2.6.2002 Conference USA Men's Basketball Notebook
Kenny Brown |
In Tuesday's Conference USA action, Saint Louis downed Louisville, 67-64, South Florida upended UAB, 81-65 and Houston defeated Southern Miss, 68-60. The 12-10 Cougars have already matched their highest win total since 1995-96. Wednesday's slate features No. 5 Cincinnati at Charlotte (9:30 p.m. EST, ESPN2), East Carolina at Marquette and DePaul at TCU. Catch up on all the news in this week's notebook.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
DWYANE WADE, Marquette
G, 6-4, 210, So., Oak Lawn, Ill. (Richards)
Marquette sophomore swingman DWYANE WADE is the Conference USA Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 3. Wade led Marquette to two victories, raising its overall record to 19-3, its league record to 8-1 and a No. 23 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll.
Wade's 24 points, eight rebounds and five steals led the Golden Eagles to a 68-66 win at Tulane. He followed a 9-of-13 shooting performance in New Orleans with a 9-of-13, 25 point eight rebound outing in a 74-60 victory over No. 4 Cincinnati. Marquette ended the Bearcats' 20-game winning streak, as Wade was also named FoxSports.com National Player of the Week. This is the second time this season that Wade has been named Conference USA Player of the Week.
20-THE MAGIC NUMBER
Should Memphis defeat Tulane tonight, Conference USA will be the first league in the nation to have two teams at 20 wins each. A third team, Marquette, goes for its 20th win Wednesday against visiting East Carolina.
MARQUETTE UPSETS NO. 4 CINCINNATI
Marquette became the first team in Conference USA history to defeat six-time defending league champion Cincinnati on three consectutive occasions during the regular season. The Golden Eagles downed No. 4 Cincinnati, 74-60 on Feb. 2. The Bearcats entered the game with the nation's best field goal percentage defense (36.1 percent), but MU shot 50 percent from the floor (23-of-46), becoming the first team to do so against the Bearcats since Stanford did in last season's NCAA West Region semifinal.
LOUISVILLE DIALS LONG DISTANCE TO BEAT USF
Louisville set a Conference USA single-league game record with 19 three-pointers in 32 attempts en route to a 96-77 victory over visiting South Florida on Feb. 1. This is also a U of L single-game record.
AMERICAN/NATIONAL
The 1997-98 season marked the first year of Conference USA's American-National Division format, and here are the five-year records in cross-over games.
1997-98 American 24, National 12
1998-99 American 27, National 9
1999-00 American 27, National 9
2000-01 American 20, National 16
2001-02 American 11, National 5
WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
JOBEY THOMAS, Charlotte: Averaged 27 points in leading the 49ers to a pair of Conference USA road wins. Thomas is now 9th on Charlotte's career scoring list with 1563 points. He matched his season-high with six three-pointers at DePaul and hit all eight of his free throws in the final five minutes to ice the victory at Houston.
KENYATTA BROWN, East Carolina: Brown scored a game-high 19 points in the win over Saint Louis to help East Carolina snap a four-game losing streak. He led ECU in scoring for the second time this season.
REECE GAINES, Louisville: Averaged 23.5 points, eight rebounds and four assists while shooting a high percentage in a pair of league games. He produced his first career double-double with 17 points a career-high 10 rebounds and four assists at Memphis. He scored a career-high 30 points against South Florida, adding six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
DAJUAN WAGNER, Memphis: Enjoyed one of the finest weeks of his short career, averaging 23.5 points, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game during the Tigers' wins over Louisville and TCU. For the week, Wagner shot 52.9 percent from the field, including 5-of-12 three-pointers. His 23 points helped Memphis past the Cardinals, 80-70.
ALTRON JACKSON, South Florida: Jackson became the all-time leading scoring leader in Conference USA history against Central Florida. He had 17 points and eight boards against UCF and added 25 points and five rebounds at Louisville. He shot 66.7 percent from the floor for the week and averaged 21 points.
ELVIN MIMS, Southern Miss: Mims played all but five minutes (total) in two games this week, averaging 23 points and 11 rebounds a game in beating Saint Louis and losing to Tulane. Mims recorded his third-double-double in the Saint Louis game (26 points, 14 rebounds) and has been in double figure scoring in each of his last eight games.
