8 points per game (fifth in C-USA) and 4.19 assists per game (sixth in C-USA). The 6-foot-7 Bronx, N.Y. native has led the Cardinals to an 18-3 record, including seven straight wins. Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is bestowed upon the nation's most outstanding college basketball player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his university that he is making progress toward graduation. The 10-player Wooden Award All-America Team will be announced on Tuesday, March 29. The 2005 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 9 and will be broadcast live on CBS Sports. For more information and a complete list of the 2004-05 midseason candidates, visit www.WoodenAward.com.
WASHINGTON RECEIVES NATIONAL ATTENTION Memphis point guard Darius Washington Jr. has been named Rivals.com National Freshman of the Week, the web site announced Tuesday. The award is given for his play the week of Jan. 25-31. Washington helped lead the Tigers to a 2-0 record in Conference USA play with victories over DePaul (68-55) and TCU (72-57). The Winter Park, Fla., native averaged 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 37.5 minutes of action. Washington shot 46.7 percent from the field and 92.3 percent from the free throw line. He hit a career-high tying 10 free throws in the win over TCU. He also had a key second-half block, turning the tide of the second half, halting a 12-4 TCU run and starting a 12-6 Memphis spurt that gave the Tigers the momentum the rest of the contest.
The 6-foot-2 guard is averaging 14.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.55 assists this year. He is ranked among C-USA leaders in scoring (16th), assists (10th) and steals (8th). In eight C-USA contests, Washington is ranked among the conference's leaders in scoring (3rd), field goal percentage (9th), free throw percentage (10th), three-point field goal percentage (7th), assists (tied-3rd) and steals (tied-2nd).
FROSH PRODUCE In addition to Memphis guard Darius Washington Jr., the Rivals.com National Freshman of the Week (see above), a number of freshmen have already made an impact on the Conference USA scene this season.
Louisville's Juan Palacios has led the Cardinals' scoring attack three times and has been the rebounding leader in six games, with four double-doubles this season. His 6.7 rebounds per game ranks 13th overall, but he ranks seventh in C-USA games with 8.0 boards per game.
Tulane is starting three freshmen this season. Taylor Rochestie has led the Green Wave scoring attack four times this season and hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to claim a 76-73 victory against UAB on Jan. 18. He also hit the final shot in a 63-61 win, handing Houston its first home loss of the season. Classmate David Gomez was close to a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds in the game. Donnie Stith has made 12 starts for the Green Wave this season and scored a team-high 19 points on Jan. 29 against then-No. 12 Louisville.
East Carolina freshman Tom Hammonds is averaging 7.6 points and ranks second on the team in steals. Hammonds also leads the team in three-pointers made (23) and drained all four treys he attempted in the Jan. 29 win over Charlotte for a team-high 16 points. Cincinnati newcomer Roy Bright was named Dick Vitale's Diaper Dandy on ESPN.com after posting back-to-back double-doubles in December. Leemire Goldwire led his veteran Charlotte team in scoring twice this season, while DePaul's Cliff Clinkscales is the Blue Demons' top playmaker with 82 assists (fourth in C-USA). Freshman Ryan Amoroso scored 10 points off the bench for Marquette on Wednesday.
KISS THE SKY "New Kid On The Block" may be a more accurate title, but I prefer Jimi Hendrix to boy bands and East Carolina's Moussa Badiane caused a "Purple Haze" over visiting intrastate rival Charlotte last Saturday to post a 54-51 victory. Badiane led the team with 16 points and blocked three shots in the game to become Conference USA's career blocks record holder with 294 as a Pirate. He surpassed former Cincinnati standout and All-America Kenyon Martin, who tallied 292 blocks for the Bearcats from 1997-2000. Badiane is averaging 2.89 blocks per game this season and is ranked 15th in the nation. He is just behind current Bearcat Jason Maxiell on the C-USA blocks chart this season. Maxiell averages 3.3 bpg and swatted a career-high eight blocks last Saturday against Houston.
