12:50 p.m.
And so we conclude the 2009 Conference USA Tournament. We would like to thank the city of Memphis, the University of Memphis and the FedExForum for their warm hospitality throughout the week, and for helping make this such a wonderful event.

We'd also like to thank you, the fans, for following the tournament throughout the week, and for your support of Conference USA. We have had a wonderful time, and we look forward to doing it all again next year.

Good luck to the Memphis Tigers in the NCAA Tournament, and to all the C-USA teams who participate in postseason tournaments this year.

12:42 p.m.
The banner is up, honoring Memphis seniors Antonio Anderson, Robert Dozier and Chance McGrady for winning the most game in NCAA history. The Tigers have now won 135 games over the past four seasons. The banner has the names and numbers of the three seniors. But there is a blank place where it is supposed to list the total number of victories. That's because the Tigers plan to win a few more games in the NCAA Tournament.

12:35 p.m.
A party has broken out at FedExForum. Streamers fell from the ceiling and the song "Celebration" is belting from the loudspeakers. And in a few minutes, a banner will be raised to honor the Tigers for breaking the NCAA record for most victories in a four-year span.

12:32 p.m.
The Tigers win 64-39. They allowed only 43 points per game in the tournament. Tyreke Evans was named the tournament MVP. He is joined on the all-tournament team by Robert Dozier and Shawn Taggart of Memphis, along with Tulsa's Glenn Andrews and Ray Reese.

12:28 p.m.
Now some fans are chanting, "No. 1 seed," in anticipation of the Tigers possibly receiving a top seed to the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

12:27 p.m.
With the game firmly in hand, the crowd began chanting, "We want Preston," for seldom-used freshman guard Preston Laird. When Calipari signaled for Laird to enter the game, the fans let loose with some of their loudest cheers of the game.

12:23 p.m.
Dominating game by Memphis senior forward Robert Dozier, with 18 points and 14 rebounds. The 14 boards ties the C-USA Tournament record.

12:18 p.m.
With 5:48 left in the game, Tulsa finally makes a 3-pointer. But Memphis still leads by 26.

12:11 p.m.
Tulsa simply can't do anything against this defense. The Golden Hurricane is 12-of-47 from the field and 0-for-10 from 3-point range. The Tigers are poised to shatter the C-USA Tournament record for scoring defense. The current record is 51 points per game, set by Saint Louis in 2000. Memphis gave up an average of only 45 points in the first two games, and Tulsa is on pace to score less than 40 in this one. So it looks like the new record will be around 43 ppg.

12:03 p.m.
Memphis now leads 46-30 with 10:40 to play, and I'm not sure Tulsa can score 47 points against this defense. So in theory, at least, the Tigers could go scoreless the rest of the way and still win.

11:50 a.m.
It's amazing how quickly Memphis is capable of crushing an opponent's spirt. The Golden Hurricane come out to start the second half, optimistic that the game still is within their reach, and the Tigers immediately score seven consecutive points to turn an eight-point lead into a 15-point advantage. Brutal.

11:48 a.m.
Speaking of Evans, he gets my vote for tournament MVP. Nobody has had a bigger impact at the most important times than Evans.

11:45 a.m.
First play of the second half: Tulsa's Glenn Andrews has his shot blocked by Doneal Mack, and Tyreke Evans scores at the other end. That right there is a capsule of this game. Tough defense by Memphis, and scoring by Evans.

11:41 a.m.
Interesting song selection by the Tulsa band. They just played "Saturday in the Park" by Chicago. It's Saturday, but this certainly is no day in the park for the Golden Hurricane.

11:32 a.m.
Key stat of the first half: Tulsa has seven turnovers and only two assists. It's never a good sign when one opposing player has more assists than your entire team (in this case, Tyreke Evans with three).

11:30 a.m.
Memphis takes a 28-20 lead into halftime. After the way the game started, Tulsa has to be pleased to even be that close. Still, the Golden Hurricane is going to have to score much more than 20 points in the second half to have a chance to win. And the way the Memphis defense is playing, scoring more than 20 won't be easy.

11:26 a.m.
Tulsa 7-foot center Jerome Jordan responded with a bull-in-a-china-shop charge down the court that ended with him dribbling the ball off his foot. It was a play that had future blooper-reel highlight written all over it.

11:23 a.m.
Memphis freshman guard Tyreke Evans just deftly slashed down the lane past three Tulsa defenders for a layup that was a thing of beauty. It was a play that had future NBA star written all over it.

11:17 a.m.
Tulsa has managed to withstand the Tigers' early flurry and are without question in this game. Memphis could have delivered a knockout blow in the first half, but 7-of-26 shooting by the Tigers has enabled Tulsa to keep it close.

11:11 a.m.
Make it a four-point game. Tulsa is on an 11-4 run, and the Tigers definitely have cooled off from their quick start.

11:09 a.m.
We might have a close game yet. Despite all of Tulsa's early problems, espeically the 6-of-24 shooting, the Golden Hurricane trail by only six points with five minutes left in the half.

11:05 a.m.
The Memphis defense is amazing. It has taken 92 minutes of basketball for the Tigers to give up 100 points in this tournament. Memphis allowed 41 points against Tulane and 49 against Houston, and has given up 11 in the first 12 minutes vs. Tulsa. It's hard to beat a team that allows barely a point per minute.

10:52 a.m.
The Tulsa players have to feel like they are still asleep, and this is all just a bad dream. They are 2-of-14 from the field and appear rattled. Bad passes, traveling calls, and a scoreboard that says Memphis leads 16-5. Maybe the alarm will go off soon.

10:46 a.m.
Tulsa guard Glenn Andrews stopped the bleeding with a 3-point play. The problem for the Golden Hurricane is that the Tigers appear to be at the top of their game. If that's the case, then they will be nearly impossible to beat.

10:42 a.m.
Now Tulsa is 0-for-6 from the field, the Tigers lead 8-0, and Tulsa head coach Doug Wojcik has already used a timeout. The Golden Hurricane could not have scripted a worse start.

10:40 a.m.
Tought start for Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane has missed its first five shots, and Memphis is out to a quick 5-0 lead. Tulsa needs to do something quick to keep the crowd from becoming even more of a factor that it already is.

10:34 a.m.
We just had an introduction that included swirling spotlights, smoke and shooting flames. Now I'm waiting for Celine Dion to make an entrance.

10:27 a.m.
We already have a winner for the best-dressed fan. Or at least the most interestingly dressed fan. There is a gentleman located near midcourt wearing a tiger-spotted shirt and a matching stove-top style hat. It's a great looking outfit, though I would hate to be the person sitting behind him.

10:23 a.m.
Good morning, and welcome to the final game of the Conference USA men's basketball tournament. Memphis and Tulsa are about to battle for the tournament championship, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers have the crowd and a lengthy winning streak on their side. But Tulsa comes in with a seven-game winning streak of its own, and the Golden Hurricane has won 12 of the past 14. So don't give this one to Memphis just yet.

8:12 p.m.
So it's a rematch of last year's C-USA Tournament championship game. But there is a slight difference this time around. Last year, the Golden Hurricane was just happy to be there, after winning three games in three days, including two in overtime.

This year, Tulsa head coach Doug Wojcik says his team isn't going to be content merely with making it to the championship game.

"It wasn't a mosh pit in the locker room this time," Wojcik said with a smile. "This is now our expectation."

We'll see if a calmer approach allows Tulsa to give Memphis a good game. Things will start early, with tipoff schedule for 10:35 a.m. Central Time. So please join us Saturday morning for one more game in the C-USA Tournament.