BRANDON SPANN, Tulane: Spann's off-balance three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left forced the Southern Miss game into overtime, a contest eventually won by the Green Wave, 66-61. Spann had six points in overtime, including all four of his free throws.
WILL CAMPBELL, UAB: Campbell set a career-high for the third straight game with 30 points in UAB's win over TCU. He added 19 rebounds for his third straight double-double. Campbell shot 77 percent from the floor against TCU and has averaged 24 points per game over the last four contests.
C-USA TOURNAMENT CREDENTIAL INFO
The 2002 Conference USA Tournament will be held March 6-9 at Firstar Center in Cincinnati. Media members who plan to cover the tournament must fill out a credential request form on the league's official web site, www.c-usasports.com.
* Log on to www.c-usasports.com
* Click on Media Center
* Select 2002 C-USA Men's Basketball Tournament
* Complete online credential process
All media representatives requiring lodging while covering the tournament are responsible for their own accommodations. The Westin Cincinnati (21 E. Fifth Street, 513-621-7700) is the media headquarter hotel for the tournament. Please request a room under the C-USA block, where the rate is $115 per night. The hotel deadline is Feb. 1, and the credential deadline is Feb. 12.
FALL SIGNEES
According to the December, 2001 issue of Basketball Times, Conference USA is one of only six leagues in the nation with at least four of its recruiting classes ranked among the Top 40. The Big 10, SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Big East are the other leagues with this distinction.
CHARLOTTE (No. 37, Hoop Scoop)
Vincent Grier, G-F, 6-6, 220, Raleigh, N.C. (Bonner Academy)
Top 100 by All-Star Sports, Prep Stars and RivalSports.com
Curtis Withers, F, 6-8, 190, Charlotte, N.C. (West Charlotte)
Top 100 recruit ranked as high as #30 by Hoop Scoop
CINCINNATI (No. 28, Hoop Scoop)
Eric Hicks, F, 6-6, 220, Greensboro, N.C. (Dudley)
No. 70 by Blue Chips.com, top 100 by Prepstars and ESPN.com
Armein Kirkland, F, 6-8, 190, Tyler, Texas (Lee)
No. 55 by ESPN.com
Chadd Moore, G, 6-2, 180, Huntsville, Ala. (Lee)/Oak Hill Academy
No. 34 by Hoop Scoop, No. 50 by Prep Stars and All-Star Sports
DE PAUL
Delonte Holland, F, 6-7, 210, Greenbelt, Md. (Vincennes University)
Third-team preseason JC All-American by Street&Smith's
William Watson, G, 6-1, 175, Baton Rouge, La. (Tyler J.C.)
Top 10 JC Point Guards by Lindy's
Marcus White, F, 6-8, 220, Chicago, Ill. (Whitney Young)
High Honorable Mention All-American by Street & Smith's
EAST CAROLINA
Corey Rouse, F, 6-8, 190, Kinston, N.C. (Kinston)
East Region MVP for the North Carolina 3A state champions
HOUSTON
Cedric Hensley, G, 6-4, Houston, Texas (Heritage Christian)
ESPN.com Top 100 Prep Players
Dwight Jones, Jr., Klein, Texas (Klein)
TexasHoops.com Top 30 in the state of the Texas
Anwar Ferguson, C, 7-0, 215, Baytown, Texas (Lee College)
Top 15 Junior College Centers by Van Coleman Future Stars
LOUISVILLE (No. 12, Hoop Scoop)
Kendall Dartez, F/C, 6-10, 220, Cecilia, La. (Vincennes [Ind.] J.C.)
2001-02 stats: 14.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.0 bpg, 69 % FT
Taquan Dean, G, 6-2, 175, Neptune, N.J. (Neptune)
No. 51 by The Sporting News, No. 60 by ESPN.com
Francisco Garcia, F, 6-7, 210, Winchendon, Mass. (Winchendon School)
No. 20 by ESPN.com, No. 23 by CNNSI.com, No. 37 by The Sporting News
MARQUETTE
Steve Novak, C, 6-9, Brown Deer, Wis. (Brown Deer)
No. 37 senior-to-be by ESPN.com, No. 49 by BlueChipHoops.com
Chris Grimm, C, 6-10, Brighton, Mich. (Brighton)
Among ESPN.com's Top 20 High School Centers
Joe Chapman, G, 6-4, Chicago Heights, Ill. (Bloom)
Among Top 100 Senior Prospects by Bob Gibbons
MEMPHIS (No. 5, Hoop Scoop)
Qyntel Woods, F, 6-9, 230, Northeast Mississippi Community College
Averaged 23 ppg.
