2007 Conference USA Basketball Tournament Semifinals Preview

Date: Friday, March 9, 2007

Television Coverage: CSTV

C-USA Tourney Semifinal Previews

Day Two of the CUSA Tournament featured three thrilling finishes as every quarterfinal other than the Memphis-Marshall game came down to the very end with the final margin being three points or less. UCF was the only higher-seed to be upset, as the Golden Knights found themselves on the short end of a 53-51 decision after a big-time three-pointer by CUSA’s Player of the Year Morris Almond.

On semifinal Friday, Houston and Rice will meet in part three of their cross-town shootout in game 1. Next, Dave Dickerson’s Green Wave will attempt to dethrone the top-seeded Tigers.

Memphis' Fed Ex Forum is the host to the 2007 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship which began Wednesday.

#3 Houston vs. #7 Rice @ 3:30 p.m. (CT)

After splitting their two regular season games, the Owls and Cougars will get an opportunity to decide their cross-town rivalry on Friday afternoon when they meet for the third time of the season in the CUSA Tournament semifinals in Memphis.

Both Rice and Houston are coming off close wins in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

The Cougars (17-14) rode the 28-point performance of Robert McKiver and were able to hang on to their big lead while collecting the 62-59 victory.

The Owls received another 30-point effort from star guard Morris Almond, which included the game-winning trifecta with 2.8 seconds remaining.

In the previous two meetings, each team won on its homecourt. Rice (16-15) notched a 76-71 victory at Autry Court on January 17 th while Houston earned a 70-63 win at Hofheinz Pavilion only two weeks later.

Tom Penders’ Cougars placed four players in double figures in the loss at Rice. McKiver led the way with 21 points. The Owls’ Morris Almond totaled a double double, as he finished with 28 points—including an 18-of-20 effort from the charity stripe—and 11 rebounds.

McKiver matched his 21-point in the second meeting while Dion Dowell posted a double double by recording 16 points and 12 boards. Almond tallied 21 points (8-of-16 from floor) while pulling down eight rebounds.

If Houston is going to advance to Sunday’s championship, it will need to do a better job on Almond than the Owls last two opponents have.

#1 Memphis vs. #4 Tulane @ 6:00 p.m.

Fifth-ranked Memphis (28-3) recorded its 20th consecutive victory in convincing fashion on Thursday, as the Tigers dominated the Marshall Thundering Herd, 92-71, in the CUSA Quarterfinals at the FedExForum in Memphis.

The Tigers’ scoring attack featured five players in double figures, including Doneal Mack and Jeremy Hunt with 19 points apiece. Joey Dorsey posted a double double, as he tallied 14 points while pulling 11 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Tulane, which lost the lone regular season match-up with Tulsa, avenged that defeat with a narrow 58-56 victory on Thursday. Kevin Sims scored 15 points, including two free throws with 12.8 seconds remaining that proved to be the difference.

Tulane and Memphis squared off once during the regular season. The Green Wave would like to forget that meeting, as the Tigers took them behind the woodshed and handed them an eye opening 95-51 beating. Five Tigers scored in double figures while the Green Wave was led by Chris Moore’s ten-point effort. Memphis shot just over 50 percent while forcing Tulane to commit 21 miscues.

Tulane (17-12) will need to take much better care of the basketball if it wants to have any chance at upsetting the homestanding Tigers on Friday night. The Green Wave must also control the tempo of the game. Dave Dickerson’s club doesn’t have the athletes to run with Memphis and it must keep the score in the low 70s or below to win.

*Stay tuned for recaps of each of these semifinal games, as well as a preview of Saturday’s championship.