That sound you just heard may have been the proverbial first domino creaking a little. Today, Orangebloods.com columnist Chip Brown reported that, in advance of the Pac-10 meetings which begin this weekend in San Francisco, the Pac-10 is set to invite six Big 12 schools to join in the creation of the first superconference of the new era of college sports. Brown reports that Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech will be the schools invited, leaving Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri and Nebraska behind. All this comes on the heels of the Big 12 meetings, wrapping up on Friday, which opened with a plea by commissioner Dan Beebe for a united front among member institutions and a commitment to the conference. Obviously, this rumor has huge ramifications for the Big 12 and the Pac-10, but the ripple effect of such a move would be felt across the college sports landscape. We’ll take a look here at the specifics of this rumor and how this rumor could affect other conferences around the country.

Why is this man smiling? Beebe has his work cut out for him. (AP/Mike Fuentes)

The Pac-16. Or Big 16. Or the Great New Superconference

According to the Brown article, which cites multiple unnamed sources, the new conference would be divided into two eight-team divisions with the six Big 12 schools joining Arizona and Arizona State in an Eastern or Inland Division and Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington and Washington State forming the Western or Coastal Division. Then, with the aid of Fox Sports Net, already an operating partner with the Big Ten Network and television partner with both the Pac-10 and Big 12 conferences, the league would create its own cable network akin to the BTN. Perhaps coupled with new television contracts with ABC/ESPN, Fox, CBS, Turner or any other bidders, the projected revenues of the new conference (which would encompass seven of the top 20 television markets in the country) could rival those of the SEC or even the Big Ten.

But this is far from a done deal for a lot of reasons. One big rumor recently has been Texas’ interest in creating its own television network, a move that would allow Texas to keep all of the revenues to itself. And considering Texas’ long-standing disinclination towards sharing profits with other lesser draws (one of the main reasons there has been some Big 12 familial disquiet in the past), they would likely prefer to keep the Big 12 together as-is and move forward with their own plans. However, most people around the conference already see Missouri as good as gone, and Nebraska is at least still in the Big Ten’s sights, so the hopes of keeping the conference whole may be rapidly disappearing.

Texas A&M is also reportedly not entirely on board with the move west. A&M athletic director Bill Byrne was quoted in the Houston Chronicle on Thursday as saying that the SEC could be an option for the Aggies and Oklahoma could also be more inclined to head that way rather than west, both turns of events that could cause the new league to be either scaled down or reconfigured.  It still remains to be seen, however, if the SEC is really interested in taking on more members. With member institutions already raking in about $17 million a year from their new deal with ESPN, that pie would either have to be divided into more and smaller pieces, or renegotiated upon the acceptance of new members. As much as A&M and OU may rather head east, they may not necessarily be invited. And then, there is also the question of how attractive the Oklahoma athletic department is at this point, given their current ongoing NCAA investigation into alleged payment to players, a very serious infraction for a school that was already on probation.

Anyone feel like joining the Pac-10?

As we discussed in our original piece on conference realignment, the worst case scenario for the Big 12 is that it doesn’t exist anymore, and this news today goes a long way towards making that more of a reality. Why is the Big 12 the target for cherry-picking from all sides — the Pac-10 to the west, the Big Ten to the north and the SEC to the east? Well, certainly geography is part of it, and with the Big 12 being smack in the middle of the country and other conferences wishing to expand into relatively nearby geographical areas, member institutions throughout the Big 12 are just primed to be picked at by conferences on the edges. But, beyond that angle, there is the fact that television revenues in the Big 12 are not paid out evenly, with Texas earning over $3 million more per year than Baylor and Iowa State, and even $2 million more than schools like Missouri, Kansas State, Texas Tech and Colorado. Ostensibly, the new superconference would provide a much more equitable distribution of wealth. Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott said recently that a new conference network would need to be an “all-rights-in situation,” again per Orangebloods.com. Revenue sharing in the Big 12 has long been an issue (prompting a hilariously self-unaware quote by Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins: “Revenue sharing is an issue, but if you do some other things there are ways to offset that”), but again at this week’s conference meetings, the issue was not up for discussion. With Missouri in particular displeased with the unequal distribution of wealth, that could be just one more nudge toward the Big Ten door for that school.

Big 12 Leftovers

While there are big questions for both the Pac-10 schools and the Big 12 schools rumored to be invited, all of that pales in comparison to the questions left for those Big 12 schools rumored to be on the outside looking in. What happens to Kansas, one of the nation’s preeminent basketball schools? How about up-and-coming programs Kansas State and Baylor, the Big 12’s Elite Eight representatives last year? If Oklahoma or Texas A&M wind up getting invited to the SEC instead, perhaps Kansas and Kansas State could take their spots in the new Pac-16. Or, if the original 16 in the rumor wind up together, maybe KU and KSU get a lifeline from the SEC, although neither really fits in geographically or aesthetically with the SEC schools. Baylor would be a logical partner in the MWC with fellow former-SWC member TCU, but does Kansas make any sense in the MWC?

So what about the remaining five Big 12 teams banding together to pick off some conglomeration of MWC and Conference USA teams, resulting in a new Big 12 that looks something like: Baylor, BYU, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, New Mexico, Rice, TCU, Tulsa and Utah? It makes some sense, but at this point it is likely that the MWC teams would have more clout than the remaining Big 12 teams. Certainly, with the MWC perhaps on the verge of adding Boise State, a quartet of Boise State, BYU, TCU and Utah is far more appealing than the remaining Big 12 schools football-wise, and while Kansas, Kansas State and Baylor would significantly upgrade the already strong MWC basketball slate, does Iowa State get left out in the cold? Does Nebraska get left out if the Big Ten decides to go to the bigger media markets to the East?

Another scenario, which would require several other things to transpire in front of it, is the Big 12 leftovers joining forces with the Big East football leftovers (assuming the Big Ten raids the Big East for some combination of Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Syracuse), for a mish-mashed geographic league: say Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, Nebraska, South Florida and West Virginia. Yuck.

The reality is, if the rumored six head off to the Pac-16, the remaining Big 12 schools will be in for some major league scrambling.

