Five things to know as UNC Charlotte opens the Conference USA tournament

March is here and the madness has already begun for the Charlotte 49ers, who enter their final Conference USA tournament this week as the No. 5 seed.

Coming off of a double-overtime loss on senior day, what has been a streaky season for Ron Sanchez’s group now comes down to single-elimination basketball, starting at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Frisco, Texas. The 49ers will face fourth-seeded Middle Tennessee. The 49ers finished the regular season on a two-game losing skid with 18 total wins and a sub-.500 record in C-USA play.

Here are five things to know about the 49ers ahead of the C-USA tournament.

NCAA tournament hopes

Charlotte’s only hope at an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament requires three victories in as many days, starting with the Blue Raiders at the Ford Center. Charlotte and Middle Tennessee split the season series with the 49ers taking a 15-point home victory and a four-point road loss. Now, Charlotte will play for a spot in the tournament semifinals.

Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup, which will be streamed on ESPN+, will mark Charlotte’s first appearance in the final eight of the C-USA tournament since the 2015-16 season, which was the last time the 49ers won a tournament game.

Sanchez played just seven different players in Saturday’s double OT loss, with Brice Williams and Montre Gipson leading the way with over 45 minutes of action each. The fifth-year head coach declined to comment on the C-USA tournament following the regular- season finale.

Crunch time

When you think of tournament basketball, close games and game-winning shots are at the forefront.

For Charlotte, it has been a tale of two halves when it comes to late-game success. The 49ers started the season with excellent crunch-time statistics, winning their first four games decided by one possession or less and jumping out to an 11-3 record. But since Jan. 5, when Charlotte dropped 62-60 at Florida International, the 49ers have lost all five of their one-possession games, including Saturday’s 93-91 double-overtime loss against Alabama-Birmingham.

Sanchez’s team plays with the third-slowest pace in college basketball, with an average of just 62.9 possessions per game. In turn, the 49ers generally dominate the game’s pace and limit opponents to 61 points per game, the second-best in C-USA and 14th-best in the nation. The low-possession, low-scoring games are fueling the tight contests.

But who is stepping up in crunch time for the 49ers?

X-factor

While Aly Khalifa may be the most important piece of the roster, Brice Williams is the X-factor.

The 49ers have the second-best three-point percentage in C-USA at 37.5%, behind only Florida Atlantic at 37.8%. Williams leads the team in both three-point makes and attempts, shooting 41% on the season.

Williams, who scored a career-best 32 points in Saturday’s regular-season finale against Alabama-Birmingham, is the clear difference-maker for the 49ers. He has scored 20-plus in three consecutive games and will need to continue the hot streak to keep Charlotte afloat in Frisco.

When Charlotte needs a bucket, expect the ball to find Williams’ hands down the stretch.

“Brice is a guy who makes shots, so we put the ball in his hands, and we’ll live with the outcome,” Sanchez said.

Spark plugs

Charlotte has faced plenty of adversity this season, whether it be road woes, injuries to ACC and Big Ten transfers, or the challenges of so many new faces in the locker room. The 49ers have just two returning players that played heavy minutes last season, Khalifa and Jackson Threadgill.

So, who are the spark plugs? Who can keep the morale high when adversity strikes?

“It’s got to be me,” Sanchez said. “I’m the one that has to point out the things that are going well, and I’m the one that has to grab a guy who is struggling and wrap my arms around him when things aren’t going well.

“As a player, a guy like Isaiah Folkes can really energize the group,” Sanchez continued. “I think Aly Khalifa can wrap his big arms around a guy and make him feel better. But I think it’s my responsibility.”

Charlotte has had six different leading scorers this season, just two of whom played in green and gold a season ago. There have been big-time performances by multiple ancillary pieces on the roster, like when Lu’Cye Patterson took over against North Texas to score the 49ers’ biggest conference victory of the season, and when Igor Milicic Jr. scored 20 points on 7-8 shooting, including a go-ahead three-pointer in an overtime victory against Detroit Mercy.

But Charlotte has found its most success when Khalifa is scoring the ball and drawing the opposing center out of the line, opening cutting lanes for Williams, Threadgill and others. If the 49ers are to extend their stay in Texas, Sanchez needs complete buy-in from all five individuals on the floor.

Last game(s) in C-USA

Regardless of how far the 49ers advance, these are Charlotte’s final game(s) in C-USA before joining the American Athletic Conference for the 2023-24 season and beyond.

While the future for Sanchez and his staff has been a topic of conversation throughout the season’s struggles, Charlotte has showed that it can play with the conference’s best. It is just about consistency and finding ways to avoid the scoring spells that have plagued the 49ers throughout Sanchez’s tenure.

“All I want to see is the players on our team continuing to grow, even at this point in the season,” Sanchez said. “This team has battled all season long. If we play with that level of intensity when we head to Texas (for the tournament), I’m sure we’ll be happy.”