POINTS ON THE BOARD Seniors Corey Santee of TCU and Marquette's Travis Diener are the only two players in Conference USA history to both score 1,500 career points and record more than 500 career assists. Santee actually became the fifth player in TCU history to reach the 1,600-point plateau and only the second in school history to dish out 500 career assists, breaking the school record on Jan. 12. Diener has put up two 30-point performances and is the conference's leading scorer. Santee is currently eighth on the all-time C-USA scoring chart (1,640 points), while Diener is tenth with 1,600. Diener's 560 career assists holds the No. 2 spot just ahead of Santee with 525. The C-USA career assist record is held by USF's Reggie Kohn, with 632 assists from 1999-2003.
MILLENNIUM CLUB As Conference USA celebrates its 10th anniversary this season, 60 C-USA players have gained membership to this exclusive 1,000-point club. Memphis junior Rodney Carney became the newest member on Wednesday with 19 points in a Tiger win against East Carolina. Teammate Anthony Rice reached the milestone on Saturday. Seniors Travis Diener of Marquette, Corey Santee of TCU and Cincinnati's Jason Maxiell were on the list prior to the start of the season. Diener and Santee are both already ranked in the top 10 of all scorers in C-USA history. That trio has now welcomed Rice as well as Andre Owens of Houston, DePaul's Quemont Greer, Reggie Bryant of Saint Louis and Louisville's Francisco Garcia this season. Several other players hope to gain membership in 2005. USF senior Terrence Leather is closest to the milestone, needing just nine points to reach 1,000 in his career.
A COACHES LEAGUE With the additions of Larry Eustachy (Southern Miss) and Tom Penders (Houston) to the Conference USA coaching ranks, the league now boasts some of the best and brightest basketball minds in the nation. C-USA's 14 head coaches had combined for a 3,052-1,681 (.645) ledger entering the season. That record includes 59 NCAA Tournament appearances, six Final Fours and 27 NIT appearances. John Calipari of Memphis led the Tigers to consecutive NIT Final Four appearances, with UM winning the 2002 NIT crown. Calipari is four wins shy of his 300th career win, a milestone Charlotte mentor Bobby Lutz reached earlier this season. Louisville's Rick Pitino led Kentucky to the 1996 NCAA crown. Nine coaches have at least 100 career wins. Seven have reached 200 coaching victories and three have 400 or more career triumphs. Bob Huggins and Penders have each topped the 500-win plateau.
SEVEN C-USA TEAMS AMONG TOP 100 PROGRAMS Seven Conference USA men's basketball teams were listed among the Top 100 in Street & Smith's Greatest College Basketball Programs of All Time, a specialty publication that hit newsstands this week. Louisville topped the C-USA honorees, coming in at No. 7 overall. The Cardinals success really began in 1944 when Bernard "Peck" Hickman coached a remarkable string of 46 consecutive winning seasons. That success continued when Denny Crum, a former assistant to John Wooden, arrived in Louisville and guided the Cards to a 1980 and 1986 NCAA National Championship title. Current head coach Rick Pitino, who was also instrumental in the history of the No. 1 University of Kentucky program, has led this year's U of L team to a 17-3 start. Cincinnati rounds out the Top 10 programs of all-time. The Bearcats won 1961 and 1962 National Championships and head coach Bob Huggins took them to the 1992 NCAA Final Four. Since joining C-USA in 1995, UC has won a share of eight regular season championships and four conference tournament titles.
Marquette, a 2003 NCAA Final Four participant, comes in at No. 33 on list. That 2003 squad was led by All-American and C-USA Player of the Year Dwyane Wade. Current head coach Tom Crean has built on the success of the legendary Al McGuire, who led the Golden Eagles to a 1970 NIT Championship and a 1977 NCAA Championship. The first nationally-televised college basketball game featured UCLA and Houston, which ranks No. 37 on Street & Smith's chart. These two teams were ranked one and two, respectively, at the time of the Jan. 20, 1968 tilt. The Cougars have made five Final Four appearances and are just two wins shy of 1,000 in the program's storied history. DePaul earned the No. 57 spot, making 21 postseason appearances under former head coach Ray Meyer. Current mentor Dave Leitao took a share of the 2004 C-USA regular season title and led the Blue Demons back to NCAA Tournament and their first Round of 32 appearance since 1989. Memphis comes in at No. 61 with head coach John Calipari delivering a 2002 NIT Championship. The Tigers have made four postseason appearances under Calipari in as many years, and two trips to the NCAA Final Four as the 1973 runner-up and in 1985. Charlotte slots in at No. 88 as one of the youngest programs on the list, entering NCAA Division I competition in 1970. The 49ers earned a trip to the NIT finals in 1976 and the NCAA Final Four in 1977. Charlotte also won the 1999 and 2001 C-USA Tournaments.
