March 12, 2022
Conference USA Championship
(8) Rice (21-12) vs.
(2) Memphis (21-11)
Don't sleep on Rice, they are a good team that won some big games in non-conference, but faltered majorly in C-USA play. We split with them, each winning at home. This is the rubber match, on neutral ground. Their starters in the post are what makes the Owls go, both are green/green guys. We're not taking this game lightly, and we're not assuming that we're a lock for the NCAA Tournament. I'd like to win this game and leave no doubt.
This was not what you would expect from a championship game. We shot less than 26% in the first half but took a 6 point lead into the locker room. They came storming back in the second half, shooting 44.1% for the game. Only a basket from Amos Lusk kept our championship hopes alive. His basket sent the game to OT, where both teams traded baskets. It wasn't until a last second three pointer rimmed in and out that we could finally celebrate again. We are cutting down the nets as the Conference USA champions after a 69-67 overtime victory!!!!!!!
Code:
Memphis 69, Rice 67
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Memphis (22-11, 10-6):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Troy Tomblin C 23 3-7 5-8 0 3 1 4 11
Monte Donofrio PF 39 5-9 3-4 4 13 1 2 13
Antione Cantwell SF 33 2-10 6-8 2 2 3 2 11
Amos Lusk SG 39 5-16 3-8 3 8 4 3 13
Mario Albertini PG 36 3-7 5-9 1 4 3 2 12
Gerald Sena SG 14 2-4 0-0 2 2 1 1 5
Justin Bouldin SF 11 1-2 0-0 2 3 2 0 2
Brenton Tweedy C 14 0-0 0-0 0 2 0 3 0
Eldridge Boyd C 9 0-1 2-2 0 2 0 1 2
Manuel Abel C 4 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 1 0
William Auten PG 3 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 1 0
Scottie Harris C 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0
Turnovers: 14 (T.Tomblin 3, M.Donofrio 4, A.Cantwell 1,
A.Lusk 3, M.Albertini 2, J.Bouldin 1)
Blocked Shots: 1 (B.Tweedy 1)
Steals: 6 (T.Tomblin 1, M.Donofrio 1, A.Lusk 1, G.Sena
1, J.Bouldin 2)
3P FGs: 3-12 (A.Cantwell 1-4, A.Lusk 0-1, M.Albertini
1-4, G.Sena 1-2, J.Bouldin 0-1)
Rice (21-13, 8-8):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Charles West C 24 3-6 2-3 1 5 2 4 8
Ernie Forsberg PF 33 3-13 1-2 4 7 1 2 7
Paco Prieto SF 15 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 5 0
Greg Henriquez SF 27 4-10 4-4 4 6 5 5 13
Jack Altman PG 36 4-7 0-0 1 3 0 4 9
Domenic Fogel PF 21 3-3 0-0 0 8 1 2 6
Eldon Jones SG 22 5-9 2-3 0 1 0 5 14
William Heard SG 12 1-1 1-2 0 1 0 0 4
Ronald Huber SF 12 1-4 0-1 0 2 0 0 2
Mark Thompson C 10 1-2 0-1 1 5 1 2 2
Harold Hoch PF 2 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0
Logan Killian PG 7 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 2
Jeffry Washington SF 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 20 (C.West 2, E.Forsberg 1, P.Prieto 1,
G.Henriquez 1, J.Altman 4, D.Fogel 2, E.Jones 4,
W.Heard 2, R.Huber 1, M.Thompson 1, L.Killian 1)
Blocked Shots: 4 (C.West 2, E.Jones 1, M.Thompson 1)
Steals: 6 (G.Henriquez 3, D.Fogel 1, E.Jones 1, W.Heard
1)
3P FGs: 5-17 (P.Prieto 0-1, G.Henriquez 1-4, J.Altman
1-4, E.Jones 2-5, W.Heard 1-1, M.Thompson 0-1,
L.Killian 0-1)
Player of Game: PF Monte Donofrio (MMPHS)
How big has Donofrio been as a yellow/yellow rated player? Without him, we don't win this tournament.
2022 Selection Sunday
It feels really good to be able to watch the other championship games on Selection Sunday, knowing we've already punched our ticket back to the big dance. I invited the guys over to my house as we watched undefeated North Carolina play their biggest rivals, the Duke Blue Devils, in the ACC Championship. For those wondering, Carolina stayed undefeated with a 72-70 victory. Now, to the selection show!
Disappointment all around as the selection show ended. Don't get me wrong, we are very happy to be going dancing, but with a 32 RPI, I expected better than a #11 seed. But that's what we got, the 11th seed in the NCAA East Region. We'll be taking on 6th seeded Syracuse.
Other C-USA teams extending their season:
Tulsa got the 10th seed in the NCAA Midwest Region and will open up against 7th seeded Providence. I would have loved us to have that game.
Southern Miss gets the 10th seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against 7th seed Maryland.
The fact that Tulsa got a 10 seed amazes me. Their RPI was 11 spots lower than ours and we hammered them in the regular season. Ah well, sour grapes I suppose.
UAB gets the 3rd seed in the NIT South Region and will host 6th seed Northern Iowa in a Second Round game.
Rice gets the 2nd seed in the NIT East Region and gets a bye into the Second Round, where they will host the winner between 10th seeded Bryant and 7th seeded Appalachian State.
Marshall gets the 6th seed in the NIT East Region and will travel to 3rd seed Tennessee State in the Second Round.
ECU gets the 2nd seed in the CIT and will open up the First Round by hosting 15th seed Toledo.
And finally, Houston gets the 11th seed in the CIT and will travel to 6th seeded UL-Monroe.
So the C-USA gets 8 of 12 teams into postseason play. Good job!