2019 Pre-Championship_Notes_and_Facts

MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
TITLE TALK
Old Dominion will attempt to become just the fifth school to both the regular season title and the C-USA postseason championship in the same season.  Memphis accomplished the feat six times, Cincinnati did it four times, Middle Tennessee won both in 2017 and Tulsa took both titles in 2014.  The Monarchs are the sixth school to win at least a share of the regular season title in the last six years (Louisiana Tech (2), Middle Tennessee (3), Old Dominion, Southern Miss, Tulsa and UAB.
 
BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPIONSHIP CROWNS
Marshall will attempt to become just the third school to win back-to-back titles in the 24-year history of the C-USA Championship.  Middle Tennessee won in 2017 and 2016 and Memphis won four straight titles from 2006-09 and three in a row from 2011-13.
 
CLOSE AT THE START
If past history is any indication, Wednesday’s first round matchup between Louisiana Tech and Florida Atlantic may end up a very close game.  In five of the last seven years, the opening game of the championship has been decided by a single possession, including three one-point games (including Southern Miss over FIU last year, 69-68), one overtime contest (North Texas over Rice in 2014) and another decided on a half-court game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer (FIU 57, UTSA 54 in 2015).
 
MIDDLE AT THE TOP
Middle Tennessee owns the best winning percentage in C-USA Championship history at .769.  The Blue Raiders have won 10 of the 13 games they have played, winning the titles in 2016 and 2017 and reaching the final game in 2015.  MT reached the semifinals in four straight years before being upset by Southern Miss in the quarterfinals last season.
 
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Old Dominion won its first C-USA regular season championship with a 13-5 league record, the Monarch first regular season title since winning the CAA in 2010.  Defense has been a big part of the success that head coach Jeff Jones’ unit has enjoyed.  -The Monarchs rank 8th in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to 38.9% shooting from the floor for the season.  Old Dominion’s defense places 9th in the country for scoring defense, allowing just 61.2 points per game.  ODU’s 39.3 rebounds per game rank 22nd in Division I.
 
IN A CLASS BY HIMSELF
Marshall senior guard Jon Elmore is the only player in NCAA history with 2,400 points and 700 assists in his career, entering the championship with 2,505 points and 748 assists.  He is also the only one to be his conference’s all-time leader in both categories. 
 
Elmore was named the C-USA Championship Most Valuable Player last March.  In three Thundering Herd wins, he averaged 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists, while connecting on 14 3-pointers.  The seven 3-pointers made by Elmore were the most ever in a C-USA Championship final game.
 
BASSEY’S BIG NUMBERS
WKU freshman center Charles Bassey has been named one of the five finalists for the 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.  Bassey is averaging 15 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks for the Hilltoppers while shooting 62.9 percent from the field.  He could become just the second freshmen since 1992 – along with Ohio State’s Greg Oden – to average at least 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocks while shooting at least 60 percent overall.  Bassey leads C-USA in double-doubles (15) and has been named the conference’s Freshman of the Week 10 times, tying the league record set by Rice’s Marcus Evans in 2015-16.
 
DYNAMIC DUO
A pair of dynamic sophomore scoring guards, Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace, pace the UTSA offensive attack.  Jackson leads the league with 22.4 points per game – in just 30.7 minutes per contest – while Wallace leads the team with 34.7 minutes per game and owns 20.5 points per outing.  Jackson and Wallace are the nation's third-highest scoring duo and the most prolific backcourt scoring pair in the NCAA.  Only Duke's R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson (45.0 ppg), and South Dakota State's Mike Daum and David Jenkins (45.0), combine to average more than UTSA's pair (42.9).  Jackson and Wallace have led UTSA to its best-ever seed at the C-USA Championship (4).
 
EDWARDS MAKING HISTORY IN HATTIESBURG
Cortez Edwards continues to make his mark on the Southern Miss record books as the senior guard approaches the end of his collegiate career.  On March 8, he collected four steals in a 59-52 win at C-USA regular-season champion Old Dominion, gaining sole possession of the school's career steals record that stood for 35 years (he now has 197 steals).  He is also the only player in program history to rank in the top 20 for scoring (1,375), top 15 for rebounds (624) and top 10 for assists (360). Edwards was named to the C-USA All-Tournament Team last March after averaging 27.3 ppg during the team's semifinal run that included an upset win over top-seeded Middle Tennessee.
 
SUNSHINE STATE ON THE RISE
Guided by a pair of first-year head coaches, FIU and Florida Atlantic have each posted their best seasons as members of Conference USA.  Jeremy Ballard has led the Panthers have their highest seed in the C-USA Championship (7) and their 19 overall wins are their highest total since winning 20 in the 1992-93 season.  Under Dusty May, the Owls (17-14) have posted their first winning season in 10 years and also have their best seed at the C-USA Championship (9).
 
HERE EVERY YEAR
UAB is the only program that has participated in all 24 C-USA Championships.  The No. 5 seed Blazers are seeded in the top half of the bracket for the sixth consecutive year.  UAB has made three championship game appearances, winning the title in 2015.  The Blazers have advanced to the semifinals nine times.
 
