The quarterfinal round of the 2012 Conference USA Tournament concluded on Thursday evening with two games finishing up in overtime, including one of the most exciting conference tournament games in recent memory.
The Marshall Thundering Herd made their way to the semifinal round with their triple-overtime victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 105-100. Tulsa held a slight 32-30 lead at halftime early on, but Marshall stormed back to tie the game and send it into overtime. Then the two teams began racking up buckets until Marshall finally pulled away late to seal the victory. With the win, Marshall advances to the semifinal round to take on the No. 2 seed Southern Miss. Southern Miss also advanced with an overtime victory, but unlike Marshall the Golden Eagles needed just one overtime period to get past East Carolina 81-78. One does have to wonder though if fatigue will play a factor for Marshall heading into Friday afternoon.
The second semifinal matchup will pit the likes of Central Florida against No. 1 seed Memphis on Friday night. Memphis made it to the semifinal round taking out UTEP in dominant fashion 65-47 leading the game throughout. They'll take on UCF who got to the semifinal's by taking down UAB rather handily, leading 36-29 at halftime and just coasting to the 64-54 victory.
Semifinal Round (CBS Sports Network)
No. 6 Marshall vs. No. 2 Southern Miss - 4 p.m. ET
No. 4 UCF vs. No. 1 Memphis - 6 p.m. ET
You can find a full tournament bracket here. For more news, analysis, and discussion on the college hoops as March Madness warms up, check out SB Nation's NCAA basketball hub.