This conference used to be called – here during CTC – as simply “Conference Memphis.”  Well, after a few years back as Conference USA, it seems we got one last year of Conference Memphis before the Tigers finally get out next year.  And, one of the few teams that could actually challenge the Tigers – UCF – isn’t even eligible for the conference tournament because of academics.  So, there is an 11-team tournament with 10 teams thatare, well, flat-out mediocre.  With the exception of Rice there aren’t really any terrible teams, but with the exception of Memphis there aren’t any good teams either.  Southern Miss is okay.  UTEP can be scary when they’re on, but they’re so inconsistent.  ECU, UAB, Houston?  They’re all…okay.  Obviously, the sky is the limit for SMU once (if) they get some players because they have one of the best pure basketball minds to ever walk the earth (Larry Brown) as their head coach, but their roster is completely talentless.  Larry Brown’s second most famous player-coach relationship was with the head man at Tulsa – Danny Manning.  And, then there are the total disappoinments of Tulane and Marshall.

CHAMPIONSHIP (March 16th – 42 points)

#1 Memphis vs #2 Southern Miss
The Eagles of Southern Miss treated their two regular season games with Memphis as the biggest games of the year and possible tickets to the Dance as an at-large.  But, neither of those games were all that close, and Southern Miss really has no shot at an at-large now.  But, they have a third shot at Memphis – and this one wouldn’t just “boost their resume,” it would put them in automatically.  And, they looked like they wanted it after trouncing UAB in the quarters and UTEP in the semis.  Memphis is playing really, really well right now, though, so it will be no easy task.

Lazarow can pick up a huge win here with Southern Miss, as he is the only one to take them.  On the other hand, an all-time CTC record 21 people picked Memphis as the conference champion here, with Cheryl and Mac having already lost this game with UTEP.  If Memphis wins, RDoc will take the 2013 C-USA CTC title, but if Southern Miss wins, Lazarow will steal the crown.

SEMIFINALS (March 15th – 28 points each)

#2 Southern Miss vs #3 UTEP
Southern Miss go past UAB on Thursday, while UTEP took care of a game Houston team, setting up a semi-decent semifinal for a league that was pretty bad all year.  UTEP is playing well as of late, while Southern Miss has been pretty good all year – they just haven’t beaten anyone that’s any good.  Take your pick of their best wins – OT over Western Kentucky, by 11 against Denver, OT at Georgia, or at home against this UTEP team.  They are the only four that could even be considered marginal.  That is why they are auto-bid or bust, despite their 24 wins.

Nine people (Alexi, Bry, Cheryl, Dave, Doogan, GrossSr, Mac, Rikey, and Stumpf) have UTEP in the upset here.  Gersh, J, Lohse, and PapaCim all took either UAB or Houston and have already lost this one.  The other 11 have S.Miss.  Cheryl and Mac have UTEP winning this tournament, while Lazarow is the only one with Southern Miss.

#1 Memphis vs #5 Tulsa
The hometown Golden Hurricane of Tulsa eliminated East Carolina late Thursday night, setting up a date with prohibitive favorite, Memphis, in the semis.

Everyone has Memphis here, including 21 people who have them winning this tournament (the most of anyone in the CTC this year).

QUARTERFINALS (March 14th – 14 points each)

#2 Southern Miss vs #7 UAB
It’s been a pretty solid year for Southern Miss, considering they lost a lot to graduation and their great coach, Larry Eustachy to Colorado St.  But, they haven’t done nearly enough to feel all that confident of an at-large (I think they’re clearly out right now – and probably can’t do anything other than win the tournament to get themselves in), so they better just keep winning.  That will start on Thursday in the quarters against a UAB team that barely squeeked by 10th-seeded SMU in the opening round on Wednesday.

Alexi, Dave, and Gersh have the nice upset pick of UAB here.  Gersh even has them reaching the finals.  Everyone else has Southern Miss here, including Lazarow, who picked them to win this whole tournament.

#3 UTEP vs #6 Houston
The Miners are a dark horse in this tournament, as they have been playing really well recently.  They even had Memphis beat on March 5th.  But, they have been very up and down all year, so it’s hard to know what team will show up – the early season team that was TERRIBLE or the much better team as of late?  Houston, who took care of cross-town rival, Rice in the opening round, has been a wild card all year, so we will see what they have here.

Eight people (Caleb, J, Lazarow, Lohse, Lynch, PapaCim, Scoot, and Teddy) have Houston here in the upset with J and Lohse picking them to go to the finals.  Mac and Cheryl both have UTEP winning this tournament, while a decent number of others have them in the finals.

