Top-seeded East Carolina faces a tough road to the title of the Conference USA baseball touranment after losing in second round, 5-2 to host Southern Miss on Thursday night.

East Carolina, which captured its first Conference USA regular-season baseball title since 2004 with a 17-7 league record, had seven players selected for the league's all-conference team, including five on the first team.

ECU Coach Billy Godwin received the Keith LeClair coach of the year award, named for the former Pirates coach who battled Lou Gehrig's disease before his death in 2006. ECU right-hander Chris Heston, a junior transfer, was named league newcomer of the year.

East Carolina's strong finish to the regular season -- a 9-1 run that catapulted the Pirates to their first Conference USA regular-season title since 2004 -- has pushed ECU to No. 15 in this week's Baseball America poll and in the top 18 in all five national polls.

It also put the Pirates in position to make a strong case to be one of the 16 NCAA regional hosts with a strong run in the C-USA Tournament, which starts Wednesday at Hattiesburg, Miss.

East Carolina senior outfielder Stephen Batts was named hitter of the week by Conference USA Monday.

An NCAA rule that doesn't allow men's basketball coaches to see potential recruits play in nonscholastic tournaments in April remained in effect when a vote to override it today fell short of the needed majority. But the Division I legislative council put off action on an ACC proposal to give players much less time to decide whether to declare for the NBA Draft.

• Nov. 30 predictions
• Nov. 23 predictions
• Nov. 16 predictions
• Nov. 9 predictions
• Nov. 2 predictions
• Oct. 26 predictions

A special mid-week edition of the bowl predictions, with new rumor and speculation bringing the ACC picture into focus.

Specifically, the Gator Bowl is making a play for Clemson, which would bump North Carolina to the Meineke Bowl in Charlotte, where the Heels would play Pittsburgh. The ACC title game loser is likely headed to Nashville, whether it's Virginia Tech or Boston College

• Nov. 23 predictions
• Nov. 16 predictions
• Nov. 9 predictions
• Nov. 2 predictions
• Oct. 26 predictions

What a crazy weekend in the ACC. Good thing that Tulsa and Rice won, restoring normalcy to Conference USA.

While we await word whether the ACC is going to agree with the Big East's interpretation of NCAA rules that no 6-6 team can go to a conference-tie-in bowl ahead of a 7-5 team — which would be bad news for N.C. State — a few hazy pieces of the bowl picture made themselves clear Saturday.

From Talking Points:

What a crazy weekend in the ACC. Good thing that Tulsa and Rice won, restoring normalcy to Conference USA.

While we await word whether the ACC is going to agree with the Big East's interpretation of NCAA rules that no 6-6 team can go to a conference-tie-in bowl ahead of a 7-5 team — which would be bad news for N.C. State — a few hazy pieces of the bowl picture made themselves clear Saturday.

Read more here. 

• Nov. 16 predictions
• Nov. 9 predictions
• Nov. 2 predictions
• Oct. 26 predictions

With both division titles still up for grabs and N.C. State and Virginia looking to get to six wins and Clemson trying to get bowl-eligible as well, the last week of the ACC season is certainly overloaded with drama -- not to mention potential bowl implications.

In Conference USA, East Carolina already has the East Division title locked up going into Friday's game against UTEP, but there's a three-way tie in the West Division standings heading into the final week between Houston, Rice and Tulsa.

• Nov. 16 predictions
• Nov. 9 predictions
• Nov. 2 predictions
• Oct. 26 predictions

With both division titles still up for grabs and N.C. State and Virginia looking to get to six wins and Clemson trying to get bowl-eligible as well, the last week of the ACC season is certainly overloaded with drama -- not to mention potential bowl implications.

In Conference USA, East Carolina already has the East Division title locked up going into Friday's game against UTEP, but there's a three-way tie in the West Division standings heading into the final week between Houston, Rice and Tulsa.