Conference USA – Opening Round, Afternoon Session

(6) Southern Mississippi 57, (11) Tulane 47

The closing game of the afternoon session wasn’t as entertaining as the first game. In the 6-11 matchup, both Southern Mississippi and Tulane blew wide-open layups, chucked up bricks from the perimeter, and clanked free throws.  It was the college hoops equivalent of the art at Motel 6.  One couldn’t call it winning, but the Golden Eagles managed to not be as consistently terrible as Tulane was over the course of 40 minutes, which enabled them to survive a ragged affair by 10 points.

The Big Picture: Unfortunately for basketball aesthetes, the Golden Eagles lived to play another day in the C-USA Tournament.  As is their want, Larry Eustachy's players took the air of the ball on offense and sicced their aggressive man-to-man defense on Tulane, which shot a miserable 32.8 % for the game, including a John Starks-like 0-of-7 from three.  The end result will please Southern Mississippi fans, but probably not too many other folks. 

The Good: Despite its offensive struggles, Southern Mississippi usually defends with vigor and determination for a full 40 minutes.  They definitely did so from the opening tip this afternoon, as Tulane didn't get its first bucket until nearly three minutes had been played, and didn't get into double digits until the 10:06 mark of the first half when Johnny Mayhane made a layup.  No wonder the Golden Eagles led from buzzer to buzzer.

The Bad: If Tulane had been able to make shots today, Southern Mississippi might've been in deep trouble since it had a second half meltdown at the free throw line, making only 16-of-26 freebies.  Do that against a better opponent, and the Golden Eagles are likely toast.  However, it's important to note that Southern Mississippi shot pretty well from the free throw line during the regular season, finishing at a very respectable 71.8 %. 

The Ugly:   Both teams would've been well-served not to have shot so much as a single 3-pointer this afternoon.  The Golden Eagles put up an 0-for-7 bagel, while the Green Wave were more prolific, going 5-of-20 from three.  Kris Richard and Kelvin Sims, Tulane's starting guard tandem, were the primary offenders, combining to make 2-of-12, or 16.7 % of their triples.  For the game, the two teams combined to go 5-of-27, or 18 %, which has to be one of the worst marks ever in the history of the C-USA tourney.