7:47 p.m.
All the stats favored the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa sank 49 percent of its shots, to 42.3 percent for UAB. Tulsa outrebounded the Blazers 32-23, and had more assists (13-10), blocks (7-4), second-chance points (7-2) and points off the bench (20-7). Not hard to figure out why Tulsa won.

7:42 p.m.
So close for the Blazers. They actually forced a jump ball on the inbounds, but the possession arrow was pointing in Tulsa's direction. The Golden Hurricane was able to run out the clock and hold on for a 70-67 victory.

So it will be Memphis vs. Tulsa for the C-USA Tournament championship, with the winner receiving an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

7:39 p.m.
Tulsa goes 1-for-2 at the line, and UAB's Aaron Johnson hustles downcourt for a quick layup. The Blazers just took their final timeout, trailing 70-67 with 3.6 to play. Barring a steal on the inbounds pass, Tulsa should win.

7:37 p.m.
A 3-point attempt by Vaden is blocked by Jerome Jordan, and Tulsa builds a 69-63 lead. Vaden responds by finally making a 3-pointer (only his second of the game), but UAB still trails by three with only 11 seconds remaining.

7:33 p.m.
All of the sudden the Blazers are making a move. Two straight baskets and two free throws have cut Tulsa's lead to 64-63 with 52 seconds left.

7:31 p.m.
Vaden finally took another shot, but it wasn't exactly what I was talking about. He forced a 3-pointer from deep in the corner with a defender all in his face. The ball barely grazed the rim. Not a good decision.

7:27 p.m.
Interesting. Tulsa just called its final timeout with still three minutes to play. We'll see if that turns out to be a problem for the Golden Hurricane.

7:23 p.m.
Nice drive and dish from UAB's Aaron Johnson to Lawrence Kinnard for the layup. The problem now for UAB is they can't get any stops on defense. Tulsa is 23-of-45 from the field (51.1 percent) and leads 62-55 with 3:30 to play.

7:16 p.m.
While Reese is asserting himself, Robert Vaden continues to be the missing man for UAB. He has taken only three shots in the second half (making two). The Blazers need more from him if they want to win this game.

7:13 p.m.
Reese again. He now has 17 points, and Tulsa is up by eight.

7:11 p.m.
Ray Reese is taking over the game. A nice bank shot gives him 14 points, and gives Tulsa a 54-47 lead.

7:09 p.m.
Big 3-pointer by Tulsa forward Ray Reese gives the Golden Hurricane a 50-44 lead closing in on the seven-minute mark. There's still plenty of time left, but the Blazers had better be careful not to let the lead climb into double-digits.

7:03 p.m.
The pace and energy level has picked up significantly in the past few minutes. There's enough hustling going on that it feels like the disco era has returned.

7:00 p.m.
A wild sequence saw UAB make a steal, throw the ball toward out of bounds only to have it saved back in, where a Tulsa player briefly held it before it was knocked out of bounds again. That was followed by two UAB steals and two layups. The result: a tie game at 42 with nine minutes to play. Hang on.

6:55 p.m.
This has turned into a defensive battle. The second-half score through the first eight minutes is Tulsa 7, UAB 6.

6:43 p.m.
Spotted in the crowd: A women who is probably at least in her 60s, wearing a tie-dyed Tulsa T-shirt with a shiny blue pom-pom on her head, dancing to the Tulsa band. Isn't college athletics great?

6:39 p.m.
Actually, the Blazers need anybody to start hitting some shots. Four minutes into the second half and UAB has yet to score. Tulsa now leads 36-29.

6:32 p.m.
If UAB guard Robert Vaden can start hitting some shots, the Blazers could be in good shape. UAB trails by only two even though Vaden was 1-for-6 in the first half. Vaden's slack has been taken up by Channing Toney, who had 10 points in the first half.

6:18 p.m.
Paul Delaney III has become Mr. Clutch for the Blazers. He made the 3-pointer at the end of regulation that forced overtime with Southern Miss yesterday, and then he calmly drained the game-winner in OT. And now he just came up with a steal and layup in the final seconds of the first half to slice Tulsa's lead to 31-29.

There are 20 minutes to go, and this definitely is anybody's game.

6:09 p.m.
Sure enough, back come the Blazers. Tulsa's lead is down to 23-18 with 3:09 left in the first half.

6:06 p.m.
A long 3-pointer by Tulsa sophomore guard Glenn Andrews gives the Golden Hurricane a 23-14 lead. But keep in mind, Southern Miss led UAB by as many as 12 points in the second half of yesterday's quarterfinal game, and we know how that turned out.

5:53 p.m.
The early indications are that this game won't be decided until the final minutes, if not the final seconds. UAB jumped out to a quick lead, but Tulsa is now up 12-11. This should be a close one throughout, which would be just fine with Memphis head coach John Calipari. In fact, he said he's hoping for a six-overtime game.

5:40 p.m.
This could be a bad sign for Tulsa. The group of UCF fans who gave their allegiance to UTEP after the Knights lost in the opening round are now sitting behind the Tulsa band and cheering for the Golden Hurricane. So far those fans are 0-for-2 in this tournament.

5:35 p.m.
Here we go with the second semifinal game. The winner plays Memphis tomorrow for the C-USA championship.

5:29 p.m.
Memphis held Tulane scoreless for nearly 13 minutes during Thursday's quarterfinal game, and then did the same to Houston for approximately 10 minutes. Afterward, Memphis guard Antonio Anderson was asked if the team is aware of exactly how dominant they are defensively during such stretches.

"We're aware," Anderson said, "because we're not taking the ball out of bounds."

That's a pretty good sign.

5:02 p.m.
One stat stands out from the Memphis-Houston game. The Tigers double up the Cougars on the boards, outrebounding Houston 48-24. Three Memphis players - Shawn Taggart, Robert Dozier and Antonio Anderson - had more rebounds than the entire Houston team (25 to 24).

5:00 p.m.
We can almost guarantee that the next game, between UAB and Tulsa, will be considerably closer. The teams played each other on Jan. 28 in Tulsa, and the Golden Hurricane squeaked out a 75-74 victory. Tip-off is approximately 30 mintues away.

4:56 p.m.
The last time Memphis lost a game, the college football bowl season had not yet started. In fact, winter had not yet officially started. Winter officially ends one week from today. So there is a chance the Tigers will go undefeated for the winter season.

4:42 p.m.
Keep in mind, back in January the Cougars went on the road and took Arizona into overtime before losing. Memphis is leading that same Houston team by 32.

4:36 p.m.
Houston junior guard Kelvin Lewis just made a layup for the first points scored by the Cougars in nearly 10 minutes. That ended a stunning 27-0 run by Memphis.

4:31 p.m.
Memphis head coach John Calipari will admit that his team sometimes lacks consistency. But when the Tigers are playing at the top of their game, like they are right now, they are as good as any team in the country. Another run to the national championship game is a distinct possibility.

4:29 p.m.
Down 59-24, the Cougars have become noticably frustrated. They have scored only two points in more than eight minutes of play in the second half, and they have still yet to make a 3-pointer in the game (0-for-12)

4:22 p.m.
With 13:38 left in the game, Memphis reached the 51-point mark. That is the same number of points the Tigers scored in the entire game against Tulane in Thursday's quarterfinals.