Effect on Big Ten Expansion

If this comes to fruition, what kind of effect does this have on Big Ten expansion? With many people already considering Missouri a done deal, it puts a lot of pressure on Nebraska to find a way to get invited for Big Ten membership, lest they, their legions of fans, and their historic football program be left scrambling for invitation somewhere else, whether that be the SEC (poor geographic match, although the heft of the Husker football program would fit in well with the SEC schools), MWC (better, but still not great geographically, and a significant step down for the football program), or some other new conglomeration of schools left out in other realignments. It is possible that the disintegration of the Big 12 may actually give the Big Ten more of a reason to go out and get Nebraska, perhaps even prompting them to go beyond 16, because Nebraska and their football program will wind up somewhere at some point and they are an attractive well-supported option. There is also the idea that the Pac-10 jumping to 16 may cement the notion that the Big Ten will at least go to 16, if for no other reason than to keep up with the Joneses.

Will Slive and the SEC go searching for new blood?

Effect on SEC Expansion

More interesting may be the number of different scenarios that get tossed towards the SEC if the ball gets seriously rolling on the Pac-16. If Texas A&M and Oklahoma are seriously not interested in Pac-10 membership, the SEC may be able to snap them up and expand their reach further west, maybe even grabbing Nebraska along the way, making an already strong football conference even stronger, although perhaps further diluting their basketball strength. While this could happen if the Big 12 gets dissolved and suddenly these programs are out there for the taking, the key hurdle for any SEC expansion would be to figure out exactly what happens with their historic television contract with ESPN. It is unlikely that ESPN is just going to pony up another $17 million a year for each new member, so do the member schools all agree to just take a smaller piece of the pie? Quite unlikely, although maybe if Texas is part of the package, ESPN would be more apt to sweeten the pot. But Texas seems particularly unwilling to join the SEC due to their desire to maintain some pretense towards remaining in rarefied academic company. In the end, this really doesn’t change the first major decision that SEC commissioner Mike Slive and the presidents and athletic directors of the member institutions need to make: is expansion even realistic financially for the conference at this point? And if the answer there is yes, then the SEC can start comparing their numerous options from both the Big 12 (Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas A&M), ACC (Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami) and even the Big East (Louisville, West Virginia).

Effect on Big East Expansion

The only major effect a Pac-16 would have on the Big East is if it provided further incentive for the Big Ten to raid a significant number of Big East football schools, a prospect that is perhaps already in the works. There is a scenario where this could be a good thing for the Big East, however. Say the Pac-16 happens, and the Big Ten decides to snatch up free agent Nebraska in addition to Missouri. If the Big Ten is really not interested in going any further than 16 teams, perhaps they can convince Notre Dame to come on board and grab just two of the remaining Big East teams. In that scenario, the Big East only has to find two football replacements to get back to the eight teams necessary to retain the possibility of automatic BCS qualifying status, maybe snatching up teams like Central Florida and Memphis to get back to eight while providing geographic partners for schools like South Florida and Louisville. In the end, the Big East is still in a precarious position, but there may be a little glimmer of hope in this news for them.

Big 12 Meetings Wrap-up

While there is still plenty going on behind the scenes that needs to get sorted out before we have any definitive answers, this newest rumor is a bombshell, to say the least. However, Beebe got it just exactly perfect on Tuesday at the start of the Big 12 meetings when he said: “I think it’s very serious. And I think it’s something that we better be very careful about. If we come to a day where there are four 16-member conferences, then it’s going to be a sad day, and it’s going to be very difficult to not have more legal issues and interventions. The pressures will be immense for certain programs to be successful, (and) there will be less chances to win conference championships and national championships.” He’s right about that, and yet just three days later, we may be on the verge of taking that next step towards that very scenario.

]]> http://rushthecourt.net/2010/06/03/realignment-rumors-on-todays-pac-10big-12-rumblings/feed/ 4 http://rushthecourt.net/2010/03/09/conference-usa-tournament-preview/ http://rushthecourt.net/2010/03/09/conference-usa-tournament-preview/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:56:17 +0000 rtmsf http://rushthecourt.net/?p=19262  

Eli Linton is the RTC correspondent for the Summit League and an occasional contributor.  He will be live-blogging some of the key games this weekend from Tulsa at the C-USA Tournament.

Final Standings

1. UTEP         15-1   (24-5)
2. Memphis         13-3   (23-8)
3. UAB           11-5   (23-7)
4. Marshall          11-5   (23-8)
5. Tulsa        10-6   (21-10)
6. Southern Miss       8-8   (18-12)
7. Houston           7-9   (15-15)
8. SMU       7-9   (14-16)
9. UCF         6-10   (14-16)
10. East Carolina      4-12   (10-20)
11. Tulane       3-13   (8-21)
12. Rice         1-15   (7-22)

Conference USA Tournament

This year’s Conference USA tournament is going to be slightly different from the previous years when Memphis was the only horse in this show. Believe it or not, the Tigers are NOT the favorite (that honor would belong to UTEP), and they will be fighting this weekend as a bubble team. Only UTEP has locked down an at-large berth for March Madness. UAB is also considered a bubble team, but at 11-5 in conference, anything short of a championship game showing will likely keep them out.  It is likely that only two teams are coming out alive from C-USA — Memphis and UTEP — but a team like Tulsa (which is essentially playing a home tournament) could pull it together and win (I also have a little faith left for UAB).

Wednesday, March 10- First Round

• #10 East Carolina vs. #7 Houston — The Cougars have the nation’s leading scorer, Aubrey Coleman (26.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.7 spg), they are the only conference team to upend UTEP, and they scorched ECU earlier in the year. They might be able to spoil someone’s dance party here in Tulsa. Houston over ECU.
• #11 Tulane vs. #6 Southern Miss — I sometimes wonder why conference tournaments include everyone. In theory, Rice (and its seven wins) has a chance to get to the NCAA tournament. Isn’t this the playoffs? Shouldn’t the good teams compete? You think the national bracket expanding to 96 teams is bad? How about fixing this debacle? Now watch me eat my words in a big upset this weekend. Enough with the rants. I’ll take Southern Miss over the Green Wave.  
• #8 SMU vs. #9 UCF — I think UCF is still a couple years away from being a good team in C-USA. They have some nice young players to build on. Keith Clanton and Marcus Jordan were both named to the conference all-freshman team.  Right now they lack the size. Honestly, I am more excited about the outside chance of seeing MJ than I am about the actual game. SMU over UCF.
• #5 Tulsa vs. #12 Rice — Tulsa just missed out on the first round bye. The good news is they get to play Rice as punishment. Tulsa

Thursday, March 11 – C-USA Tournament Quarterfinals

• #2 Memphis vs. #7 Houston — Memphis needs to win if they want to stay on that bubble. They are going to try to overpower the one-dimensional Cougars offensively; the Tigers have four double-figure scorers. Memphis over Houston.
• #3 UAB vs. #6 Southern Miss — It’s the last stand for UAB, who is technically still on the bubble, but barely. UAB over Southern Miss. 
• #1 UTEP vs. #8 SMU — Randy Culpepper and Derrick Caracter are the best duo in the conference. SMU has the best named team in the conference (Papa Dia, Mouhammad Faye, and Robert Nyakundi). UTEP had a tough contest both times they faced the Mustangs, but that doesn’t mean much this late in the season, and with UTEP rolling. UTEP over SMU
• #4 Marshall vs. #5 Tulsa — I smell an upset for the preseason champs. Tulsa is playing at home, and its desperation time.  Tulsa over Marshall.

