Roundball Roundup: Four Conference USA schools move to 2-0

UAB moves to 2-0 on the conference year, while Florida Atlantic falls to 0-2 after being unable to over take the Blazers after trailing by just two at halftime. The Blazers shot 44.4% from both the floor and from beyond the arc, while the Owls shot an abysmal 37.9% from the floor and less than 23% from downtown. The scoring was pretty spread out, across both teams, as there were three players with 13 points. FAU had four double figure scorers while UAB had three.

UTSA got double digit points from four of their starting five, while

netted 19 for Southern Miss. For a game that was decided by 20 points, some areas of the game were surprisingly close. The ‘Runners out-rebounded the Eagles by three and turned the ball over just one less time.

The Tops’ next opponent did very much to Marshall what WKU did, and that was win. By a lot. And, while the second half disparity wasn’t quite the same, the Monarchs rolled to their 13th win and are off to their best start in their Division 1 history. Despite the huge win, the Monarchs turned the ball over 17 times, and both them and the Tops have a lot to do before the showdown on Saturday.

The MTBR’s have their first conference win of the season, and have pulled their record above .500 with a win over old Sun Belt friends FIU. Its a good thing the Raiders lead, by any margin, at halftime, because the second half saw both teams score 30 points. FIU only had five scorers, but 31 points came from Dennis Mavin. Yes, 31 points. Both teams sit at 8-7 heading into the weekend.

It was tied at halftime, and then the Miners scored 12 points in the second half. 12. On 5-of-23 shooting in the back 20 minutes. Ouch. The Techsters capitalized on the poor performance from UTEP and, with 22 points from

Raheem Appleby

, La Tech is 11-4 and 2-0 in Conference USA play. The Miners were the first team in the league to reach 2-0 coming into the evening.

Four of WKU’s starting five combined for 69 points, only getting two from their big men and three from the bench, but 21 from

and 18 from

helped lead the Tops past Charlotte for their second C-USA win in a row. The 49ers got huge production off the bench, as

netted 26 points, but 3-of-16 shooting from beyond the arc and 15 turnovers (to WKU’s four) couldn’t keep the Tops away, and after blowing an early 14 point lead in the first half, the Hilltoppers clinched the victory.