4:17 p.m.
Any hopes Houston had for a second-half rally are starting to fade. The Tigers are on an 11-0 run and have a 45-24 lead. It's hard to imagine Memphis blowing a 21-point second-half lead at home.

4:14 p.m.
Rebounding has been the biggest difference in this game. Memphis leads Houston on the boards 26 to 14, and the Cougars have managed only one offensive rebound. In the first half, 6-foot-6 Memphis guard Antonio Anderson had as many rebounds (five) as 6-11 Marcus Cousin and 6-8 Qa'rraan Calhoun had combined for Houston.

3:52 p.m.
Well, the Cougars are still in it. Houston closed the first half on a 12-4 run and now trail 34-22. Memphis was the better team for 15 minutes, but the Cougars' late surge means we still have a game. The second half should be interesting.

3:48 p.m.
Balance is the word for the Tigers so far. Five Memphis players have scored, and they all have between nine and six points.

3:41 p.m.
After falling behind 30-10, the Cougars have scored six straight points to make it 30-16 with 4:16 left in the half. Aubrey Coleman just sank a rainbow 3-pointer, giving him 10 of Houston's 16 points.

3:34 p.m.
The only good news for Houston fans so far is that if things don't get better, Penders might throw off that loud red jacket in disgust.

3:30 p.m.
The Cougars might be feeling the effects of last night's overtime game against UTEP, which didn't end until around 11 p.m. Houston is now 3-of-16 from the field and trail 23-8. After putting up 89 points against UTEP, the Cougars are on pace to score only 30 today.

3:25 p.m.
Penders is fed up with what he's seeing, and he's about to do a complete substitution.

3:21 p.m.
The Tigers are starting to roar. A 17-8 lead seven minutes into the game. The Cougars aren't helping themselves with 3-of-14 shooting, 0-for-7 from 3-point range.

3:15 p.m.
Well, it looks like the Tigers have gotten past their scoring woes from Thursday night. After scoring only 51 points against Tulane for their lowest output of the season, Memphis already has put 11 on the board against Houston in only five minutes. That means they are on pace to score 88.

3:09 p.m.
Penders is going to try to make sure this game doesn't get out of hand. After Houston jumped out to a 2-0 lead, Memphis ripped off four quick points, prompting Penders to call a timout barely 90 seconds into the game.

3:05 p.m.
For what it's worth, the Cougars look relaxed and confident. The pressure actually might be on Memphis, since the crowd here at the FedExForum expects the Tigers to win easily. One fan yelled at the Memphis players during warmups, "Put them away early, guys." We'll see.

3:00 p.m.
Houston coach Tom Penders just walked onto the court wearing a bright red sport coat over a black shirt and black pants. Granted, the coat matches the Houston colors, but it makes him look like he should be taking drink orders at a four-star restaurant.

2:49 p.m.
Good afternoon, and welcome back to Memphis for the semifinals of the Conference USA men's basketball tournament. We are less than 15 minutes away from the start of our first game of the day, a cat fight between the hometown Memphis Tigers and the surprising Houston Cougars.

Everybody expected Memphis to be in this game, but Houston had to win twice to make it this far, beating SMU in Wednesday's opening round and then prevailing against UTEP in overtime Thursday night.

The second game will see UAB take on Tulsa. The Blazers needed two last-second shots to defeat Southern Miss in overtime on Thursday, while Tulsa cruised past Rice.

We're looking forward to another exciting day of basketball. So settle in and get ready for two great games.

11:07 p.m.
What a day. And we have the makings of two special games tomorrow as well. Houston will play Memphis at 3 p.m. Central Time, followed by UAB against Tulsa. The winners will meet Saturday for the C-USA tournament championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

So it's eight games down and only three to go. But there's a chance that the best is still yet to come. Please join us tomorrow afternoon for all the action.

11:03 p.m.
The first game this evening between Memphis and Tulane set several records for low scoring and offensive futility. This game set several marks for high scoring. So if you combine the two games, it was just an average night.

11:01 p.m.
Kelvin Lewis made both foul shots, and Houston has held on for a thrilling 89-85 victory. The Cougars will play Memphis tomorrow.

11:00 p.m.
Jackson made 1-of-2, giving him 38 points. But with only seven seconds to play, Houston is at the line with a chance to possibly put the game away.

10:58 p.m.
Jackson is at the line with a chance to break the scoring record, and help UTEP cut into Houston's 87-84 lead.

10:54 p.m.
Jackson now has 37 points, tying the single-game tournament record set by former Saint Louis player Larry Hughes. But Houston still leads 87-82 with only 50 seconds left.

10:51 p.m.
Jackson is trying to will the Miners to victory. He just made a layup and a foul shot, cutting Houston's lead to 83-80. Jackson is now 11-of-25 from the field and 11-of-14 from the line for a total of 35 points. The C-USA record for most points in a tournament game is 37.

10:48 p.m.
Randy Culpepper made a steal for UTEP and was headed toward an easy layup, but then dribbled the ball off his leg and out of bounds. It was a costly turnover, because Houston's Kelvin Lewis and Zamal Nixon just sank conseucitve shots, and suddenly Houston leads 83-77 with 2:22 left in overtime.

10:43 p.m.
UTEP did a good job defending the inbounds pass on the play that resulted in the Houston turnover. The pass went over the outstretched arms of Houston center Marcus Cousin, which is difficult to do since he is 6-foot-11. And then Jackson tied the game and upped his point total to 31.

10:41 p.m.
A Houston turnover, and then Jackson hits a game-tying jumper. We're going to overtime for the second time today. That's the first time that's ever happend in C-USA tournament history. The day is not over yet, folks.

10:38 p.m.
The Miners had Coleman trapped in the corner and were about to force a turnover, but he called timeout. Houston still has the ball, and the clock is down to 18 seconds.

10:37 p.m.
The Cougars made one free throw, but then committed a silly foul, allowing UTEP to close the gap to 74-72 with still 22.6 seconds remaining.

10:35 p.m.
It's looking bad for UTEP. Jackson missed a baseline jumper, and now Houston is headed to the free-throw line with only 27 seconds left.

10:33 p.m.
A nifty, floating move down the lane by UTEP's Randy Culpepper cut Houston's lead to one. But the Cougars just upped their advantage back to three points at 73-70 on a power move by forward Qa'rraan Calhoun. There's 38.8 seconds to play.

10:29 p.m.
As good as Coleman has been for Houston, Jackson has been even better for UTEP. He has 29 points and eight rebounds. But his Miners still trail, 71-68, with two minutes remaining.

10:22 p.m.
UTEP's Stefon Jackson just hit a rainmaker of a 3-pointer to pull the Miners to within two points at 68-66 with four minutes to play. This is starting to challenge the UAB-Southern Miss overtime thriller from this afternoon as the best game of the tournament.

10:15 p.m.
The Cougars lead 64-57 with 6:35 to play, and if they hang on to win, much of the credit will have to go to Aubrey Coleman. The junior guard has 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. He has made 3-of-4 shots in the second half.

10:05 p.m.
There's 10:27 left in the game, and it's shaping up to be an exciting 10 minutes. The lead has just changed hands four times in less than two minutes. Buckle up and get ready for a wild ride.

10:00 p.m.
These new UTEP fans suddenly have plenty to cheer for. The Miners have just taken the lead, 51-50, with a 10-0 run that was punctuated by a soaring one-handed slam from sophomore guard Randy Culpepper, who is a Memphis native.

