CTC Day Twelve Preview: Conf USA Semis

The C-USA quarterfinal quadruple-header in Memphis yesterday was one for the ages, particularly that daytime session that featured a little bit of everything.  The Marshall-Tulsa game might have been the craziest basketball game that I have ever seen.  It’s one of those that I will remember 20 years from now.

Lynch, Primm, and Teddy are all still perfect through 8 C-USA games, which is pretty impressive considering how much madness this tournament has shown us.  All three have the same semifinal winners, so it will, unless someone else sneaks in with a big upset, most likely come down to tomorrow’s championship game to decide the CTC champion.

#1 Memphis vs. #4 Central Florida
As crazy as the day doubleheader was yesterday, it was probably even more of a relief for these two favorites to roll through their quarters without any real challenge.  Memphis hammered UTEP, while UCF did get a small test from a valiant UAB team, but the Knights were just too good.  And, though they never really get the press, UCF is in a pretty good bubble position here, which would almost go to “lock” status with a win tonight.  But, that might be a tall order, as Memphis is playing really, really well right now.

17 people have the Tigers winning this one, with Dave, J, and KA going for a pretty impressive upset pick.  Dave and KA both have the Knights actually winning this tournament, and with Dave right in the mix for the overall title, this game becomes gigantic in the grand scheme of things in the CTC.

#2 Southern Miss vs. #6 Marshall
The beauty of college basketball is the offering of second chances.  Marshall was supposed to be one of the true contenders in C-USA this year, but they vastly underachieved.  Now, after an 18-point win on Wednesday and a triple-OT thriller yesterday, the Thundering Herd are two wins away from dancing.  But, it could be a long two wins, especially considering they played a brutally hard-fought triple-OT game yesterday.  Maybe the thriller for Marshall yesterday was a blessing to S.Miss for several reasons.  One, Marshall has to be dead from that game, but secondly, because that game can make everyone forget that S.Miss nearly blew their quarterfinal several times against the 10-seed, ECU.

Gross and Lohse have the great upset pick of Marshall again here.  6 people incorrectly had Tulsa here (KA, Mac, Rikey, Scoot, Stri, Waters); the other 13 all have Larry Eustachy’s S.Miss squad, including J, Lil Lohse, Lynch, and Primm, who have them winning the tournament.