Conference USA's unpredictable regular season carried over to the post-season on Thursday, as East Carolina bested #1-seed UAB in overtime, 75-70
The Blazers' Jamarr Sanders hit a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 57, and ECU's Robert Sampson missed a three-pointer in the closing seconds to force overtime.
In the extra period, the Pirates got to the line early and often, with 16 of their 18 OT points coming from the charity stripe.
Jontae Sherrod and Darrius Morrow paced the Pirates, who will face the winner of the Memphis-Southern Miss game on Friday, with 22 points apiece.
The Blazers got a career-high 39 points from point guard Aaron Johnson in a losing effort. UAB will be a bubble team for an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament, but a first-round conference tourney loss will more than likely keep them out of the big dance. They do automatically qualify for the NIT as the conference's regular-season champion.