9:57 p.m.
Several UCF students have temporarily transferred their allegiance to UTEP. With the Knights bounced from the tournament in the first round, the students either had to cut short their trip to Memphis or find a new team to support. Tonight, at least, they are hanging out with the UTEP band, joining in on the chants and flashing the school's pick-axe symbol, all while proudly wearing their UCF shirts.

9:48 p.m.
Houston played almost this exact same game last night against SMU in the opening round of the tournament. The Cougars jumped out to an early lead, SMU battled back, and for most of the second half Houston maintained anywhere from a five to 10 point lead. Same thing tonight. UTEP is hanging close, but they have yet to come up with the run needed to take the lead.

9:25 p.m.
Best dance-team name: the UTEP Gold Diggers.

9:23 p.m.
The pace of the game has not slowed down, but the scoring certainly has. The Cougars managed only eight points over the final nine minutes of the half, and their lead is down to 34-29 at halftime.

9:14 p.m.
The Cougars have been unable to maintain their blistering pace to start the game, and the Miners are slowly excavating themselves from their early hole. It's now 29-21 Houston, with 3:34 left in the half. There's still a good chance this could end up being the nail-biter we expected.

9:00 p.m.
If Memphis ends up playing Houston in Friday's semifinals, then John Calipari can't like what he's seeing right now. The Cougars have scored 26 points in the first 10:34 of the game. That's the same number of points Memphis had in the entire first half against Tulane.

8:55 p.m.
This game is off to a surprising start. The Miners have won eight of their past 11 games, a stretch that includes a seven-point victory over Houston. But UTEP has stumbled out of the gates tonight, scoring only five points in the first eight mintues and falling behind by 12. There's a long way to go, but if the Miners aren't careful they'll dig a hole that they can't get out of, even with a pick axe.

8:47 p.m.
UTEP must have spent too much time watching the Memphis-Tulane game. After six minutes of action, the Miners have scored only three points.

8:43 p.m.
We'll get the mascot talk out of the way early for this game. You already know that Shasta, the Houston cougar, has the early lead as my favorite mascot at this tournament. And I'm surprised to see that Pittsburgh Panthers head football coach Dave Wannstedt is working in the offseason as the UTEP miner mascot.

8:28 p.m.
In his postgame news conference, Memphis head coach John Calipari admitted that the Tigers were fortunate to defeat Tulane, saying, "Thanks goodness we're a good defensive team, becasue this was a loss waiting to happen."

7:57 p.m.
Well, it wasn't pretty, but Memphis advances to the semifinals with a 51-41 victory over Tulane. The teams combined to go 3-of-24 from 3-point range.

My guess is we will see a little more scoring than that in the next game between UTEP and Houston. Earlier this season, those teams had a game in which they combined for 180 points (a 94-86 Houston victory).

7:52 p.m.
Finally, Tulane made a shot from the field. In real time it is the Green Wave's first field goal in 40 minutes. Nearly as amazing is the fact the Tigers' lead is only 50-38. Usually if a team has a scoring drought of that length, Memphis will be up by at least 35.

7:48 p.m.
This might turn out to be the lowest point total of the season for both teams. The Tigers' managed only 54 points in a victory over Tennessee, while the Green Wave's low mark was 39 in a December loss to New Orleans. With two mi

6:00 p.m.
nutes to play, the score is 48-35.

7:43 p.m.
Tulane's shooting percentage is down to 28.6 (12-of-42), and the Tigers' lead is up to 46-32.

7:36 p.m.
Another miss by Tulane. In real time, the Green Wave has now gone nearly a half-hour without scoring.

7:30 p.m.
Two free throws by Evans, and he's now scored 12 consecutive points. I can't remember the last time anybody other than Evans scored in this game.

7:26 p.m.
Tulane has had a total of five good looks at the basket on its past three possessions, but none of the shots went down. It might be getting close to midnight for the Green Wave.

7:23 p.m.
Evans just scored again, giving him 10 consecutive points. He was scoreless before this current flurry.

7:22 p.m.
The wave is coming, and it's not the Green Wave. It's the wave of noise that fills the FedExForum whenever the Tigers start to go on a serious run. Memphis has ripped off eight consecutive points - all by Tyreke Evans - to take a 36-32 lead, and this place is getting loud.

7:17 p.m.
There are four Memphis fans sitting in the lower section of the arena wearing cut-out photos of senior guard Antonio Anderson as facemasks. Each fans has a placard with a letter on it, and combined the cards read "Tony." But the fans haven't been able to do much cheering so far for their favorite player. Anderson has only two points and one assist.

7:11 p.m.
This is getting interesting. Tulane now leads 32-28. The one thing a heavy favorite never wants to do is let the underdog truly believe that it can win. Right now, the Tulane players think they can win this game. Now it's up to Memphis to respond to what has become an unexpected challenge.

7:08 p.m.
And it can't get any closer than this. Two mintues into the second half, we're tied at 28.

7:07 p.m.
Overheard during halftime: A Memphis fan said of the game, "It's not very exciting, is it?"

Not very exciting? It's a two-point game. But I guess if you're accustomed to winning big, a close game isn't exciting. But we like them this way. The closer the better.

6:52 p.m.
It's halftime, and Tulane continues to surprise. Just five days ago, Memphis dispatched the Green Wave by 27 points. Tonight the Tigers lead by only two, 26-24, midway through the game.

6:47 p.m.
The star of the first half has been Memphis junior forward Shawn Taggart, who has made all six of his attempts from the field and already has 15 points. That's 4.6 points above his per-game average for the season.

6:43 p.m.
Despite the struggles, Tulane continues to hang tough. We're tied at 22 with 3:19 left in the half. The Memphis fans are starting to get a little restless.

6:37 p.m.
The Green Wave is 7-of-22 from the field. That's definitley not going to get it done.

6:36 p.m.
If Tulane is not careful, this one might start to get out of hand. The Green Wave was just hit with a technical for arguing a call. Memphis now leads 20-18. Tulane needs to do something to stop the Tigers' momentum

6:32 p.m.
Tulane led 18-14 and had a chance to increase its advantage to six points, but the Green Wave missed an open layup. Memphis responded by making a 3-pointer and then forcing a turnover. Suddenly Tulane's lead is down to a single point, Memphis has the ball and the crowd is getting noisy. If you want to beat the Tigers in Memphis, you have to convert open layups. It's that simple.

6:20 p.m.
Now Tulane leads 15-10. Crazy indeed.

6:17 p.m.
Tulane is currently riding the crazy train. The Green Wave is tied with Memphis 8-8 six minutes into the game. Can Tulane pull off the upset? That would seem to be crazy thinking, but so far the Wave is holding its own.

6:13 p.m.
I find it interesting that the song "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne is often played at college sporting events (as it was a few moments ago here at the FedExForum). In the early 1980s, Osbourne was considered by many to be the personification of evil. Now he is timeout music for basketball games.

6:05 p.m.
Tiger nation is out in force as Memphis plays for the first time in this year's C-USA men's basketball tournament. Tulane is the team that will attempt to derail the Tigers' run to another tournament championship. Tipoff is seconds away.

5:15 p.m.
In a subdued postgame news conference, Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy talked about how proud he is of his team, saying, "We didn't lose this game. UAB won it."

Eustachy added, "I've had a team that was ranked No. 3 in the final poll (at Iowa State), but I've never been prouder of a group of players as I am of these guys."

5:12 p.m.
UAB's victory over Southern Miss was the first win for head coach Mike Davis in five trips to Memphis. He has lost three times to the Memphis Tigers, and twice in the first round of the C-USA tournament.

