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2009 Conference USA Tournament Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd on March 10, 2009

cusa-31009 The 2009 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off Wednesday, March 11th and the champion will be crowned on Saturday, March 14th. The tournament will be played at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. You can catch the championship game on CBS. The No. 4 ranked Memphis Tigers, which ran the table in league play yet again, are the undisputed team to beat. Jimmy Boyd takes a more in depth look at the Memphis Tigers and also identifies the team with the best shot at knocking them off in this predictions article. Bet the 2009 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bookmaker.

The Favorite: Memphis Tigers Of all the conference tournaments this season, perhaps there is no team more heavily favored to win than Memphis, who finished a perfect 16-0 in conference action. Much like Kansas, this was supposed to be a bit of a down year for the Tigers, who lost most of their fire power from last year’s national runner-up team. But the Tigers continued to gain confidence as the season went on and now they believe they can play with anyone. Memphis has not lost since December 20th. That is a huge feat when you consider that this team gets everyone’s absolute best in conference play each night. Memphis waltzed through the 2008 tournament and it should again as long as it does not lose its focus. What’s laughable about this tournament to me is that the stage is Memphis’ FedEx Forum. As if the Tigers needed any other advantages. Memphis is all about pressure defense, ranking No. 1 in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 36.8 percent shooting, and No. 8 in the land in scoring defense, allowing just 58.2 points per game. Offensively, the Tigers are led by 6′6” guard Tyreke Evans and his 16.9 points per game. This is a very balanced team with three other players averaging in double figures.

Another Team That Can Win: Tulsa Golden Hurricane Tulsa met the Tigers in the conference tournament championship game a season ago, advancing as a No. 7 seed. Now the Golden Hurricane is a No. 2 seed and will be hungry for another shot at the Tigers. Tulsa gave Memphis its toughest conference game of the season, playing the Tigers to a 1-point contest and holding them to just 55 points. This Tulsa team will likely have to get past a solid UAB team in the semis, which the Hurricane beat by 1 point during the regular season. Like Memphis, Tulsa is very good defensively, limiting opponents to just 61.1 points per game and a 38.9 field goal percentage. It will take another superb defensive effort to have a chance at pulling off the upset over Memphis if the Hurricane gets another shot. Tulsa is led by 7′0” Center Jerome Jordan and his 14.7 points per game.

2008 Conference Tournament Recap: While Tulsa battled through a pair of overtime games in the quarterfinals and semis, Memphis breezed to the championship game and was waiting to crush the tired Golden Hurricane. And crush them they did with a 26-point win. As you know, Memphis advanced to the NCAA Tournament Championship Game and lost to the Kansas Jayhawks in overtime. Check the NCAA basketball lines each day at Locksmith Sports to see which sportsbooks are offering the best college basketball betting odds. And make sure you play Jimmy Boyd’s college basketball picks for the most winners this March.

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