Good Night For All Of CUSA Except For UCF

Marshall 75, West Virginia 71
Marshall had a 24 point lead in the second half that they almost blew. They benefited from what was an atrocious West Virginia shooting performance, including an 11 minute stretch without a basket. In fact, the Mountaineers didn't even shoot well during their 17-2 run to get back in the game. Instead they just attacked the basket and used their athleticism to earn trips to the line. During that 17-2 run they scored 13 of those 17 points at the line. For the game West Virginia scored 26 points at the line, hitting 29% on three-pointers and 36% on twos. But this game demonstrates again how dangerous non-conference games at this time of the year are for teams like West Virginia, when you have kids that really just don't care about this game compared to their intra-conference battles. This win helps all of Conference USA, strengthening their computer numbers. The conference is now rated 8th in RPI, Sagarin and Pomeroy. They are a long way behind the six BCS conferences and the Mountain West, but they have now pulled ahead of the Atlantic Ten in every computer rating, which will do wonders for their chances of becoming a multi-bid league. Marshall is a potential bubble team, and their RPI is 46th, but they have a ways to go before they'll be capable of having a realistic chance of actually getting one of those at-large bids. They are only 5-5 against the RPI Top 200. This is their only win against the RPI Top 50, and they've got a bad loss to Chattanooga. Their Sagarin ELO_CHESS is 58th, and both Sagarin and Pomeroy actually rated them as closer to the 80th best team in the nation. As for West Virginia, this loss shouldn't damage them too much. They are still 6-5 against the RPI Top 100 with wins over Georgetown, Purdue and Vanderbilt and zero bad losses. All of the computers rate them around 20th. They're currently 7th in the Big East at 3-2 and have an easy match up next, at home against USF on Sunday. After that they head to Louisville and then Cincinnati.

Memphis 76, Southern Miss 75
Still without the suspended Wesley Witherspoon, Memphis really struggled on the road here against a quality Southern Miss team, but hot shooting carried them through. Their 9-for-17 shooting behind the arc helped them overcome 18 turnovers. While Memphis really hasn't played well, and still lacks big wins (0-3 against the RPI Top 40), they have played solid lately and are starting to build a pretty good resume. They only have one loss (SMU) outside of the RPI Top 50 and they're 3-1 in CUSA play. Their RPI is 58th and their Sagarin ELO_CHESS is 57th. If they can beat Gonzaga and then finish 11-5 or 12-4 in conference play they'll have a good shot at an at-large bid. And Memphis being this close to the bubble is good for the whole conference, because it will really help their chances of being a multi-bid league. As much as the Selection Committee denies it, they have consistently shown a bias toward glamor teams when filling the last spots in the Tournament, and Memphis is the only glamor team in Conference USA. As for Southern Miss, this loss drops them to 3-2 in conference play and 2-4 against the RPI Top 100. Their Sagarin ELO_CHESS has slipped to 63rd and for the time being they've fallen off the bubble. That said, a short winning streak will get them right back on the bubble. There are quality wins to be had in Conference USA this season other than Memphis, which is something of a change from the past few seasons.

East Carolina 74, Central Florida 62
While the increase in Conference USA's computer ratings and the resurgence of Memphis are all good for Conference USA, the one team that had a really bad night last night was Central Florida. After their 13-0 start to the season they have now dropped three straight, and actually sit in a tie for tenth place in the conference right now. They should bounce back on Saturday at home against Rice, but then they're off on the road to play Memphis. Marcus Jordan has really struggled the past few games and is going to have to get going for them to win that game. UCF's strength is their defense, but they're going to need somebody to match Memphis's explosive scorers at some point. UCF is still 3-0 against the RPI Top 50, with wins over Florida State, Miami and Marshall. But they now have a couple of bad losses (East Carolina and Houston) and could really use something nice like a road win at Memphis. Certainly they're going to have to get their conference record up to at least 10-6, and probably 11-5, to earn an at-large bid. East Carolina is 2-2 in conference play and 10-8 overall, but they are well outside the Top 100 in all of the computer ratings and have no chance of getting to the bubble. This win will likely be the highlight of their season.