Friday, March 12 – C-USA Tournament Semifinals

• #1 UTEP vs. #5 Tulsa — UTEP demonstrated the ability to shut down Tulsa’s star Center, Jerome Jordan, and their perimeter defense is the perfect matchup against Tulsa’s three-point threat. If this game happens, you can pencil UTEP in for the victory.
• #2 Memphis vs. #3 UAB — this is a great matchup, and I don’t really know who to take. On one hand, I feel like UAB, desperate for a trip to the tournament, could pull off the upset. Memphis won both matchups, but the last one was a little bit tougher, only a five point victory. It comes down to this: If UAB wins this matchup, they are in. If Memphis gets to this point, they are already in. I’ll take UAB, but it is going to be a tough road.

Saturday, March 13 – C-USA Tournament Finals

• #1 UTEP vs. #3 UAB – The Blazers lost to UTEP at home in overtime, and they lost in El Paso with a last second dunk by Derrick Caracter. That heartbreaking loss may have kept UAB out of the NCAA tournament, and I guarantee they will be looking for revenge. Will they be too exhausted after an emotional win against Memphis? I am taking UTEP, but you won’t want to miss this game. The key matchup will be Caracter against Howard Crawford because it will decide the championship.

Players to watch

• Derrick Caracter, Forward, UTEP—The second team selection will be key for UTEP’s defense and his rebounding against other big men.
• Aubrey Coleman, Guard, Houston—Coleman could mess everything up if Houston meets Memphis on Thursday. Memphis’ last loss came against Houston, when Coleman scorched the Tigers with 34 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
• Jerome Jordan, Center, Tulsa—He hasn’t lived up to the hype in the second half of the season. NBA riches still await (the Association is enamored with limited 7-footers) but will he step up and deliver a C-USA championship in the final week of his once-promising college career? 

 So many questions, only one way to answer them…  let’s tip it off!

Yes, the Fordham Rams.  They are 0-14 in the Atlantic 10 this season.  They were 1-15 last year, with that sole win coming in a 67-65 squeaker at St. Bonaventure on January 28, 2009.  Since then — 24 straight conference losses.

To be fair, the Rams weren’t really predicted to improve on last year’s 3-25 (1-15) performance, especially after their best player, sophomore guard Jio Fontan, decided to skip town after five games and head for USC where he’ll be eligible in December 2010.  As a freshman in 2008-09, Fontan led the team in scoring (15.3 PPG) and assists (4.7 APG) and was putting up similar numbers this year.

One bright light for Fordham has been the play of freshman Chris Gaston.  Averaging 18.0 PPG and leading the team with a 44.9 FG%, he’s won or shared multiple Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Week awards so far this year.    That shooting percentage is remarkably good, by the way, since Fordham ranks 344th of 345 D1 teams in that category, shooting 37.7% on the year.  And there is further good news; last month the Fordham Board of Trustees voted to increase the men’s basketball budget, raising it from the very depths into the top third when compared to the hoops budgets of the other A-10 schools.

As for the remainder of this season, they have two games left.  The first is Wednesday night, their final home game of the season against Xavier.  Their last game of the year is a noon tipoff this Friday at Duquesne (the last two teams in the A-10 do not qualify for the post-season tournament).  I wouldn’t get excited — the oracle known as KenPom gives Fordham just a 2% and 4% chance, respectively, to win those games.  Fordham has never suffered a winless conference season as a member of the Atlantic 10, Patriot League, or MAAC, going back almost 30 years.

Eating a conference doughnut isn’t as rare an occurrence in college basketball as you might think.  Last year, DePaul (Big East, 0-18), Air Force (Mountain West, 0-16), and Southeast Missouri (Ohio Valley, 0-18) all pulled it off.  Three teams did it in the 2007-08 season: Rice (CUSA, 0-16), Colorado State (Mountain West, 0-16), and Oregon State (Pac-10, 0-18).  In fact, there have been only three seasons out of the last 20 in which every team won at least one conference game, and those were the consecutive seasons between 2004-2007.  There is some reason for optimism for the future of Fordham basketball, but that statistic will stand, and they’ll be the only winless team in conference play this season unless they can beat the odds and come through in one of their remaining two chances.

RTC is seeking a 2009-10 correspondent for Conference USA.  If you’re interested, please email us at rushthecourt@yahoo.com

Predicted Order of Finish:

1. Tulsa (13-3)
2. UTEP (12-4)
3. Memphis (12-4)
4. Houston (11-5)
5. Marshall (9-7)
6. Southern Miss (8-8)
7. Tulane (8-8)
8. UAB (6-10)
9. Rice (6-10)
10. Central Florida (6-10)
    
11. East Carolina (3-13)
    
12. SMU (1-15)

All-Conference Team:

• Aubrey Coleman (G), Houston
• Arnett Moultrie (F/C), UTEP
• Jerome Jordan (C), Tulsa
• Ben Uzoh (G), Tulsa
• Randy Culpepper (G), UTEP

Impact Newcomer. Will Coleman (F), Memphis

What You Need To Know.  Everyone knows about Memphis’ off-season.  First and foremost, it’s important to know who’s breathing down Memphis‘ neck if they should falter like many are predicting.  Tulsa is a popular preseason pick because of the excellent senior duo of Ben Uzoh and Jerome Jordan, the latter being the popular pick for preseason CUSA Player Of The Year.  Ignore UTEP at your own peril, with a formidable inside-outside duo of their own in the 6’11 sophomore Arnett Moultrie and junior guard Randy Culpepper.  Houston boasts the best true guard combo with seniors Aubrey Coleman and Kelvin Lewis, both averaging around 19 PPG.  Even Marshall and Central Florida look to be improved this season.  Now, keep in mind, this is all IF Memphis actually loses a conference game (we still can’t get over their 61 straight CUSA wins) and trips up.  He might just be 31 years old, but new head coach Josh Pastner will surprise everyone with how easily he takes to his new job.  People might forget that Duke transfer Elliot Williams is eligible for the Tigers now, and he will provide immediate help along with the rim-kissing (literally…there are photos of this) 6’9 260-pound junior-college transfer Will Coleman.  This will be a fun conference to watch this season because the issue isn’t so much that Memphis is free-falling back to the rest of the conference — it’s the fact that the rest of the conference is actually catching up to Memphis.