"I was beginning to think there was something wrong with the goals here," Davis said with a smile.

4:57 p.m.
It will be hard to top that one, but we'll give it a try. The hometown Memphis Tigers play Tulane in about an hour, followed by UTEP vs. Houston. Please come back soon for some more exciting Conference USA baseketball.

4:55 p.m.
The only problem with a game like that is there is the agony of defeat. Courtney Beasley, a senior from the state of Alabama, left the court for the final time in tears, with head coach Larry Eustachy's arm wrapped around him. It was a sad moment for a great player who gave everything he had, and finished with 26 points.

4:52 p.m.
Cold blooded again! Beasley scored with five seconds left to give Southern Miss the lead. Instead of calling timeout, UAB immediately pushed the ball downcourt, and once again it was Delaney with the ball in his hands. He sank a short jumper in the lane with 0.7 on the clock. Blazers win. Amazing basketball game.

4:48 p.m.
Two free throws by Aaron Johnson gives UAB a 72-71 lead. Shot clock is off. Timeout Southern Miss. What a great game.

4:46 p.m.
Two-point lead for the Blazers with one minute to play. But Courtney Beasley just made a shot, was fouled and made the free thrown. One-point edge to Southern Miss.

4:43 p.m.
Neither team has grabbed control in overtime. At the moment, Southern Miss leads 68-67 with 1:47 left. The problem for the Golden Eagles is both Stephens and Horton have fouled out.

4:36 p.m.
Cold blooded! UAB senior guard Paul Delaney III took the inbounds pass, dribbled the ball to the top of the key and calmly drained a 3-pointer to tie the game. It's free basketball as we head to overtime.

4:34 p.m.
It doesn't look good for the Blazers. They trail 64-61. They just called their final timeout of the game. They have to travel the length of the court and hit a 3-pointer, just to force overtime.

4:32 p.m.
Vaden makes the first but misses the second. UAB trails by one with 9.5 left.

4:30 p.m.
Courtney Beasley with a driving layup for Southern Miss makes the score 62-60, but Vaden gets fouled on UAB's ensuing possession. There are 11.7 seconds left. The ball is in the hands of UAB's star player.

4:28 p.m.
Robert Vaden had an open 3-pointer bounce off the rim, but UAB got the rebound. There are 56 seconds left to play. We're still tied.

4:26 p.m.
Now this is what it's all about. Tie game, 60-60, only 2:10 to play. This easily is the best game of the tournament so far. Let's see what happens.

4:19 p.m.
Big Mo' has definitely shifted in the direction of the Blazers, thanks to little Aaron Jo' (Johnson). The 5-foot-8 sophomore has scored five consecutive points on two driving layups and a free throw, cutting the Golden Eagles' lead to a single point at 56-55.

4:13 p.m.
With UAB's season on the brink, Robert Vaden just sank a huge 3-pointer, his sixth of the game. The Blazers still trail 54-49 with 6:34 to play, but the team seems to have new life and energy. It should be an exciting finish.

3:50 p.m.
The Blazers simply cannot hit their shots. They are 0-for-5 to start the second half, and 9-of-32 for the game. Take away Robert Vaden's three early 3-pointers, and the team has gone 6-of-29 (20.7 percent). No wonder UAB trails 39-28.

3:43 p.m.
You can figure out how the two opposing head coaches felt at halftime by when their teams returned to the court. The Southern Miss players were back out five minutes before the start of the second half. The Blazers did not emerge for another three minutes.

3:26 p.m.
UAB head coach Mike Davis just walked by, heading to the locker room, and he had a worried look on his face. Larry Eustachy did as well, but he always looks like that.

3:25 p.m.
Jeremy Wise has the Golden Eagles flying high. The junior guard has already scored 19 points, propelling Southern Miss to a 34-28 halftime lead. Southern Miss could have been up by nine, but R.L. Horton's 3-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out.

3:20 p.m.
So much for thinking that UAB was about to take control of the game. Southern Miss has surged to a 31-27 lead, and the Memphis fans in attendance are starting to cheer for the underdog Golden Eagles. The Blazers had better watch out, or they could end up begin upset victim No. 2 for Southern Miss.

3:15 p.m.
There are no interesting mascot shenanigans to report on in this game. The Southern Miss eagle never arrived (he might be hanging out with Tulane's pelican) and UAB's dragon mascot, Blaze, seems rather subdued. At least Shasta will be back tonight with the Houston Cougars.

3:10 p.m.
One interested observer is Tulsa head coach Doug Wojcik, whose team plays the winner of this game in Friday's semifinals. Wojcik is sitting courtside with his two young sons, who are wearing tie-dyed Tulsa T-shirts.

3:06 p.m.
Though the score is still close (UAB 24-19), it looks like the Blazers are beginning to take control of this game. The uptempo pace is more to their liking, especially since they had yesterday off while Southern Miss had to play a first-round game.

2:52 p.m.
Before the game, members of the media receive a sheet that lists every player on each team, even the walk-ons who are unlikely to play. Southern Miss has 15 players listed. UAB has only nine.

2:48 p.m.
So much for Robert Vaden's shooting woes. The UAB senior, who famously went 0-for-17 from the field against Memphis a few weeks ago, has made three 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the game, helping the Blazers to a 13-11 lead.

2:39 p.m.
We are underway with the second game of the day, between UAB and Southern Miss. As soon as the opening tip took place, Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy stood up and removed his suit coat. Can the tie be far behind?

2:34 p.m.
According to Rice head coach Ben Braun, junior guard Lawrence Ghoram is "doing OK" after taking a hard fall in the game against Tulsa. Braun said the injury to Ghoram's back is "painful," but that there is no apparent nerve damage. He said Ghoram will undergo X-rays to make sure there are no chipped or fractured bones.

2:05 p.m.
The first game of the day is in the books, with Tulsa prevailing 73-51. Next up is a showdown between border rivals UAB and Southern Miss. We'll be back soon with all the action.

1:58 p.m.
From the Silver Lining Department comes this stat. Since falling behind 25-3, Rice actually has outscored Tulsa 46-45. I know it won't make the Owls feel much better about the game, but at least they kept trying and playing hard.

1:46 p.m.
While the game got a little chippy for awhile following the hard foul on Ghoram, things have calmed down and it appears both teams are now content to play out the rest of the contest without any further incidents. Because of the nature of the game, basketball can become emotional, and the Owls were obviously upset at what happened to Ghoram. Credit the head coaches and the refs for keeping things under control.

1:35 p.m.
It's definitely been a tough game for the Owls offense. With eight minutes to play, Rice still does not have a player in double figures in scoring. Cory Pflieger currently leads the team with eight points.

Tulsa, meanwhile, already has three players in double figures, led by forward Ray Reese with 19 points. Add it all up, and the result is a 61-34 lead for the Golden Hurricane.

1:23 p.m.
Rice guard Lawrence Ghoram is back on the bench after taking a hard fall from a flagrant foul. It's obvious that Ghoram is in some pain, but he is sitting up and is alert, so hopefully the injury is not too serious.

1:14 p.m.
A group of children from a local elementary school have taken up the cause for the Owls, who trail 45-23 early in the second half. They have started a chant of "Let's go Rice." Ah, the bright-eyed optimism of youth.

Unfortunatley for the newfound Rice fans, the reality is that Tulsa continues to make more than 50 percent of its shots, while the Owls are shooting at a 33.3 percent pace.