 
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

TWENTY WIN CLUB
Conference USA has produced four teams with 20 or more wins for the fifth time in the last six seasons.  Nine different programs have reached the 20-win mark during that span (Charlotte, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP and WKU).
 
DOUBLE CHAMPS
Nine times the regular season champion has also won the postseason C-USA Championship:
 
2016-17              WKU
2014-15              WKU
2013-14              Middle Tennessee
2011-12              UTEP
2009-10              Tulane
2005-06              Tulsa
2003-04              Houston
1998-99              Tulane
1996-97              Tulane
 
TOPPERS TRYING FOR THREE
WKU will enter the C-USA Championship as the No. 4 seed, seeking a third consecutive tournament title.  The Hilltoppers are trying to join Tulane (1999-01) as the only schools to win three straight postseason championships.
 
UNBEATEN OWLS
Rice is just the third women’s basketball program to finish the season undefeated in conference play in C-USA’s 24-year history.  Head coach Tina Langley’s Owls join the 2010-11 Houston Cougars and 2007-08 UTEP Miners in finishing league play with a 16-0 record.  Rice will be attempting to become the first program to finish conference play undefeated and then win the postseason C-USA Championship.
 
HOT STREAK
No. 24 Rice has set a new school record for victories with 25, breaking the previous high mark of 24 set in 2004-05.  The Owls enter the C-USA Championship on an 18-game winning streak, the third-longest active streak in Division I (Baylor has won 21 straight and Quinnipiac has won 20 in a row).  The 18 consecutive wins make it the second-longest streak in C-USA history (UTEP won 23 straight during the 2007-08 season).
 
CONSISTENT WINNER
Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Rick Insell has now led Middle Tennessee (20-9) to 20 or more wins in 16 out of the last 17 seasons.  The Blue Raiders will be seeking their 14th consecutive postseason tournament appearance (9 NCAA, 4 WNIT) following the C-USA Championship.
 
ODU AMONG MOST IMPROVED IN D1
In its second year under head coach Nikki McCray, Old Dominion is one of just four teams in Division I to increase its win total by 10 or more games since last season.  After finishing 8-23 last year, the Monarchs enter the C-USA Championship with a record of 20-8. 
 
Team Wins               +          2017-18  2018-19
VCU                         +14        7-22      21-8
Tennessee Tech       +13       7-22       20-9
Old Dominion           +12        8-23      20-8
Arizona                     +11        6-24      17-12
 
ODU’S HALL OF FAMERS
On Feb. 4, it was announced that Old Dominion legend Ticha Penicheiro will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2019. Penicheiro is the fourth ODU player to enter the hall, joining Anne Donovan, Inge Nissen and Nancy Lieberman. Former Monarchs head coach Marianne Stanley and current head coach Nikki McCray are also members.
 
BLAZING
UAB enters the C-USA Championship with a record of 24-5, giving the Blazers back-to-back 20+ win seasons for the first time since the 1999-00 and 2000-01 campaigns.  UAB’s 51 wins over the last two seasons make it the winningest back-to-back seasons in school history (the Blazers won 48 games in the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons).
 
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
UAB junior forward Rachael Childress leads C-USA and ranks among the top 10 nationally in three-point field goals made per game (3.7) and total three-pointers made (106).  With 308 career treys, she is closing in on the UAB school record for three-point field goals made of 319, held by Amanda Peterson (2007-11).
 
DOUBLE THREAT
Three players enter the C-USA Championship ranking in the top 10 in the league in both scoring and rebounding.  Rice junior forward Erica Ogwumike is fifth in scoring (16.1) and first in rebounding (10.8), Middle Tennessee senior guard A’Queen Hayes ranks seventh in scoring (15.2) and tied for seventh in rebounding (7.4) and WKU sophomore forward Raneem Elgedawy places sixth in scoring (16.0) and tied for seventh in rebounding (7.4).
 
SCORING LEADER
Louisiana Tech senior guard Kierra Anthony enters the C-USA Championship averaging 23.7 points per game, a figure that places her fifth in the nation.  She ranks second in field goals made (261). 
 
DYNAMIC DEBUT
Among the 23 first-time Division I head coaches this season, WKU’s Greg Collins is currently third with his 16 victories, trailing only Minnesota’s Lindsay Whalen (20) and Northern Colorado’s Jenny Huth (19).  More impressively, no other team under a first-time head coach is averaging more points per game than the Lady Toppers, who are scoring at a league-leading 73.7 per game clip.
 
A CONSTANT AT THE C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP
Southern Miss head coach Joye Lee-McNelis will be coaching in her 24th C-USA Championship.  She has led the Golden Eagles to appearances in all 15 seasons she has been at the helm in Hattiesburg and guided Memphis to participate in the first nine C-USA Championships.  She has led six of her teams to the final game (four at Southern Miss), winning two titles.