Predicted Champion. Tulsa (NCAA Seed:  #7). The Golden Hurricane is our choice to supplant Memphis and take the title in Conference USA this season, as Doug Wojcik’s team has been waiting for this opportunity.  If John Calipari, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and so on were currently residing in Memphis, we wouldn’t be considering this, but Memphis’ loss is Tulsa’s gain because they have an exceptionally talented and experienced team returning this year.  Point guard Ben Uzoh and center Jerome Jordan enter the 2009-10 season as two of the best players at their position in the conference, and it’s easy to understand why: Uzoh did a little bit of everything last season, to the tune of 14.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 1.5 SPG in over 35 minutes per game, while Jordan continued to progress toward play-for-pay with 13.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 2.6 BPG on 58.6% shooting from the field.  Justin Hurtt, Glenn Andrews and Steven Idlet also return as key contributors from a team that was 25-11 overall and 12-4 in CUSA, including three losses by a combined four points (especially tough was a buzzer-beating 1-point loss vs. Memphis).  Even if Memphis had remained intact, Tulsa would have still viewed the 2009-10 season as a likely NCAA one, it’s just that now they’re going in as the favorite.

• Nov. 15, 2009. East Carolina at Wake Forest at 2pm
  
• Nov. 19, 2009. Memphis vs Kansas at 10pm (Hall of Fame Showcase, St. Louis)
• Nov. 20, 2009. East Carolina vs Tennessee at 3:30pm
• Nov. 28, 2009. Rice vs Texas at 8pm
• Dec. 20, 2009. UCF at Connecticut at 12pm
• Dec. 22, 2009.  Marshall at North Carolina at 7pm
  
• Dec. 22, 2009. UAB vs Butler at 8pm
• Jan. 9, 2010. UTEP vs Brigham Young at 8pm
  
• Feb. 25, 2010. Tulsa at Duke at 7pm

NCAA Tournament History. CUSA’s performance in the NCAA has obviously been dominated by Memphis in recent years, but the conference as a whole has a commendable performance since its inception in 1995.  Louisville and Cincinnati were the main contributors in the early days, with Marquette also notching some big wins and a Final Four in 2003.  CUSA has tasted the sweet waters of the Final Four on only two other occasions:  Louisville ’05 and Memphis ’08.  The last time any non-Memphis team won an NCAA Tournament game was the last time that Memphis didn’t actually make the tournament.  That was 2005, when Cincinnati and UAB won their first-round games in addition to Louisville’s trip to the F4.

Final Thoughts. Conference USA will be the most balanced that it’s been in many years due to the Memphis situation.  It may not last that way very long, because Josh Pastner at Memphis has already earned commitments from two five-star recruits (SG Will Barton and PG Joe Jackson) and a four-star (SG Chris Crawford) in the class of 2010.  So this would be the year for teams like Tulsa, UTEP and Houston to make their move if they’re inclined to do so.  One thing is absolutely for sure, though.  Due to the competition that we’ll see in CUSA this year, the rest of America should have a much greater incentive to pay attention to this league other than to say “who did Memphis beat tonight?”

While the Tigers’ dominance over the rest of CUSA is nearly unparalleled in the history of modern college basketball, it doesn’t mean that every other team is chopped liver. Basically anything can happen in a tournament setting and the Tigers have endured a few close calls this year.

So here are the teams as they are seeded and some pertinent info:

#1: Memphis Tigers

Coach: John Calipari

Record: 28-3 overall (16-0 in CUSA)

Players to Watch: G Tyreke Evans, F Robert Dozier, F Shawn Taggart, G Antonio Anderson

Season Highlights: In a year that many thought would be fraught with ‘rebuilding’ and the like, the Tigers continue to look dominant. The arrival of the latest one-year wonder: Tyreke Evans, has allowed the blue and gray not miss a beat from last year’s final four squad. But the veteran leadership of guys like Antonio Anderson, Doneal Mack, Shawn Taggart and Robert Dozier has been a huge factor too. They suffered early-season setbacks against Xavier and Syracuse, but they’re currently riding 20+ game winning streak. There have been a few close calls and at the end of the day they’re still undefeated against the rest of the conference.

They Will Win If: They simply show up and play their game. I don’t want to imply that the Tigers will simply cream whomever they play, because they could well lose. But they’re playing an extremely favorable draw on their home court. This is a recipe for success and it also doesn’t hurt that they’ve won over 50 games in a row against CUSA teams.

First Game: vs. the winner of #8 Tulane/#9 East Carolina; Thursday at 8:30 pm.

#2 Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Coach: Doug Wojcik

Record: 22-9 overall (12-4 in CUSA)

Players to Watch: C Jerome Jordan, G Ben Uzoh, G Ray Reese

Season Highlights: It has been a season with some fairly bizarre up and down moments for the Golden Hurricane. In non-conference play they beat Texas A&M and lost to a very average Ohio team. They came within milliseconds of doing the unthinkable and knocking off the Memphis Tigers, before Antonio Anderson had a last second lay-up. The development of 7 footer Jerome Jordan has been very encouraging to TU fans and they played significantly better after a tough road loss at Tulane.

They Will Win If: The grinding, defensive style of Wojcik’s team wears down Memphis and any other foe. If they can establish their style early the Golden Hurricane are in fact quite a tough team to beat. It would also help if a guard besides Ben Uzoh would have a real good game.

First Game: vs. the winner of #7 Marshall/#10 Rice; Thursday at 12 pm

#3 UAB Blazers

Coach: Mike Davis

Record: 21-10 overall (11-5 in CUSA)

Players to Watch: G Paul Delaney III, G Robert Vaden, F Lawrence Kinnard

Season Highlights: The highs and lows of the Blazers season were quite extreme, to say the least. In one of their first games, the Blazers scored an upset of Arizona in the pre-season NIT. Things were looking promising until 4 reserve players were kicked off because of academic violations. None of these losses were key ones, but the Blazers now had only 6 scholarship guys available. Still they did quite well in conference play and managed not to let the lack of depth kill their season. They did have two demoralizing double-digit road losses to Houston and UTEP.