1:03 p.m.
The Tulsa players have a small patch on their uniform that bears the name "Fulton." The patch is in honor of George Fulton Collins III, a former chairman of the Tulsa board of trustees who died last year at the age of 65.

12:46 p.m.
Instead of concentrating solely on Rice's problems, let's also give credit to Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane went a sizzling 16-of-28 from the field, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range, in building a 41-17 halftime lead. Tulsa closed the half by sinking three consecutive 3-pointers. Simply put, Tulsa is a very good team having a very good game.

12:38 p.m.
Give the Owls credit. They continue to scrap and hustle and try hard. But 10 turnovers and 2-of-13 shooting have created a 20-point deficit that will be extremely difficult to overcome.

12:35 p.m.
The Owls finally scored again. Junior guard Cory Pflieger came off a screen and drained a 3-pointer for Rice's first points in nearly 13 minutes. But Tulsa still holds a commanding 25-6 lead.

12:30 p.m.
Rice head coach Ben Braun just called his second timeout. He is trying to come up with something that will work for the Owls, who amazingly have gone more than 12 minutes without scoring.

12:26 p.m.
Of course, given the way Tulsa is playing, the school can have any sort of mascot it wants. The Golden Hurricane is blowing away Rice, 19-3 midway through the first half.

12:21 p.m.
If you followed our blog yesterday, you know that I have a slight obsession with mascots. I loved the look of the UCF knight, admired the enthusiasm and stamina of the Houston cougar Shasta and wondered what happened to the Tulane pelican after halftime (maybe he migrated south once the temperature in Memphis plummeted into the 30s).

Well today, I am perplexed by the Tulsa mascot. I know it has to be difficult to create a mascot that resembles a golden hurricane, but Tulsa's effort looks more like a golden tornado in a Superman outfit. However, I do give the school credit for taking the flag that designates a hurricane warning and using it for the mascot's cape. That's a nice touch.

12:13 p.m.
There is good news today for Rice associate head coach Louis Reynaud. He had to wear a track warm-up outfit during yesterday's first-round victory over Marshall after his suitcase did not arrive in Memphis on the team's flight from Houston. Today, however, Reynaud is decked out in a nice-looking dark suit.

12:05 p.m.
Welcome back for day two of the Conference USA men's basketball tournament. We have another four games today, beginning right now with Tulsa vs. Rice.

10:23 p.m.
And so we close out a full day of basketball, more than 10 hours after we began. It was so much fun, we're going to do it all again on Thursday. This time, we'll add Memphis, Tulsa, UAB and UTEP to the mix. The action begins at noon, with Tulsa vs. Rice. That will be followed by UAB vs. Southern Miss, Memphis vs. Tulane and UTEP vs. Houston.

So please join us again Thursday for another exciting afternoon and evening at the Conference USA men's basketball tournament.

10:21 p.m.
The Cougars' lead ebbed and flowed throughout the second half, but at the end they won by nine points, 85-76, which was only two points less than their halftime advantage.

10:12 p.m.
An alley-oop dunk from Zamal Nixon to Calhoun might have put the finishing touches on the game for Houston. The Cougars lead 81-72, closing in on only a minute to play.

10:02 p.m.
Houston forward Qa'rraan Calhoun just drove the lane for an authority dunk, then followed it up moments later with a power layup, giving the Cougars a 72-64 lead with 5:44 to play. SMU keeps hanging around, but Houston is making the big plays when needed.

9:54 p.m.
Defense has left the building in the second half. Houston and SMU have combined for 50 points through the first 10 minutes of the half, with the Cougars maintaining anywhere from a five to 10-point lead.

9:41 p.m.
Don't look now, but SMU has cut Houston's lead to 50-45, with still more than 15 minutes remaining. If the Mustangs can ever take the lead, Houston might start pressing. The situation has grown tense enough that Shasta has his head back on and has returned to the court.

9:37 p.m.
Spotted in the back tunnels underneath the FedExForum: Shasta the Houston mascot with his head off, munching on an energy bar. Don't tell the kids that he's not a real Cougar.

9:20 p.m.
SMU has had some good moments, but the Cougars have led throughout and head into halftime with a 41-30 lead. The rebounding stats tell the story, as Houston has more offensive rebounds (15) than SMU has total boards (13). That's why Houston has attempted 40 shots to only 24 attempts for the Mustangs.

9:10 p.m.
Shasta, the Houston Cougars mascot, has been putting on a show. He's dancing, flirting with women in the stands, dancing, harrasing security guards, dancing, sweeping the court during timeouts and, of course, dancing. Forget the NCAA Tournament. Shasta is the Big Dance.

9:06 p.m.
Key stat of the game (so far): Houston has outrebounded SMU 23-10 and has 16 second-chance points to only two for the Mustangs. As a result, the Cougars lead 30-21.

9:02 p.m.
If Conference USA had an all-name team, it probably would consist of nothing but SMU players. How about a potential starting five of Mouhammad Faye, Tomasz Kwiatkowski, Bamba Fall, Robert Nyakundi and Papa Dia. The SMU radio play-by-play announcer deserves some sort of special award for making it through the season.

8:53 p.m.
Make that a 16-6 run. The Mustangs are right back in this game at 20-18.

8:48 p.m.
Give SMU credit for hanging tough and not rolling over after falling behind so early. The Mustangs have gone on a 10-6 run and trail 20-12. There's a lot of time left and anything can happen. After all, this is the month of madness.

8:43 p.m.
In terms of seeding and records, this is the biggest mismatch of the day. Houston is the fifth seed and has a 19-10 overall record, while SMU is the 12th seed with a 9-20 record. So it probably shouldn't be any surprise that the Cougars have jumped out to a 14-2 lead less than five minutes into the game.

8:38 p.m.
Houston head coach Tom Penders has that Gene Wilder look going on.

8:32 p.m.
These two teams should know what to expect from each other, since they just played four days ago in Houston, with the Cougars prevailing 89-77. That was the seventh victory in the past 10 games for the Cougars, a stretch that includes a 69-56 victory at SMU on Feb. 11

8:15 p.m.
Coolest band song so far goes to SMU, which is entertaining the crowd during pregame by playing the James Bond theme. Definitely better than Marshall's "Mr. Roboto" effort earlier today.

We're about 15 minutes from tipoff.

7:46 p.m.
ECU's last chance at a comeback just ended when Sam Hinnant's 3-point attempt rimmed in and out. Had the shot fallen, Tulane's lead would have been down to five points with still about 35 seconds left. Instead, Tulane got the rebound, was fouled and made the free throws for a 69-59 victory.

Next up is the final game of the day, a Texas shootout between Houston and SMU. Back soon.

7:37 p.m.
Maybe the Tulane pelican did wilt. I haven't seen the mascot since halftime.

7:35 p.m.
Hate to keep harping on the 3-point stats, but it is amazing to realize that Tulane has made as many 3-pointers (eight) in 12 shots that Marshall and UCF combined to make in 52 shots. That stat also goes a long way in explaing why those two teams lost, and why it looks like Tulane is going to win.

7:32 p.m.
ECU is keeping it close, but evertime it appears the Pirates might be on the verge of making a run, Tulane hits a big shot. The Green Wave is now 8-of-12 from 3-point range, and 23-of-44 from the field. And the score is 61-48 with less than four minutes remaining.

7:23 p.m.
We have the Green Wave on the court, and now we have the first fan wave of the day in the stands.