#1 Memphis vs #8 Tulane
The heavily favored Tigers take the floor in the C-USA tournament for the first time Thursday night against a Tulane team that came from behind to beat Marshall on Wednesday night.  The Tigers were undefeated in C-USA, but don’t get (nor really deserve) all that much respect.  Get this:  did you know that Josh Pastner has NEVER beaten a ranked team?  At Memphis???  That’s a terrible statistic that proves that, well, he’s not that great of a coach.

Everyone has Memphis in this one, with 21 of them taking the Tigers to win this tournament.  So, Cheryl, Lazarow, and Mac will be rooting against Memphis at every turn, as they are the only 3 without them winning this tourney.

#4 East Carolina vs #5 Tulsa
This was a solid season for ECU, as they were one of the better non-Memphis teams in the league this year.  The key to stopping ECU is stopping Maurice Kemp, a 6’8″ senior, who has developed into an absolute star in C-USA.  As for the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa, if were born in the mid- to late-70’s, you might be a Tulsa fan, for no other reason than they are coached by the great Danny Manning and they sport some kid named Pat Swilling, Jr. in the post.  It’s not just me, right?

This game is – not surprisingly – pretty split.  Eleven people (Alex, Alexi, Bry, Cheryl, Dave, Doogan, GrossSr, Mac, Primm, RDoc, and Waters) have Tulsa, while the other 13 have ECU. No one has either of these teams beating Memphis in the semis.

OPENING ROUND (March 13th – 7 points each)

#10 SMU vs #7 UAB
Well, it was pretty much how you figured it would be for Larry Brown in his first season at SMU.  The roster is totally bereft of talent, but the man can flat-out coach.  So, they won considerably more games than they probably even though possible, but they were still 5-11 in C-USA and 11th place.  UAB started slowly in conference play (after a TERRIBLE non-con), but played a lot better during the second part of conference play.  They are playing well at the right time, but they aren’t coached by one of the greatest basketball minds in history.  The winner of this one will take on Southern Miss in the quarters.

Ten people (Alex, Bry, Caleb, Cheryl, Doogan, J, PapaCim, Primm. Rikey, and Scoot) took Larry Brown and the Mustangs in the upset, though none of them have SMU beating Southern Miss.  Alexi, Dave, and Gersh have the Blazers knocking off Southern Miss and going to the semis.

#11 Rice vs #6 Houston
The transfer of Arsalan Kazemi to Oregon was the last piece of the puzzle that returns Rice to conference doormat status.  They weren’t good with him, but he was, at least, a threat on any given night.  Now, they’re just plain bad.  They were 0-15 against conference teams that they will not play in the opening round, but they are 1-0 (by double-digits) against Houston.  The Cougars have had a crazy season.  They were 11-2 in the non-conference against one of the worst schedules I have ever seen.  Then, they start conference play against a soft schedule and jump out of the gates.  But, when it came down to it, well, they just weren’t very good after all.  They finished 7-9 and got the 6-seed, so they can avoid Larry Brown, but they can’t avoid UTEP if they beat Rice here.

Doogan, GrossJr, and GrossSr took a shot at Rice here in the upset, with none of them having the Owls going any further.  Eight people (Caleb, J, Lazarow, Lohse, Lynch, PapaCim, Scoot, and Teddy) all have the Cougars beating UTEP in the quarters.  J, Lohse, and PapaCim actually have Houston in the finals.

#9 Marshall vs #8 Tulane
The Disappoinment Bowl in round one.  Marshall has the talent (most notably the two studs DeAndre Kane and Elijah Pittman) to have challenged Memphis for this conference, and they finished in 10th place.  Tulane has everyone back and healthy from a promising, but injury-riddled 2011-12, and they finished in 9th place.  There is plenty of room for disappoinment on both sides of the aisle in this one, but only one will have their season ended in the opening round – the other will have it ended in the quarterfinals against Memphis.

Surprisingly, only six people (Bry, Cheryl, GrossJr, GrossSr, PapaCim, and Waters) went for this mild upset.  No one has either of these teams beating Memphis in the quarters.

CTC UPDATE

Championship Picks

• #1 Memphis (21)
• #2 Southern Miss (1)
• #3 UTEP (2)

Biggest Upsets

• R1 – #11 Rice (Doogan & GrossJr)
• QF – #7 UAB (Alexi, Dave & Gersh)
• SF – #7 UAB (Gersh)
• Champ – #3 UTEP (Cheryl & Mac)

Previous CTC Champions

• 2008 – Ina
• 2009 – Bry
• 2010 – Lohse & Teddy
• 2011 – Lynch
• 2012 – Lohse

2013 Scores

1).