Cougars and Miners duke it out for C-USA crown

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two programs trying to claim their first Conference USA Tournament titles come together at the BOK Center in Tulsa, as the top-seeded and 25th-ranked Texas-El Paso Miners clash with the seventh- seeded Houston Cougars.

One of the hottest teams in the nation, UTEP won the C-USA regular-season title with a 15-1 finish and is now gunning for a sweep of the hardware. The Miners kicked off their tourney run with an easy 76-54 win over ninth-seeded UCF in the quarterfinals before disposing of fifth-seeded Tulsa, 75-61, in the semifinal-round yesterday. UTEP now enters its first C-USA Tournament finals with a 16-game win streak, which is tied for the second-longest run in school history.

Houston went just 7-9 during the regular season, but turned it on in the postseason with three straight wins to reach the finals for the first time since 2007. After taking care of 10th-seeded East Carolina (93-80) in the first round, the Cougars ousted four-time defending champion and second-seeded Memphis, 66-65, in a quarterfinal thriller. Houston continued its quest for its first-ever C-USA Tournament championship with a 74-66 triumph of sixth- seeded Southern Miss in the semifinals last night.

With regard to the all-time series, UTEP holds a 10-7 edge over Houston, although the Cougars did hand the Miners' their most recent and only league loss with a 75-65 decision back on January 13th. The Miners, however, did get some payback a few weeks later with a 65-58 win.

The Cougars outscored Southern Miss, 22-10, at the foul line on their way to a 74-66 win last night. Houston did a nice job protecting the ball with only six turnovers, and it also held the Golden Eagles to 38.5 percent shooting from the floor. Aubrey Coleman continued his outstanding play with 27 points in the win, while Kelvin Lewis chipped in with 12 points. The nation's leading scorer, Coleman is averaging 25.6 ppg in this tourney and 26.0 ppg for the season. He also leads the team in seals (87), to go with 7.3 rpg. Lewis, who has scored in double figures in all three postseason games, forms a solid one- two punch with 14.9 ppg.

The Miners connected on 51.9 percent of their attempts from the field and 16- of-23 at the charity stripe, as they topped Tulsa yesterday. UTEP also forced 18 turnovers, generating 20 points off those giveaways. Randy Culpepper led the way with a 21-point effort, while Arnett Moultrie tacked on 18 points. The C-USA Player of the Year, Culpepper paces the Miners in scoring (17.9 ppg) as well as steals (55) for the season. Derrick Caracter, who had 10 points and six boards yesterday, adds 13.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg to the lineup. Jeremy Williams and Moultrie chip in with 10.3 and 10.0 ppg, respectively, and they also combine for 11.5 rpg.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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