Jeremy Hunt, G, 6-3, 175, Memphis, Tenn. (Craigmont)
17.7 points, 5.0 assists, 3.3 steals as a junior, 79 percent FTs
Almany Thiero, C, 6-10, 240, Mali, West Africa (Mt. Zion Academy)
18 ppg, 14 rpg last season
SAINT LOUIS
Nick Kern, F/G, 6-7, St. Louis, Mo. (Vashon)
High Honorable Mention All-American by Street & Smith's
Ryan Hollins, F, 6-11, Pasadena, Calif. (John Muir)
West Coast's third-best center by Preps West
SOUTH FLORIDA
Yusuf Baker, F, 6-8, 225, Orlando, Fla. (Maynard Evans)
Among America's Top 25 players at his position by several publications
Danny Oglesby, G, 6-2, Hamden, Conn. (Hamden Hall)
Seventh all-time leading scorer in Connecticut prep history (2,245 points)
Sam Barber, F/G, 6-5, Lake Worth, Fla. (Lake Worth)
High Honorable Mention All-American by Street & Smith's
SOUTHERN MISS
Geoffrey Brown, C, 6-11, 235, Shreveport, La. (Sheridan CC)
2001-02 Stats: 18 ppg, 10rpg, 4.0 bpg
Sam Richardson, G, 6-4, 190, Edwardsm Miss. (Hinds AHS)
Honorable Mention All-State as a junior
TULANE
Derek Burditt, F, 6-6, 210, Harvey, La. (West Jefferson)
No. 46 by ESPN.com
UAB
Derek Broom, G, 6-5, Cartersville, Ga. (Woodland)
High Honorable Mention All-American by Street & Smith's
CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT
The 2002 Conference USA Tournament will take place March 6-9 at Firstar Center in Cincinnati. The top 12 teams, based on league record regardless of division, qualify for the postseason tournament. The division champions each earn a first round bye, as do the two teams with the next best C-USA marks, regardless of division. Teams receiving a bye shall be seeded 1-4. The remaining eight teams shall be seeded 5-12, with No. 5 playing No. 12, No. 6 vs. No .11, No. 7 vs. No. 10 and No. 8 vs. No. 9.
The first and second round games are slated for 1 p.m, 3:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on March 6-7. The semifinals will be played at 5 and 7:30 p.m. on March 8, with the final at 11:45 a.m. on March 9. All games will be televised by ESPN Plus, with the exception of the 9:30 p.m. game on March 6 (ESPN2) and the championship game, which will air on CBS.
AROUND C-USA
CHARLOTTE (14-6, 8-1): Charlotte improved to 8-1 in Conference USA with an 83-68 victory at Houston on Feb. 2. JOBEY THOMAS scored 26 points and needs one more three-pointer to match the 49ers career trey record. Thomas has now had six 20-plus point games during the C-USA campaign and 10 overall. Charlotte is 9-1 in those contests. He led four 49ers in double figures. Charlotte has won a season-best seven straight and nine of its last 10. Nine of the 49ers' 14 victories have been by double digits. In each of Charlotte's last three games, the 49ers have scored 50 points or more in the second half. In addition, they have scored at least 80 points in five of the last seven contests.
CINCINNATI (20-2, 8-0): No. 4 Cincinnati had its nation's-leading 20-game winning streak snapped at Marquette when the Golden Eagles posted a 74-60 victory on Feb. 2. For the first time since the 2001 NCAA West Region semifinal against Stanford, the Bearcats, the national leader in field goal percentage defense (36.1 percent), allowed an opponent to shoot at least 50 percent from the floor. STEVE LOGAN, C-USA's leading scorer (21.8 ppg), was held to 15 points overall, and 12 of those 15 came in the second half. This marks the first time that the Bearcats have lost three straight games to a Conference USA opponent. DONALD LITTLE needs one more blocked shot to tie former DePaul center Steve Hunter for seventh on the league's all-time chart (128). Cincinnati is 1-4 in its last five games at the Bradley Center.
