2020 CONFERENCE USA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES AND FACTS
 
2020 Pre-Championship Notes.(pdf)

HOOPS AT THE STAR NOTABLES
This is the third year that the C-USA Basketball Championships have been held at The Star.  Here are a few trends that have emerged:
 
*During the first two days of the Championship only, the average margin of victory of men’s games played on Court A is 5.75 points, while the average margin on Court B is 13.75.  The women’s games are very similar on the two courts, with a 13.75 margin on Court A and a 14.0 margin on Court B.
 
*Five of the six semifinal and championship final games on the women’s side have been decided by double digits.  The closest of the six games has been seven points.
 
*Three of the four No.1 seeds have reached the championship final game, with two winning titles (Old Dominion men and Rice women last season).
 
*On the women’s side, the No. 11 seed has upset the No. 6 seed on Court B each of the first two years.
 
*The North Texas men and the Old Dominion men will play on Court A for the third straight year.
 
 
C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORICAL NOTABLES
*In the first 24 years of Conference USA, only twice has the same school won both the men’s and the women’s postseason titles: Middle Tennessee in 2017 and Cincinnati in 2002.
 
*The Old Dominion men will be attempting to become just the third school to win consecutive postseason titles, joining Middle Tennessee (2017, 2018) and Memphis (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009).
 
*The Rice women will be attempting to become just the third school to win consecutive postseason titles, joining WKU (2017, 2018) and Tulane (2001, 2000, 1999).
 
*On the men’s side, the seed with the longest active winning streak in its opening game is the No. 6 seed.  The No. 6 seed has defeated the No. 11 seed every year since 2010, ten wins in a row.
 
 
MEN’S BASKETBALL NOTABLES
TITLE TALK
North Texas will attempt to become the sixth school to win 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, Tulsa took both titles in 2014 and Old Dominion earned both crowns last season. 
 
The Mean Green are the seventh school to win at least a share of the regular season title in the last seven years (Louisiana Tech (2), Middle Tennessee (3), North Texas, Old Dominion, Southern Miss, Tulsa and UAB.
 
CLOSE AT THE START
If past history is any indication, Wednesday’s first round matchup between No. 8 Old Dominion and No. 9 Florida Atlantic may end up a very close game.  In six of the last eight years, the opening game of the championship has been decided by a single possession, including four one-point games (including Louisiana Tech over Florida Atlantic last year, 57-56, and Southern Miss over FIU in 2018, 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).

DYNAMIC DUO
On March 4, UTSA junior guard Jhivvan Jackson became the sixth player in Conference USA history to reach the 2,000-point mark.  He enters the Championship with 2,041 points, fifth-most in league annals.  With 294 three-point field goals made, Jackson needs six more to become the fifth C-USA player to connect on 300 treys.  His 27.2 scoring average is second in the nation, trailing only Marquette’s Markus Howard (27.7).
 
CHARLOTTE RISING
The most improved team in Conference USA by win total, Charlotte has a first round bye at the C-USA Championship for the first time since 2005, the final year of the 49ers first run as league members.  Since returning to C-USA in 2014, the highest seed the Charlotte had was No. 7 in 2016.  This will be the Niners first appearance in Frisco, as Ron Sanchez’s crew has increased its victory total by 8 games from last season.
 
HERE EVERY YEAR
UAB is the only program that has participated in all 25 C-USA Championships.  The No. 7 seed Blazers are seeded in the top half of the bracket for the 12th consecutive year.  UAB has made three championship game appearances, winning the title in 2015.  The Blazers have advanced to the semifinals 10 times, including last year.
 
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
TWENTY WIN CLUB
For the first time since the 2004-05 season, C-USA has produced six teams with 20 or more wins.  Rice, Old Dominion, Middle Tennessee, UAB and WKU have each won 20 or more the past two seasons, while Charlotte joins that group this year. 
 
C-USA HISTORY MADE BY RICE
Rice became the first school in C-USA history to win back-to-back outright regular season championships.  The 32 conference wins by the Owls the past two seasons are the most combined in back-to-back years in league annals.
 
DOUBLE CHAMPS
Ten times the regular season champion has also won the postseason C-USA Championship.  Rice became the seventh school to accomplish the dual titles last season, joining WKU (2016-17 and 2014-15), Middle Tennessee (2013-14), UTEP (2011-12), Tulane (2005-06, 1998-99, 1996-97), Tulsa (2005-06) and Houston (2003-04).
 
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
UAB senior forward Rachael Childress is one of the best three-point shooters in NCAA history. She is the active career leader in threes (415) and currently sits in sixth place all-time in threes made.  Earlier this season Childress broke both the UAB and C-USA records for career triples.  She currently ranks second in the nation in triples on the season (103) and sits at sixth in three-point percentage (46.0%).
 
DOUBLE THREATS
Four players enter the C-USA Championship ranked in the top 10 in the league in both scoring and rebounding.  Rice senior forward Erica Ogwumike is first in scoring (19.0) and third in rebounding (10.3), WKU junior forward Raneem Elgedawy places third in scoring (17.6) and second in rebounding (11.0), Charlotte senior guard Jade Phillips ranks seventh in scoring (14.8) and is tied for fourth in rebounding (8.9) and Florida Atlantic graduate guard Crystal Primm is listed sixth in scoring (15.1) and eighth in rebounding (8.1).
 
CONSISTENT WINNER
Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Rick Insell has now led Middle Tennessee (21-9) to 20 or more wins in 17 out of the last 18 seasons.  The Blue Raiders will be seeking their 15th consecutive postseason tournament appearance (9 NCAA, 5 WNIT) following the C-USA Championship.
 
A CONSTANT AT THE C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP
Southern Miss head coach Joye Lee-McNelis will be coaching in her 25th C-USA Championship.  She has led the Golden Eagles to appearances in all 16 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.