The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
C-USA Update: Blazers Still Fighting For Top Spot
2/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Each week leading into the 2015 Conference USA Championship in Birmingham, Steve Irvine of UABSports.com will provide a preview of what is going on in Conference USA. Tickets for the tournament can be purchased at UABSports.com.
STANDINGS
1. LA Tech (12-3, 21-7)
2. UTEP (11-3, 19-7)
3. UAB (11-4, 15-13)
4. ODU (9-5, 20-6)
WKU (9-5, 16-10)
6. MT (8-7, 15-13)
7. UTSA (7-7, 13-12)
8. North Texas (7-7, 13-13)
Rice (7-7, 10-16)
10. FIU (6-8, 13-14)
11. Charlotte (5-9, 12-15)
Marshall (5-9, 9-18)
13. Southern Miss (2-13, 7-19)
14. FAU (1-13, 8-17)
THIS WEEK'S GAMES
Thursday
Charlotte at North Texas, 7 p.m.
FIU at Marshall, 7 p.m.
FAU at WKU, 7 p.m.
ODU at Rice, 7 p.m.
UTEP at LA Tech, 7 p.m.
UTSA at Southern Miss, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Middle Tennessee at UAB, 2 p.m.
FAU at Marshall, 6 p.m.
ODU at North Texas, 6 p.m.
UTSA at LA Tech, 6 p.m.
Charlotte at Rice, 7 p.m.
FIU at WKU, 7 p.m.
UTEP at Southern Miss, 7 p.m.
GAME OF THE WEEK
UTEP at Louisiana Tech: First place is at stake with the end of the regular season quickly on its way. The Bulldogs had two tough games last week but are a different team at home with a 6-0 home mark in C-USA play. However, no one in C-USA has played better over the past four weeks than the Miners, who have a conference best seven-game win streak. The Miners are also good on the road with a 5-2 road mark in C-USA play.
C-USA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Trey Freeman, Old Dominion: The 6-foot-2 junior earned C-USA Player of the Week honors after scoring 27 points in the wire-to-wire win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday. He also had a team-high 18 points in Thursday's win over Southern Miss while adding 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block in the two games.
Giddy Potts, Middle Tennessee: The Athens, Alabama native had his best week as a collegiate player to earn C-USA Freshman of the Week honors. Included in his stellar week was 12 3-pointers in two games. He had a career-high 28 points with eight 3-pointers in a dominating win over Marshall. He followed that with 22 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block in a win over rival Western Kentucky.
UAB SPOTLIGHT
Lewis Sullivan rejoined the regular rotation the past two weeks because of the absence and uncertainty of senior C.J. Washington. Washington missed all or part of the past four games because of personal issues and injury but Sullivan made sure the Blazers were covered. Sullivan, a 6-foot-7 freshman, played solid in all four games, including contributing six points, five rebounds and two assists to UAB's win over Marshall on Saturday.
C-USA SPOTLIGHT
Point guards Speedy Smith of Louisiana Tech and C.J. Cooper of UTEP are overshadowed by teammates at times. However, both teams are at the top of the conference standings because of steady play at point guard. Smith is among the nation's elite point guards, averaging 7.6 assists and 2.3 turnovers per game. He is one of the conference's top defenders. Cooper has 80 assists and 31 turnovers in 26 games this season.
C-USA CHAMPIONSHIPS TICKET INFORMATION
Fans can purchase tickets to this year's Conference USA Championship, which will be hosted by UAB and the City of Birmingham, by calling 205-975-8221 or by visiting UABSports.com.