They Will Win If: The shooting touch of Robert Vaden improves, since he’s been in quite a slump recently. This Blazer team has lived and died with their senior leaders, so it’s up to guys Paul Delaney III and Lawrence Kinnard to play well in this senior class’ final shot at the NCAAs.

First Game: vs. winner of #6 UCF/#11 Southern Miss; Thursday at 2:30 pm

#4 UTEP Miners

Coach: Tony Barbee

Record: 19-11 overall (10-6 in CUSA)

Player to Watch: G Stefon Jackson, G Randy Culpepper, G Julyan Stone

Season Highlights: Not every team would have antipathy towards a 19-win regular season and the 4^th seed in the CUSA tournament. But if this seems odd to you, then you must not have the high standards that many Miner fans hold their program to. Early in the year they scored an impressive victory over St. Mary’s and gave a top-10 Wake Forest team all they could handle. Along the way, Jackon broke a fair number of CUSA and NCAA scoring records this past season. The offense hasn’t been a problem and the Miners have tons of athletes, but the defense has been atrocious. Case in point was a recent 89-77 win over Tulane. The grumbling in El Paso will start to become quite audible if the Miners go a 3^rd year in a row without making even the NIT.

They Will Win If: The Miner team defense improves in a huge way. Nobody is denying that the Miners have loads of offensive talent, but that won’t do anything if they can’t hold anyone of significance down. Also Arnett Moultrie needs to have a big game in the low post and snag more than his share of offensive boards.

First Game: vs. winner of #5 Houston/#12 SMU; Thursday at 8:30

#5 Houston Cougars

Coach: Tom Penders

Record: 19-10 overall (10-6 in CUSA)

Players to Watch: G Aubrey Coleman, G Kelvin Lewis, F Qa’rraan Calhoun

Season Highlights: I don’t believe that one event can change a season, but when Aubrey Coleman stepped on the face of Arizona’s Chase Budinger and promptly got suspended things started coming unraveled. The Cougars subsequently lost back-to-back games to UTEP and Memphis, effectively taking them out of any tournament consideration. In a word they’ve been extremely schizophrenic, soundly beating good teams like UTEP and UAB but losing to inferior teams like Marshall and Southern Miss. Ultimately the Cougars are dependent on the guard duo of Coleman and Kelvin Lewis.

They Will Win If: The same Aubrey Coleman who dropped 35 on Memphis shows up with his teammates this time around in the Music City. When he’s on, Coleman is one of the most athletic players and effective scorers in Conference USA. Also it wouldn’t hurt if the Cougars got some consistent play from their big man: Marcus Cousin, who’s been in a big slump.

First Game: vs. #12 SMU; Wednesday at 7:30 pm

#6 UCF Golden Knights

Coach: Kirk Speraw

Record: 17-13 overall (7-9 in CUSA)

Players to Watch: G Jermaine Taylor, G A.J. Rompza, G Isaac Sosa

Season Highlights: The story of the Golden Knights this season is two-fold: Jermaine Taylor and a whole bunch of youth. The Knights have 9 freshmen on their roster and they have guys like A.J. Rompza and Isaac Sosa who can give fans hope for the future. But right now the story is Jermaine Taylor who’s the top scorer in CUSA and one of the best in the entire country. Things were going along well enough for the Knights until forward Tony Davis was kicked off the team for a violation of academic policy. The Knights have been in a late-season swoon ever since. But there have been positives, like a 19-point comeback against Tulsa and a near win at home against Memphis.

They Will Win If: Any of Jermaine Taylor‘s teammates decide to step up and have big games in the tournament. It has been a ‘one-man show’ for most of the year, but especially so since the suspension to Davis. It’s time for guys like Kenrick Zondervan, A.J. Tyler and Jean-Michel Yotio to show up big for the Golden Knights.

First Game: vs. #11 Southern Miss; Wednesday at 2:30 pm

#7 Marshall Thundering Herd

Coach: Donnie Jones

Record: 15-16 overall (7-9 in CUSA)

Players to Watch: F Tirrell Baines, G Markel Humphrey, G Shaquille Johnson

Season Highlights: It was a hopeful year for Thundering Herd basketball as second-year head coach Jones brought in a promising recruiting class and a few talented transfers. But things admittedly got off to a pretty slow start in Huntington and it looked like all of the new players weren’t clicking. Injuries and defections knocked the ‘Herd down to 8 scholarship guys and seemingly a fade into oblivion. But an 88-83 home win against Houston started a mini-run that ended with the ‘Herd finishing better than most observers expected.

They Will Win If: They can use their small, quick line-up to exploit the weaknesses of the bigger and slower teams. Typically the 6 foot 6 Tirrell Baines is the biggest player on the court for the ‘Herd. The hot-shooting of former Purdue transfer Chris Lutz and the point-guarding of freshman Shaquille Johnson can lead to a few upset victories.

First Game: vs. #10 Rice; Wednesday at 12 pm

#8 Tulane Green Wave

Coach: Dave Dickerson

Record: 13-16 overall (7-9 in CUSA)

Players to Watch: G Kevin Sims, G Kris Richard, C Robinson Louisme

Season Highlights: With the exception of maybe SMU, there isn’t a team in Conference USA that got off to a worse start than the Green Wave. They lost to the likes of New Orleans and Binghamton in a very forgettable non-conference slate. They also started off CUSA play with a loss to SMU. But as the hoops season wore on, the ‘Wave started playing much better and even scored wins over upper-tier CUSA teams UTEP and Tulsa. They also had a 19-point comeback win on the road against Rice, capped by a buzzer-beater lay-up from Kevin Sims. No, they aren’t world-beaters but they have become the solid team most expected at the outset of the season.

They Will Win If: They can get just a bit of consistency for a stretch of several games from shooting guard Kris Richard. The 6 foot 5 Richard is one of the better athletes in CUSA, but can go missing at times when his team needs him. Also the Wave will need role players like Daniel Puckett and Asim McQueen to step up if they want to pull of some big upsets.