7:16 p.m.
The name of the tournament belongs to Tulane forward Asim (pronouced Ah-seem) McQueen. Everytime the PA announcer says his name, I think he's saying "Steve McQueen." Of course, old Steve couldn't rebound like this guy. Asim currently has a game-high seven boards, and the Green Wave has a 51-37 lead.

7:10 p.m.
ECU is not going to win this game if Tulane keeps shooting like this. The Green Wave has made 50 percent of its shots (18-of-36) and leads 46-32 with 14 minutes to play.

Tulane has made 6-of-9 of its 3-point attempts. By comparison, Marshall and UCF were a combined 8-of-52 from 3-point range in their losses this afternoon.

6:52 p.m.
ECU sophomore guard Jontae Sherrod, who played only five minutes in the first half and did not score, is probably wondering who all the people are holding up signs in his honor. Actually, they are not cheering for Sherrod. They are students at Memphis' Sherwood Elementary School. But if you don't look too closely, it's easy to think that the signs read "Sherrod Rocks" and "Sherrod is the best." I'm sure he appreciates it.

6:45 p.m.
Tulane takes a 34-25 lead into halftime. It's been a streaky first half, so I certainly wouldn't count the Pirates out just yet. But the Green Wave is looking a lot like the team that ended the regular season by winning three of four.

6:40 p.m.
The Green Wave has ripped off 16 consecutive points. So all of a sudden Tulane leads 32-23, and Abrams is bouncing 3-pointers over the backboard for ECU. It looks like Tulane will be riding a wave of momentum into halftime.

6:34 p.m.
Just overheard from the crowd, regarding the Tulane mascot: "What's with the bird?"

6:30 p.m.
The T-shirt of the day goes to a member of Brock Young's family, who is proudly proclaiming that the ECU guard will "Brock Your World."

So far, that honor actually goes to Abrams, who already has nine points, only one below his per-game average. Abrams is one of the main reasons that the Pirates have jumped out to a 23-16 lead.

6:22 p.m.
Tulane's Daniel Puckett just matched Abrams' dunk with a fastbreak jam of his own, making it 12-11 Tulane. Then Abrams came right back with dunk No. 2. We're only nine minutes into the game, but it's definitely off to an entertaining start.

6:14 p.m.
Back to basketball. ECU guard Jamar Abrams just threw down an alley-oop jam to cut Tulane's early lead to 8-6. This game could end up being as close as the 8 vs. 9 seeding would indicate.

6:11 p.m.
All right, let's get the mascot talk out of the way early. I love New Orleans. I love Tulane. I even love tiny Fogelman Arena. But I'm not too sure about the pelican mascot. It's almost a good-looking mascot, but there's something about all those feathers. It sort of looks like it's molting. Of course, spending summers in steamy New Orleans will do that to you.

6:05 p.m.
It's time for game No. 3, an ocean-themed matchup between the Tulane Green Wave and the East Carolina Pirates. These teams played each other twice this season, with ECU winning at home 69-66 and Tulane doing the same in New Orleans 73-64. The winner of tonight's rubber match gets a shot at snapping Memphis' 22-game winning streak tomorrow evening.

4:30 p.m.
Game two is in the books, a 77-53 victory by Southern Miss. We'll take a brief break and be back around 6 p.m. Central Time for the third game of the day between eighth-seeded Tulane and No. 9 seed East Carolina.

4:26 p.m.
A bit of good sportsmanship from Southern Miss senior guard Courtney Beasley. After a missed UCF shot, Beasley received the ball near midcourt and had an open run at the basket. But with barely a minute to play and the Golden Eagles already up by nearly 30 points, Beasley held off from driving for a Showtime dunk and instead pulled the ball back and dribbled away several seconds. This one is over, and there's no need to rub it in. Classy move by Beasley.

4:18 p.m.
It's one of those days for Southern Miss when everything seems to go right. Sophomore guard R.L. Burnside just took a desperation 3-pointer as the shot clock was about to expire, and made it. With 3:38 left, the Golden Eagles hold a commanding 71-46 lead.

4:13 p.m.
UCF has scored less than 60 points in conference play only once this season, and has yet to score less than 52 (against UAB on Jan. 13). With only six minutes remaining, the Knights have just 41 points in this game.

4:06 p.m.
It's deja vu from 3-point range. Marshall made only 3-of-24 treys in the first game of the day. With less than eight minutes to play, UCF is 3-of-22.

4:00 p.m.
In a move of either desperation or anger (or perhaps both), Speraw has put in a lineup that includes two players who did not play in the first half, including his son Drew Speraw. The five players currently on the floor have scored a combined total of three points in this game.

3:50 p.m.
Here is a sure sign of how this game is going. UCF head coach Kirk Speraw is standing with his arms tightly crossed and a look of disgust on his face. Meanwhle, Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy actually is sitting back with his legs crossed and his hands clasped comfortably across his right knee.

That picture tells as much as the scoreboard, which now reads Southern Miss 54, UCF 28.

3:46 p.m.
If Southern Miss can hold on and win this game, it would be a huge victory for a team that has won only once since Jan. 27. The early moments of the second half give no indication that the Knights have a comeback in them. Southern Miss has scored the first seven points and now lead 49-25.

3:30 p.m.
Houston and Tulane might need to be concerned, because the tournament's lower seeds are not havng much luck today. The 11th-seeded Golden Eagles lead sixth-seeded UCF 42-25 at halftime. This comes on the heels of No. 10 seed Rice defeating seventh-seeded Marshall in the day's first game.

The biggest upset so far, however, is that USM head coach Larry Eustachy still had his tie on as he left the court for halftime, though it defenitely was askew.

3:23 p.m.
Southern Miss senior guard Craig Craft, who averaged 10.8 points per game this season, has already scored 14 points against UCF. He currently is the leading scorer in the game.

3:11 p.m.
This game is starting to look a lot like the first one. The higher seed (Southern Miss) has built a double-digit lead while the lower seed (UCF) can make shots close to the basket but can't hit from long range. The Knights have now missed all eight of their 3-point attempts, but are 7-of-11 from inside the arc.

3:04 p.m.
UCF must have been watching Marshall's 3-for-24 performance from 3-point range during the first game of the day. The Knights have missed their first six 3-point attempts in falling behind 22-10 midway through the first half.

2:55 p.m.
The UCF knight mascot is wearing a pair of those tennis shoes that have wheels in the heels. So during timeouts, he is able to glide across the court. Between that and the stylish black cape he is wearing, the knight takes the early lead for the tournament's best mascot.

2:48 p.m.
UCF senior guard Jermaine Taylor just showed why he is the C-USA Player of the Year. Taylor took a pass along the baseline and immediately elevated well above the rim and threw down a one-handed slam dunk that had the crowd roaring. Send it in, Jermaine.

2:41 p.m.
We're back with game No. 2. It took only 30 seconds for Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy to loosen his tie. And his team was leading 2-0 at the time. At this rate, Eustachy will have his shirt off before halftime.

2:13 p.m.
Next up it's UCF vs. Southern Miss. We'll be back shortly with all the action.

2:09 p.m.
Rice holds on to win 60-59. Ironically, Marshall sank a 3-pointer in the final second, only the third successful trey of the game for the Herd. Marshall finished with a 12.5 percent shooting average from 3-point range (3-of-24), but was a sizzling 56.7 percent on two-pointers (17-of-30).

1:56 p.m.
Just when it looked like the game was over, Marshall made a basket, forced a turnover and scored again. The Herd still trails 53-48 with only 1:06 to play, but a comeback is now possible.