DE PAUL (8-12, 1-7): Despite double-doubles from LANCE WILLIAMS (15 points, 10 rebounds) and ANDRE BROWN (16 points, 10 rebounds), DePaul lost at UNLV, 90-75, on Feb. 3. Brown now has five double-doubles on the year, while Williams has four this season and 10 in his career. RASHON BURNO had 12 points and needs 10 assist to become the fourth player in Conference USA history to record 400 career assists. Five days after posting a career-high 18 points against Charlotte, MARLON BROOKS had a team-high 17 points against the Runnin' Rebels. IMARI SAWYER and SAM HOSKIN have been suspended indefinitely for violation of team policy, while Williams has been suspended for one game, the Feb. 6 contest at TCU.
EAST CAROLINA (8-13, 2-7): East Carolina overcame a six-point halftime deficit to defeat visiting Saint Louis, 69-63 on Feb. 2. East Carolina shot a season-high 53.7 percent from the floor, including 11-of-17 in the second half. KENYATTA BROWN led all scorers with 19 points, while GABRIEL MIKULAS added 17. Coach BILL HERRION needs one more victory for 200 in his career. The Pirates shot a season-high 22-of-41 (53.7 percent) from the floor. TRAVIS HOLCOMB-FAYE had seven points, six assists, six rebounds and just two turnovers in 36 minutes. He is third on the Pirates' career assist list (275). ECU returns to action on Feb. 6 at Marquette.
HOUSTON (11-10, 4-4): Houston suffered an 83-68 loss to Charlotte on Feb. 2. GEORGE WILLIAMS (23 points, 12 rebounds) had his fourth double-double of the season and the 19th of his career. Williams and front line mates PATRICK OKAFOR and LOUIS TRUSCOTT have 19 double-doubles between them this season. Williams led four UH players in double figures. Houston outrebounded Charlotte, 35-30, and has outrebounded six of its last seven opponents. One of the league leaders in field goal percentage, Houston hit at least 50 percent from the floor (28-of-55, 50.9 percent) for the 10th time in 21 games.
LOUISVILLE (13-7, 4-5): Louisville set a Conference USA single league game and overall school record with 19 three-pointers in a 96-77 win over South Florida on Feb. 1. REECE GAINES (career-high 30 points) and BRYANT NORTHERN (career-high 21 points) each hit a career-high seven three-pointers. The victory was No. 1,400 in Cardinal history. Louisville converted 22 South Florida turnovers into 28 points and has scored 28 percent of their total offensive output from turnovers. Dating back over the last five seasons, Louisville has won 34 straight games when it scores at least 80 points. Gaines and Cincinnati's Steve Logan are the only C-USA players to score in double figures in every game this season, and Gaines is averaging 21.8 points per game over his last seven games. LUKE WHITEHEAD (11 points, 10 rebounds) had his third double-double of the season and is averaging 14 points per contest over his last four outings.
MARQUETTE (19-3, 8-1): Marquette used 25 points from DWYANE WADE and 20 from CORDELL HENRY to defeat No. 4 Cincinnati, 74-60 on Feb. 2. Wade has 56 steals on the season, which is ninth in the MU record book. The Golden Eagles matched their season-low with eight turnovers against Cincinnati. The 18,698 fans at the Bradley Center marked the largest crowd ever to see a college basketball game in the state of Wisconsin. Marquette outrebounded Cincinnati, 31-28 and is 13-1 when it outboards an opponent this season. CORDELL HENRY had his fourth 20-plus point outing of the season and needs five assists to become the fourth player in Conference USA history with 400 career helpers. TRAVIS DIENER (11 points against Cincinnati) had his ninth double figure outing of the season, and his 37 three-pointers are fourth on the Golden Eagles' single-season list.