UTEP, Tulsa and SMU, three programs joining Conference USA next season, also made the list. UTEP, formerly known as Texas Western, ranked No. 49. The Miners won the 1966 NCAA Championship under legendary coach Don Haskins. Tulsa came in at No. 59, entering this season with 16 years of 20-plus wins, 14 NCAA berths, eight NIT appearances and 1,154 victories. SMU earned a spot at No. 71, with eight Southwest Conference championships under E.O. "Doc" Hayes.
COACHES VS. CANCER WEEKEND February 5-6 is the Coaches vs. Cancer National Awareness weekend where coaching staffs around the country will be wearing sneakers at their games to show support for the CvC program. CvC teams with the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in the fight against cancer. Coaches vs Cancer has raised over $23 million for the American Cancer Society's research, education, advocacy, and patient services programs during the past 11 years. These efforts are emphasized in USF senior guard Bradley Mosley, who was diagnosed with renal medullary carcinoma in November and is undergoing treatment at Moffitt Cancer Center on the USF campus.
LOUISVILLE PICKED TO WIN C-USA CROWN Led by the Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year selection Francisco Garcia, Louisville is the coaches' preseason favorite for the second straight year to win the 2004-05 C-USA regular-season crown. Garcia, a 2003-04 C-USA All-Conference First Team selection and the 2002-03 C-USA Freshman of the Year, made his second consecutive appearance on the preseason squad, along with Marquette senior guard Travis Diener. Two other 2003-04 All-Conference First Team selections, Memphis sophomore Sean Banks and Charlotte junior Curtis Withers, also received a nod on the preseason team. Rounding out the 2004-05 Conference USA Preseason All-Conference Team is Cincinnati's Jason Maxiell, his third consecutive selection to the preseason all-conference team.
BASKETBALL AND BEALE STREET The 2005 Kelly Tires Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament is slated for March 9-12 at the FedExForum in downtown Memphis. Located just a few steps from Beale Street, this state-of-the-art arena will be an outstanding showcase venue for this year's tournament. The top 12 teams, based on conference record will qualify for the tournament. This will be the third time that the city of Memphis has played host to the C-USA Tournament, as the event was played at the Pyramid in 1996 and 2000. Cincinnati is the defending tournament champion. All session tickets are available through the C-USA school ticket offices.
SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATES Marquette point guard Travis Diener and Jason Maxiell of Cincinnati were one of 30 male college basketball players entering their senior season nominated for the fourth annual Bayer Advantage(r) Senior CLASS Award. The Senior CLASS Award - an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School - was launched in the 2001-02 college basketball season. It is designed to honor the attributes of seniors who remain committed to their university and elect to pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.
SEEING DOUBLE UAB senior twin brothers Donell and Ronell Taylor have combined for more than a third of the Blazers' offense this season as the team's top two scorers. Donell leads the team with an average of 15.2 points per game (8th in C-USA), while Ronell is chipping in 12.4 ppg (25th in C-USA). The pair also has combined for an average of 8.0 rebounds per season. Despite Donell's game-high 19 points and nine rebounds against USC, the Blazers' dropped a last second 81-78 decision to the Trojans on Dec. 22. USC's roster also features twins Errick and Derrick Craven. On Dec. 10 against Oklahoma State, the Taylors squared off with Cowboys' senior twins Joey and Stephen Graham.
C-USA CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY Conference USA will celebrate its 10th anniversary during the 2004-05 season. C-USA will commemorate this milestone throughout the year with a multimedia campaign celebrating the past, present and future of the league. Several activities have been planned for the upcoming season that capture the history of C-USA and promote the student-athletes' achievements in all 19 conference-sponsored sports.
All-Decade teams and Players of the Decade will be selected in each sport and announced during each sports' championship week. Each C-USA member institution will nominate student-athletes for these awards. Selection will be based on outstanding athletic achievement in Conference USA history and will be determined by coaches and in select sports, a media panel. A Coach of the Decade will also be selected in each sport and announced along with the All-Decade teams.
