Look at the numbers, and there are few that suggest Southern Mississippi is an NCAA Tournament team. Look at the team, though, and then what do you see?
Kelly McCarty hitting turnaround jumpers in the lane. Jimmy Floyd nailing three-pointers with that quick-trigger release. Decent size, great speed, and the precise execution directed by freshman point guard Mel Cauthen.
Memphis saw all of this, too much of it, in Thursday's 85-57 quarterfinal loss in the Conference USA tournament.
''We've got a team that is pretty focused right now,'' said USM coach James Green. ''Our guys can clearly see what it takes for this team to win.''
The Golden Eagles (22-9) got 18 points and 10 rebounds from McCarty and 19 points from Floyd, who made four threes. They were pleasantly surprised by center Pedro Phillips' season-high 19 points.
Memphis (16-11) was humiliated, entering as the third seed but departing as the victim in the tournament's most one-sided game. ''The game was about effort,'' Green said, trying to praise his team but actually making a more compelling statement about the Tigers.
All-conference forward Omar Sneed was gasping for breath early in the game and finished with 15 points, seven below his average. Guard Detric Golden needed 6-of-20 shooting to score 18.
''If you run the floor three times,'' McCarty said, ''you've got to think you're getting tired, but the guy guarding you is getting tired, also.''
Memphis was blown into NIT certainty with one more blast from the whistle of official Tom O'Neill, who called a foul on Sneed for bumping McCarty as they chased a rebound.
Only 1:09 of the second half had passed when that call was made, and Sneed went to the bench with the Tigers trailing by 18. He returned nearly six minutes later with the margin still the same, but time starting to run short for a comeback.
The Golden Eagles have become the most intriguing of Conference USA's remaining teams. They started the season 13-2, storming through a non-conference schedule that included few demanding opponents and opening the league with wins over Houston and South Florida.
The only two high-major opponents they played were Auburn and Iowa, and both resulted in double-digit losses. They did beat Illinois-Chicago, a team many are pushing to be invited, but there haven't been a lot of opportunities since to play outstanding competition.
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (22-9) - Agee 0-1 0-1 0, McCarty 7-11 2-2 18, Phillips 5-10 8-8 19, Cauthen 4-8 0-0 8, Floyd 7-14 1-1 19, Jones 4-4 1-2 9, Stapleton 1-4 1-2 3, Winn 3-3 0-0 7, Lewis 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 32-57 13-16 85.
MEMPHIS (16-11) - Bradford 5-9 3-3 13, Sneed 6-9 3-6 15, Ousley 1-4 0-0 2, Golden 6-20 2-3 18, Allen 0-2 0-0 0, Moody 2-9 1-1 5, Harris 1-2 0-0 2, Hopson 1-5 0-0 2, Chatman 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 22-63 9-13 57.
Halftime-Southern Mississippi 40, Memphis 24. 3-point goals-Southern Mississippi 8-14 (McCarty 2-2, Phillips 1-1, Floyd 4-9, Winn 1-1, Lewis 0-1), Memphis 4-22 (Sneed 0-1, Golden 4-10, Allen 0-2, Moody 0-5, Hopson 0-3, Chatman 0-1). Rebounds-Southern Mississippi 41 (McCarty 10), Memphis 27 (Ousley 5). Assists-Southern Mississippi 19 (Agee 9), Memphis 5 (Bradford 2). A-9,231.
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