MEMPHIS (19-4, 9-0): Memphis is the second team in Conference USA history to start a league ledger at 9-0 following a 98-72 victory over TCU on Feb. 2. This marks the first time in eight games that KELLY WISE, C-USA's double-doubles career leader, did not have at least 10 points and 10 rebounds. Wise suffered a bruised hip against Louisville on Jan. 30 and played only 14 minutes against the Horned Frogs. However, CHRIS MASSIE (22 points, 17 rebounds) and EARL BARRON (11 points, 10 rebounds) has their fourth and third of the year, respectively. The 9-0 league start matches the Tigers' best league ledger in school history. DAJUAN WAGNER (24 points) has now scored at least 20 on 16 separate occasions this season. He is averaging 23 points per game over his last five contests. Wagner led six Tigers in double figures, as Memphis is 7-0 this season and 18-0 in the JOHN CALIPARI era when five or more players tally double digits.
SAINT LOUIS (9-13, 3-6): Saint Louis was unable to maintain a six-point halftime advantage and lost at East Carolina, 69-63 on Feb. 2. MARQUE PERRY had 14 points to lead four SLU players in double figures. This is just the sixth time in 22 games that a SLU opponent has shot better than 50 percent from the floor. Saint Louis has been one of Conference USA's hard-luck teams this season, as it has lost seven of its nine games that came down to six points or less. The Billikens return to action on Feb. 5 at Louisville.
SOUTH FLORIDA (14-7, 4-4): South Florida dropped a 96-77 decision at Louisville on Feb. 1. Despite outrebounding the Cardinals, 36-34 and shooting 50 percent from the floor, the Bulls committed 22 turnovers, and Louisville made 19 three-pointers. ALTRON JACKSON (25 points), Conference USA's all-time scoring leader, became the first player in league lore to score 1,800 career points. REGGIE KOHN (10 points, eight assists) has had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in 19 of the Bulls' 21 games this season and has had at least eight assists in 10 games. He needs 27 more assists to move into the Conference USA single-season list. WILL MCDONALD (16 points, six rebounds) has scored in double figures in five of his last six games and is averaging 18.6 points per contest during that span.
SOUTHERN MISS (7-12, 2-7): Southern Miss suffered a 66-61 overtime setback at Tulane on Feb. 2. This marks the third time in nine games that USM has fallen despite holding a halftime lead. ELVIN MIMS (20 points, 4-of-10 from three-point range) led the Golden Eagles. Mims has scored at least 20 points in nine of 17 games this season. For just the second time in six games this season, Southern Miss lost despite holding its opponent to less than 40 percent field goal shooting. BEN LAMBERT (40 blocked shots) needs eight more to move into USM's single-season Top 10.
TCU (11-12, 1-8): TCU suffered a 98-72 loss at Memphis on Feb. 2. Despite leading Conference USA and ranking among the national leaders in scoring, TCU has been held under 80 points for each of the last four games and under 75 for three of those contests. JAMAL BROWN had 20 points to lead three TCU players in double figures. BINGO MERRIEX has struggled from the floor, hitting just eight of his last 34 field goal attempts and five of his last 21 three-point field goal attempts. However, he has hit at least one three-pointer in all 23 games this season. TCU's COREY SANTEE is just the fourth player in league history to record three double-doubles of points and assists in a single-season. The others are Charlotte's Sean Colson, Marquette's Aaron Hutchins and DePaul's Imari Sawyer.
TULANE (12-8, 4-5): Tulane held on for a 66-61 overtime victory over visiting Southern Miss on Feb. 2. BRANDON SPANN had 20 point to lead the Green Wave, but it marked just the second time this season that the junior guard did not have a single assist. Spann and BRANDON BROWN have now each led the team in scoring six times this season. He has scored in double figures in six of his last seven games, including three games with at least 20 points. NICK SINVILLE (14 points, eight rebounds) is averaging 11.3 points and seven boards per contest over his last three outings. This marked the 500th Green Wave win at Fogelman Arena.
UAB (10-11, 3-5) UAB defeated TCU, 77-71. The Blazers held the Horned Frogs, one of the top three offensive teams in the nation, to their lowest offensive output of the season. This marks the 100th victory of head coach MURRY BARTOW's career. This is the first time in seven games that UAB has won despite allowing 70 points. WILL CAMPBELL has been one of the hottest players in the league over the last three games. During this time, he has averaged 26 points and 15 rebounds per contest, including a 30-point, 19-rebound effort at TCU. The 19 boards are one off his career-high, and 15 of those rebounds came on the offensive glass.