Marshall is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1987 behind an all-time Conference USA Tournament performance from Jon Elmore this week in Frisco. 

Elmore was named the tournament's most valuable player on Saturday night after Marshall upended Western Kentucky 67-66 in the title game to claim the league's automatic bid. The 6-3 junior guard had 20 of his game-high 27 points after halftime, set a new Conference USA championship game record with seven three-pointers and was named the Stihl "Cut Above The Rest" Player of the Game. 

It was especially rewarding for Elmore to be able to finish the job after Marshall lost to Middle Tennessee in the championship game a year ago. Three starters from that team graduated, making this year's run an impressive indication of Elmore's influence on the team. When Western Kentucky stormed back from a double-digit deficit in the second half, Elmore stepped up with the big-time shots to finish the job. 

As a team, Marshall made 12 of 28 three-pointers, and when Elmore is leading that kind of long-distance attack it's going to be tough to stop in the NCAA Tournament. 

Despite being one of the most efficient scorers in the country and a statistically all-time great for Marshall and Conference USA basketball, Elmore might be flying below the radar for a lot of college basketball fans. With the way Marshall coach Dan D'Antoni likes to the push the pace, a top seed could find itself quickly staring down a deficit in the first weekend of the NCAA  Tournament.