1:50 p.m.
Despite the Herd's shooting woes, the game is still up for grabs. Rice leads 46-42 with 3:43 to play. It's officially crunch time.

1:44 p.m.
Marshall is now 2-of-20 from 3-point range. The Herd has attempted an average of 19 treys per game this season, so shooting 20 is not that unusual (though there are still five mintues remaining to add to that total). The problem is making only two. Hard to win with a 10-percent, 3-point shooting average.

1:35 p.m.
Stat of the game (so far): Marshall is 2-of-17 from 3-point range. That, as much as anything, is why the Herd trails 43-34 with 7:54 to play.

1:29 p.m.
Rice continues to boil. The Owls just equaled their first-half point total ... at the 10:30 mark of the second half. And now they just went past it. Rice has scored 23 points in less than 10 minutes of the second half. This one is in danger of getting out of hand for Marshall.

1:26 p.m.
The second half hasn't brought much improvement for Marshall's offense. The Herd has scored just six points in the first eight minutes of the second half and is averaging only a point per minute for the game. Marshall has not scored less than 50 points all season, let alone 40.

1:20 p.m.
It has taken barely five mintues for the Owls to score more than half the points they had in the entire first half. After scoring 20 points in the first half, Rice has 11 in the first 5:15 of the second and has taken a 31-26 lead.

1:12 p.m.
It's hard to miss a shot when your hands are inside the basket. That's what Rice forward Aleks Perka just did with a forceful slam dunk to open the second half and tie the game.

1:01 p.m.
The Marshall band is performing a Styx medley at halftime. Ah, there's nothing like hearing Mr. Roboto played on a tuba.

12:57 p.m.
OK, it might not have been the best-shooting half of basketball, but it is a competitive game, with Marshall up by only two points at halftime. Both teams have seen their top scorer this season struggle. Markel Humphrey of Marshall is 2-of-7 from the field with four points, while Rice's Rodney Foster is scoreless after missing all six of his attempts. The game probably will be decided by whichever one of those players gets hot in the second half.

12:48 p.m.
Marshall and Rice played each other just last week, and both teams made more than 50 percent of their shots in that game (Marshall 56 percent and Rice 53.1 percent). The two coaching staffs must have stressed defense leading into this contest, because with less than two minutes left in the first half both teams are shooting in the low 30s.

12:37 p.m.
The rim has not been kind for either team so far. Marshall and Rice have combined to go 12-of-39 from the field and 2-of-11 from 3-point range. Part of it has been because of tight defense, but there also have been several shots that looked good but did not go in.

12:28 p.m.
Marshall's bison mascot Marco is carrying a gold-handled cane. Since there is no noticable sign of a limp, I can only conclude that the cane is considered fashionable among bison circles.

12:14 p.m.
Nice baseline spin move by Rice junior guard Lawrence Ghoram. That was in response to two quick baskets by Marshall's Markel Humphrey. After a slow start, the pace is picking up considerably. It's 6-6 early in a game between what appears to be two evenly matched teams.

12:03 p.m.
The day can only get better for Rice associate head coach Louis Reynaud. His suitcase did not arrive in Memphis on the team's flight from Houston, so he is wearing the same track warm-up outfit that he wore on the plane yesterday. When he took his place on the bench a few moments ago along with the rest of Rice's suit-wearing coaches, a member of the team's traveling squad jokingly asked to see Reynaud's credential.

11:45 a.m.
A few Marshall fans have shown up wearing what appear to be leftover Mardi Gras outfits. Green boas, hats with fuzzy green trim. And they have a sign that reads, "Fried Rice, oh so nice."

So far, the Rice fans seem fairly subdued. But I'm sure that will change soon enough. Tipoff is in 15 minutes.

11:00 a.m.
Good morning, and welcome to the opening round of the Conference USA men's basketball tournament. We are an hour away from tipoff of the day's first game between Marshall and Rice. The temperature in Memphis has dropped about 30 degrees since yesterday (when the high was in the 80s), but that's OK, because things are about to heat up inside the FedEx Forum.

We have four games and a half-day's worth of basketball in front of us. So settle in and please check back often for updates on what's taking place here in Memphis. Enjoy.

5:52 p.m.
That's going to do it for today. Now it's time for the three Bs of Memphis: barbeque, blues and Beale Street. We'll return tomorrow for that fourth B: basketball.

The action starts at noon Central Time with Marshall vs. Rice. That will be followed by UCF vs. Southern Miss, Tulane vs. East Carolina and Houston vs. SMU. It will be nearly 12 hours of hoops heaven, and we'll be sitting courtside providing observations, opinions and hopefully a little humor. In addition, we'll be answering any questions you might have about the tournament.

So rest up, and please come back tomorrow for a long, wonderful day of C-USA basketball.

5:30 p.m.
The Houston Cougars are taking part in the final practice session of the day. But head coach Tom Penders hasn't seen much of it. Shortly after practice began, Penders stepped to the side of the court to talk with a half-dozen members of the media. Nearly 30 minutes later, he is still talking.

Among the topics of conversation were conference tournament memories (his favorite is an Atlantic 10 championship game between his Rhode Island team and Temple), the Coach of the Year award ("It's the least important award there is.") and his desire to see the C-USA tournament rotate between Memphis and other sites.

5:02 p.m.
Speraw lightened up things for the final few minutes of UCF's practice by having his players try shots from half-court. Senior guard Jermaine Taylor swished his attempt (no surprise), as did freshman guard Kory Pugh (big surprise).

4:39 p.m.
UCF head coach Kirk Speraw is running the most intense practice of the afternoon. The team is working on set plays, and Speraw has stopped practice several times to explain exactly what he expects the players to do. He keeps using the word "please," but it comes across as more of a demand than a polite request.

4:23 p.m.
UCF is now on the court, and the crew at the FedEx Forum has chosen this time to seemingly test all the lights in the building. The place is lit up like Times Square. Maybe it is a sign that the future is bright for the Knights.

4:03 p.m.
Markel Humphry ended Marshall's practice by attempting to recrete the 74-foot shot that he made against SMU on Jan. 21. With his teammates chanting, "Re-mix, re-mix," Humphrey's shot was on target, but came up just short. Marshall sports information official Randy Burnside said Humphrey is now about "0-for-20" in attempts to duplicate his miracle toss.

3:44 p.m.
A shoulder injury is keeping Marshall freshman Dago Pena out of the C-USA tournament, but it is not keeping him off the practice court, even if he can't do much. Pena has spent most of the practice with his left arm in a sling, and with his right arm wrapped around a basketball. While his teammates are stretching near the end of practice, Pena is busy taking one-handed shots. And his form isn't bad. He just drained two straight three-pointers.

3:05 p.m.
Marshall just took to the court for its workout, and it is obvious that the Thundering Herd will be playing tomorrow. Unlike UTEP, Marshall immediately is all business as the players go through the early stages of practice. That makes sense, since the Herd's opening-round game against Rice is only 21 hours away. There's no time for light-hearted three-point contests here.

2:44 p.m.
Miners, who have a first-round bye, appear relaxed and loose. So far, their workout has consisted of little more than some three-point shooting contests involving players and coaches. Of course, considering that UTEP was 11th in the league in three-point field goal percentage this season, this might be the best approach to take.

2:18 p.m.
March is here, but the ture madness at the FedEx Forum is still a day away. Today is devoted to practice sessions in preparation for the Conference USA men's basketball tournament, which begins on Wednesday. We'll be checking in periodically this afternoon at how the practices are progressing, with the UTEP Miners about to hit the floor.