First Game: vs. #9 East Carolina; Wednesday at 6 pm

#9 East Carolina Pirates

Coach: Mack McCarthy

Record: 13-16 overall (5-11 in CUSA)

Players to Watch: G Sam Hinnant, G James Legan, G Brock Young F Darrius Morrow

Season Highlights: When McCarthy took over as the Pirates’ head coach a couple of years ago, the program really had nowhere to go but up. So far they have been rough patches in the first couple of seasons, but there have also been definite bright spots. For example the Pirates won multiple road games for the first time in seemingly forever since joining Conference USA. They are a team that relies very much on the three-pointer and the guard duo of Sam Hinnant/James Legan. Also, Brock Young led the nation in assists for much of the season. Road wins over the likes of Tulane and SMU wouldn’t be a big deal in other places, but at ECU it’s one step on the way back to respectability.

They Will Win If: Their main shooters (Legan and Hinnant) become insanely hot from the field. I know this would hold true for any team not named Memphis in this tournament, but the Pirates are especially dependent on the three. It also wouldn’t hurt if freshman big man Darrius Morrow had a few really good games in a row right about now. Everyone knows the kid has the potential for it.

First Game: vs. #8 Tulane; Wednesday at 6 pm

#10 Rice Owls

Coach: Ben Braun

Record: 9-21 overall (4-12 in CUSA)

Players to Watch: G Rodney Foster, F Trey Stanton, G Connor Frizzelle

Season Highlights: Nobody expected that the Owls would be contending for the NCAA tournament in year one, but the Owls have shown tangible signs of progress. Newcomers like Navy-transfer Trey Stanton, and freshmen Connor Frizzelle and Lucas Kuipers (now injured) saw lots of early action for the Owls. In non-conference play the Owls actually turned in outstanding defensive performances against Oklahoma and Texas A&M. They hit a rough patch after the injury to Kuipers, which included a 25-point whipping at the hands of UCF. But the Owls have played well lately and even got some revenge on the Golden Knights by winning their first road CUSA game in forever at Orlando. In a loss they also held a high-powered Houston team to 56 points. They’re a young team that is playing slightly better than their record would indicate.

They Will Win If: What I’ve seen from watching the Owls is that they live and die with the play of their senior point guard Rodney Foster. It would behoove Foster to play the best games of his career in Memphis week. Also it would help if shooting specialists Corey Pfleiger and Connor Frizzelle got hot.

First Game: vs. #7 Marshall; Wednesday at 12 pm.

#11 Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Coach: Larry Eustachy

Record: 14-16 overall (4-12 in CUSA)

Players to Watch: G Jeremy Wise, G R.L. Horton, G Courtney Beasley

Season Highlights: It wasn’t exactly a thrilling prospect, but after the non-conference portion of the season the Golden Eagles looked like a solid, middle of the pack CUSA team. But the lack of a bench and completely ineffective play on the road led to a complete collapse. After a promising 83-77 win over Houston, the bottom dropped out and USM lost 9 of its last 10 games. The inexplicable part of this collapse is that the Eagles have as solid of a guard trio as there is in this league with Wise/Horton/Beasley. There hasn’t been consistency on either end of the floor, as one game Memphis held them to 41 points and in another game Rice dropped a school record 16 three-pointers. I would argue these guys are the worst team in CUSA.

They Will Win If: Larry Eustachy bribed multiple officials and asked all of the opposing coaches to throw their respective games. I don’t believe the Golden Eagles could beat any team outside their home court with the way they’re playing right now. I suppose if Jeremy Wise and Courtney Beasley went unconscious from the field… then maybe.

First Game: vs. #6 UCF; Wednesday at 2:30 pm

#12 SMU Mustangs

Coach: Matt Doherty

Record: 9-20 overall (3-13 in CUSA)

Players to Watch: G Paul McCoy, G Derek Williams, C Bamba Fall

Season Highlights: The months of non-conference play for the Poniess were quite ignomious as they got humiliated by cross-town rival TCU and lost to SWAC foe Arkansas-Pine Bluff (giving the SWAC one of their only Division 1 non-conference wins). But things have really gone uphill since. With a roster that’s around 80% underclassmen, they have come frustratingly close to some big wins. Paul McCoy is the best freshman in CUSA after Tyreke Evans and has made a difference for his team this year. The Ponies lost in overtime on the road to UTEP and were quite close against UAB and Tulsa. Heck, mighty Memphis couldn’t pull away from them until late in the second half. My point is, despite their record this team is way better than the very same SMU team I watched a year ago. The talent is there. The coaching may not be.

They Will Win If: Matt Doherty forgets that he is the same guy who lost 20 games at North ‘freakin Carolina. Okay but seriously, McCoy and Williams are capable of having big games and could go off if they catch Houston napping. The 7 foot 1 Bamba Fall needs to play more like Hakeem Olajuwon and less like Manute Bol. Also bench guys like Robert Nyakundi and Frank Otis need to have big games.

1. Memphis: 18-3 (7-0)
2. UCF: 15-6 (5-2)
3. Tulsa: 15-7 (5-2)
4. UTEP: 13-8 (4-3)
5. UAB: 14-8 (4-3)
6. Houston: 12-7 (3-3)
7. Southern Miss: 13-7 (3-3)
8. Tulane: 9-11 (3-4)
9. East Carolina: 10-10 (2-5)
10. Marshall: 9-12 (2-5) 
11. Rice: 7-14 (2-5)
12. SMU: 6-13 (1-6)

“It’s the same old song…”

That isn’t just a line from a classic ‘Motown’ song, but the story of Conference USA basketball summed up in five choice words.

Some things change, but as last week proved, there are some things that always remain the same for a while.

1.) Don’t Boo the Aubrey: In his first game coming off the one game suspension by Conference USA, Houston guard Aubrey Coleman responded to boos and jeers from the Memphis student section by scoring 35 points. The only problem was none of Coleman’s teammates showed up and they combined for a total of 33 points, as the Tigers beat the Cougars 83-68 at the Fed Ex Forum. It was quite evident last Saturday that even in a down year, Memphis has far more talent than even the upper-tier CUSA teams like Houston.

2.) The Baby Knights: No, I’m not referring to the hapless son (Pat Knight) of basketball legend Bob Knight. The UCF basketball team is one of the younger teams in the country, with 8 freshmen on the roster. Yet they currently sit at 2nd place in CUSA with a 5-2 record and a 15-6 overall record. Early in the year they endured demoralizing losses to Valparaiso and Morehead State, but coach Kirk Speraw has gotten them to regroup and potentially make a run at the NIT or other postseason action. For the next few years the Knights are set with young guards like A.J. Rompza and Tony Davis. It doesn’t hurt either that they have arguably the best player in the CUSA: Jermaine Taylor, who’s averaging 23.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Taylor has the athleticism and skill set to go in the first round of the NBA draft and to make life sufficiently miserable for the rest of the Knights’ opponents. I think Houston coming to Orlando will be a huge test this coming Wednesday.

