by Olivia Kiespert, Conference USA Director of Communications

As we continue celebrating the completion of 20 years of competition in Conference USA, we wanted to focus on the success of our basketball teams in the second installment of our five-part "Celebrating C-USA" series.

Conference USA has fielded countless NCAA Men's Tournament teams, including a league-best six squads in the 2004 Dance. A year prior, we produced the first of our three NCAA Men's Final Four teams. Dwyane Wade, our C-USA Player and Defensive Player of the Year, paced Marquette with a C-USA-best 21.5 points per game, including a 20.4 average in league contests. He notched a triple-double of 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to guide the Golden Eagles to an 83-69 win over powerhouse and top-ranked Kentucky in the Midwest Regional Final. Wade's triple-double was just the fifth in the history of the NCAA Tournament. Marquette fell to Kansas in the National Semifinal, but as a conference, we were finding our stride on the national scene.

In 2005, Louisville, under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, brought us back to the Final Four. The 2005 Conference USA Coach of the Year led the Cardinals to a 33-5 overall record after claiming both the C-USA regular-season and championship crowns. Louisville eliminated No. 1-seeded Washington, 93-79, in the Sweet 16 before posting a dramatic come-from-behind overtime win over West Virginia in the Elite Eight. The Cardinals trailed the Mountaineers by as many as 20, and were down 10 with just over five minutes remaining in regulation, as West Virginia shot 62.5 percent in regulation, drilling 18 three-pointers. Louisville rallied, however, with a 67.9 percent second-half clip and held WVU to 1-of-7 from the floor in overtime to push into the Final Four. Louisville's run fell just short when it was eliminated by top-seeded Illinois in the semifinal.

Three years later, Memphis finished runner-up when the Tigers fell to Kansas in overtime of the 2008 national title game. All-America standouts Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose, and National Coach of the Year John Calipari rolled through conference play with a flawless 16-0 record. The Tigers pushed their overall record to 26-0 -- the best start in school history -- before being edged out by No. 2 Tennessee on Feb. 24. The team regrouped and rattled off 12-straight wins, including the C-USA Championship title, en route to the No. 1 seed in the South Region. Memphis knocked off nationally-ranked foes Michigan State, Texas and UCLA by 15 points or more to reach the championship game.

Memphis also contributed to C-USA history as forward Lorenzen Wright was the first C-USA men's basketball player drafted when he was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the seventh overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. Wright averaged a double-double during the 1995-96 campaign, scoring 17.4 points and pulling down 10.4 rebounds per game.

Cincinnati senior forward Kenyon Martin dominated the NCAA during the 1999-2000 season, averaging 18.9 points per game on a .568 clip from the field to go along with 9.7 rebounds per contest. His banner year culminated in not only being tabbed the C-USA Player and Defensive Player of the Year, but by being selected the consensus National Player of the Year, taking home the John Wooden Award, the Naismith Award and the Oscar Robertson trophy. Unfortunately, Martin's season was cut short when he broke his leg in the Bearcats' first game of the conference tournament and the team lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 29-4 mark. Despite the injury, Martin was selected first overall by the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Draft on June 28, 2000.

Some of the game's most legendary names have graced our hardwood in Conference USA, highlighted by Basketball Hall of Famers Pitino, Denny Crum (Louisville), Larry Brown (SMU), and 2015 inductee John Calipari (Memphis). Additionally, several standout players have joined our coaching ranks, including 1988 National Player of the Year Danny Manning, who was voted the 2014 Conference USA Coach of the Year.

As a conference, we've also turned out impressive numbers on the women's side. Nine times, we've qualified three or more C-USA teams to the Women's NCAA Tournament, including a league-high five berths in both 1997 and 2003.

In 2004, Houston became the first C-USA women's program to be ranked in the top 10, finishing No. 9 in the final AP Poll. The Cougars cruised to a 13-1 league record, winning both the regular-season and C-USA Championship titles, thanks to the dominant play of senior Chandi Jones. Our only three-time Player of the Year (2002-04), Jones racked up nearly every accolade her final season, being tabbed not only the C-USA Women's Basketball Player of the Year but also the C-USA Athlete of the Year in addition to being a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith Award. She was the first C-USA women's player to earn consensus All-America honors and was the league's first player to be named to the Kodak All-America Team. Jones finished her career with a 23.6 points per game average and won the NCAA scoring title her junior year (27.5 ppg). Houston coach Joe Curl became our first women's coach to National Coach of the Year honors, earning the 2004 distinction from the Associated Press, USBWA and ESPN.com.

We've continued to grow our rich basketball history with the addition of new programs over the past few seasons. Our current women's basketball membership has combined for more than 9,300 wins. Louisiana Tech has the second-most wins of any women's program in the country (1,059), trailing only Tennessee, and the third-best win percentage (.791) behind only UConn and Tennessee. The Lady Techsters' storied annals include 27 NCAA Tournament appearances, 13 Final Fours, eight national title games and three national titles (1981, 1982, 1988). Old Dominion sports the fourth-highest win total (997) in NCAA Division I history and has collected 25 NCAA Tournament berths, three Final Fours, two national title games and one national title (1985).

WKU joined the fold for the 2014-15 season and boasts an impressive program legacy with 906 victories (11th NCAA) on a .666 clip (25th NCAA). The Lady Toppers' resume has 18 NCAA Tournament showings, three Final Fours and a national title game. The program earned its 900th all-time victory when it claimed the 2015 C-USA Championship crown, becoming the first team in our league history to record 30 wins in a single season.

The Toppers also hold impressive numbers on the men's side, collecting 1,719 program victories, tied for 16th in NCAA history. Of the 15 schools ahead of WKU on the all-time wins list, all but one has played more seasons of basketball than WKU. The Toppers have been efficient since beginning their program in 1915, winning .665 percent of their games to rank eighth in win percentage. Additionally, WKU trails only powerhouses Kansas (58) and Kentucky (42) in regular-season conference titles, and the Toppers have turned out 43 20-win seasons over their history. WKU also advanced to the 1971 NCAA Men's Final Four, as did C-USA charter member Charlotte back in 1977. UTEP continues to be the only Division I school in Texas to hold a men's basketball national championship following its historic run in 1966.

Defending C-USA men's champion UAB advanced in this year's NCAA Tournament, defeating Big 12 champion and No. 4 seed Iowa State in the second round. It was one of the program's biggest tournament wins since knocking off top-seed Kentucky to advance to the 2004 Sweet 16.

With our track record of successful teams and the influx of great new schools and talent, we are excited to watch our student-athletes develop and see who will be the next Kenyon Martin, Dwyane Wade, Chandi Jones or Derrick Rose.

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