3.) Fighting Coaches and Misbehaving Mascots in the Bayou City: If you take out the peripheral events of last Wednesday’s game between Tulane and Rice, it was still quite exciting. The Owls held a 19 point lead at halftime, but the Green Wave chipped at it until the game was tied near the end of regulation. With several seconds remaining on the clock, ‘Wave guard Lester Ricard took the ball the length of the court and laid it in as time expired to give the ‘Wave a 61-59 win. In the post game handshakes, Owl coach Ben Braun took offense to some of the behavior of ‘Wave coach Dave Dickerson and the two had to be physically separated by team personnel. If that wasn’t bad enough though, Sammy the Owl (the Rice mascot) was ejected from the game by the lead official Curtis Shaw for a phantom ‘head-butt’.

4.) Another Defection at Marshall: Near the start of the season, Marshall guard Brandon Powell was dismissed from the team for violations of team rules and few people were surprised. Powell left the University of Florida under controversial circumstances and was on a short leash. But it was a little surprising when center Marcus Goode left the Marshall program for ‘personal reasons’. It’s unclear exactly what’s going on, but everything ‘Herd coach Donnie Jones has said indicates that it was Goode’s decision to leave. The 6’10” 300 pound Goode had become somewhat of a fan favorite in Huntington due to his rotund appearance, among other things.

5.)  Rock Bottom, You’ll Know When You Hit It: Typically I use this section to talk about the lowlights of CUSA basketball in the previous week. But every team had some kind of positive to fall back on… that is every team except SMU. It’s bad enough that they lost to Arkansas-Pine Bluff earlier in the year and gave the SWAC one of their only Division 1 non-conference wins. But they did it after Mustang coach Matt Doherty said that they’d ‘flip’ last year’s terrible record and win 20 games this year. Well the Mustangs better start a double-digit winning streak because they are 6-13 and dead last in the conference. In what’s become a sad norm, they lost to UCF and Tulsa this past week to drop their conference record to 1-6. I honestly believe that Paul McCoy and Derek Williams would be the only players on their roster to get significant playing time on any other CUSA team. If Doherty’s seat isn’t getting toasty by the end of this year, then I question how much SMU really cares about a winning basketball program.

6.) Saving the Worst for Last: I addressed the Aubrey Coleman situation in my last weekly round-up of CUSA basketball. But it seriously disturbed me this past week when the FBI had to be called to investigate racially-charged emails that threatened the life of Coleman. It truly speaks poorly of us as a society that an incident that caused no injury to Chase Budinger would prompt such a disgusting response in people. I’m a very jaded person who is shocked by very little, but I couldn’t believe this happened… in America. Yeah, America.

What’s in the water down there in Houston these days?  (h/t Houston Press via Deadspin)

1. Memphis: 15-3 (5-0)
2. Houston: 12-5 (3-1)
3. UCF: 13-6 (3-2)
4. UAB: 13-7 (3-2)
5. Tulsa: 13-7 (3-2)
6. Southern Miss: 12-6 (2-2)
7. Tulane: 8-10 (2-2)
8. UTEP: 11-8 (2-3)
9. East Carolina: 10-8 (2-3)
10. Marshall: 9-10 (2-3)
11. SMU: 6-11 (1-4)
12. Rice: 6-13 (1-4)

There wasn’t any lack of excitement this week and in some cases that excitement was also coupled with a bit of controversy.

In fact the Houston basketball program tested the adage that “any publicity is good publicity” during this past weekend when they played Arizona. However there were other storylines from the past week of action, albeit a bit less controversial than the aforementioned incident.

1.) Stompgate ’09:  The unfortunate incident that made the most headlines this past weekend began with Arizona forward Chase Budinger drawing a charge call after a collision with Houston guard Aubrey Coleman. After the conclusion of that play, Coleman stepped on Budinger’s face in an act that looked equal parts negligent and malicious. Naturally this act enraged Budinger who was assessed a technical foul for his retaliation following the stepping. But the worst punishment was saved for Coleman, who was ejected for the flagrant foul. After watching the video of the incident and the reactions of both players, I’m convinced that Coleman deserved to be ejected and could have shown a lot more remorse immediately following the act. But the act itself was in my opinion, an attempt to show dominance over Budinger by stepping over him instead of around him. Something went horribly wrong in between and now we have a major headline story. It’s worth noting that Coleman’s had no other incidents this year at Houston or on his previous team at Southwest Mississippi Junior College. In the end, before rushing to crucify the young Mr. Coleman, we all must think of the “he who is without sin” line.  Following the game, Coleman gave what appeared to be a sincere and remorseful apology.

2.) An Epic Choke:  What was lost in the hysteria following the Stompgate was the fact that Houston blew a 9 point lead in less than a minute to Arizona. Things became a lot more difficult for the Cougars after the ejection of Coleman, but they still managed to hold a 9 point lead around the one minute mark. That’s when things completely fall apart. Over the next 30-40 seconds, the Wildcats chipped at the Cougar lead due to a combination of turnovers and poor free throw shooting. But with just under 20 seconds left the Cougars simply needed their top scorer: Kelvin Lewis, to make a single free throw and effectively ‘ice’ the game. Lewis missed both free throws and ‘Cats nailed a three to tie the game at 88 and send it into overtime. The Cougars then proceeded to enter into a 6+ minute scoring drought that only ended with a meaningless late bucket. In a short period of time, a sure win turned into the most heartbreaking of losses, as Arizona won by a final score of 96-90.

3.) A Shot to Remember:  There’s been a fair amount of disappointment this season for Marshall hoops fans, but last Wednesday the ‘Herd fans in the Cam Henderson Center had a night to remember. With the score tied at 50 against SMU and with almost no time left on the clock, ‘Herd guard Markel Humphrey heaved up a 75 foot prayer of a shot that almost everyone in the building believed would miss the basket… But Humphrey nailed it and sent ‘Herd fans home with one of the most unlikely 53-50 victories. There have been plenty of memorable moments in CUSA hoops this year, but this one ranks near the top.

4.) Avenging the One Loss:  There wasn’t much to be unhappy about in a 2007-08 basketball season that saw Memphis go 38-1 and lose at the last second in the national title game. Well, except for the Tigers’ nationally-televised home loss to in-state rival Tennessee, their lone defeat that year. The Tigers needed to go into the always-intimidating Thompson-Boling Arena and beat a vengeance-minded Volunteer team. Despite a late rally, the Tigers held off the Vols with a game-high 17 points from super frosh Tyreke Evans and won 54-52.

5.) Six Times the Charm:  Speaking of Evans, the latest ‘diaper dandy’ to don the Memphis blue and white was named the CUSA Rookie of the Week for the 6th time this season. This is has never happened before and is a testament to not only John Calipari’s recruiting ability, but his ability to develop talent as well.

6.) A Forgettable Week for the Mustangs and Owls: There have been some highlights this week, but there have also been some lowlights for a couple of CUSA teams. Things were starting to look positive for the SMU basketball program, with an upset of Colorado and a home win over Tulane. But the Ponys proceeded to lose to Marshall on a 75-foot last second shot. Adding insult to injury, ECU got their 5th ever road win since join Conference USA against the Ponys by a score of 80-74.  The Rice hoopers lost their two CUSA games by an average of 33 points and averaged only 46.0 points in each. While the Owls’ two opponents (Memphis and UAB) aren’t slouches, they are looking way less competitive now as compared to earlier in the year. The loss of the team’s top freshman, Lucas Kuipers, didn’t help matters either.

1. Memphis: 14-3 (4-0)
2. Houston: 11-4 (2-1)
3. Southern Miss: 11-5 (2-1)
4. Tulsa: 12-6 (2-1)
5. UTEP: 11-6 (2-1)
6. UCF: 11-6 (1-2)
7. UAB: 10-7 (1-2)
8. East Carolina: 9-7 (1-2)
9. Marshall: 8-9 (1-2)
10. Tulane: 7-9 (1-2)
11. SMU: 6-9 (1-2)
12. Rice: 6-11 (1-2)

This week in Conference USA basketball was full of the various surprises and dramatics that make college basketball season something special.  However when the dust settled this week, the same team was still the proverbial ‘King of the Castle’ and still nobody else from the pack has distinguished themselves.

So here’s what happened in this week of CUSA basketball:

1.)    Down to the Wire in Tulsa: The basketball gods couldn’t have picked a better night to display the late game dramatics of the Tulsa/Memphis match-up from last Tuesday. Despite the horrible announcing of Doug Gottlieb and whoever his broadcast partner was, I made it to the end of the game and Tulsa held a slim 54-53 lead with 4.5 seconds on the clock. Tulsa’s junior big man Jerome Jordan had a career night of 20 points and 13 rebounds and it looked like the Golden Hurricane were going to end the Tigers’ 44 game CUSA winning streak. But Tiger senior Antonio Anderson had other ideas, driving the length of the court and scoring on a layup as time expired lifting Memphis to a 55-54 victory. There will be other challenges for the Tigers, but I have a hard time believing they will be as dramatic as last Tuesday. The question of the year is: Who (if anyone) can beat the Tigers?

2.)    0’for No More: Coming into their last game against UTEP, the Houston basketball program had never won a game at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso. With the Miners playing some of their best basketball lately, the odds were against the Cougars. But the balanced scoring effort from the Houston starters (all five scored in double digits) helped pace a 94-86 Cougar win. Kelvin Lewis had 29 points and Aubrey Coleman added 24 in the winning effort.

3.)    Rivalry Game Letdown: I doubt that a good deal of Marshall fans came into last Wednesday’s game with West Virginia, expecting a win. But the 87-76 loss was this basketball season in a microcosm for the Thundering Herd. There was a solid, promising effort at times and yet in the end the defense and team basketball just wasn’t there. It’s safe to say now that transfers Chris Lutz (Purdue) and Octavius Spann (Georgetown) have been disappointments for the Thundering Herd. Bob Huggins has a solid team this year at West Virginia, but they certainly aren’t invincible.

4.)    Cousins Creates Recruiting Battle: For much of the past year, DeMarcus Cousins of Mobile, Alabama was the ‘five star’ cornerstone of what looked like a great recruiting class for UAB. But when the university would not give Cousins a release if Mike Davis left, his commitment became doubtful. In the talk leading up the nationally-televised game between Cousins’ Leflore High and South Atlanta High, there was talk Memphis was the new favorite for Cousins. While Coach Davis was in attendance at the Leflore/South Atlanta game, there are question marks about whether he’ll even be the coach at UAB next year. It’s clear that the recruitment of Cousins will heat up an already intense rivalry between the Blazers and Tigers.

5.)    And Now For the Embarrassing Moments: Nobody said it would be easy to rebuild the fortunes of the Rice basketball program coming off a 3-27 record last year. But there were promising moments and yet on Saturday the Owls got blown off the court, losing by 25 (77-52) at home to UCF. They are desperately short on any players with offensive ability and the news just keeps getting worse, as their top freshman Lucas Kuipers is done for the year… There’s no shame in losing to UAB on the road, but blowing nearly a double-digit lead in the last 5 minutes of the game like UCF did, is. The Golden Knights allowed the Blazers to go on a 17-0 run and led by Robert Vaden’s 19 points they pulled out a 60-52 win.

Well that’s another week completed and though there are some exciting stories, the fundamental question of whether this league will get more than one bid still remains.

CUSA Basketball Standings:

1. Memphis  12-3 (2-0)
2. Houston  10-3 (1-0)
3. Tulsa  10-5 (1-0)
4. UTEP  10-5 (1-0)
5. East Carolina  9-6 (1-1)
6. Marshall  8-7 (1-1)
7. Tulane  7-8 (1-1)
8. UCF  10-5 (0-1)
9. Southern Miss  9-5 (0-1)
10. UAB  9-6 (0-1)
11. SMU  5-8 (0-1)
12. Rice  5-10 (0-1)

Now that the proverbial dark cloud of non-conference play has passed, there’s the excitement of Conference USA basketball.  Everyone is now 0-0 and has their chances (some larger than others) to make a statement in the second half of the season. As this week started it didn’t matter if you were Memphis or SMU, a new season has begun for your team.

1.)  Same ‘Ol, Same ‘Ol in Memphis: There may be some surprises in conference play this season, but it doesn’t look the Tigers will be providing as many of them. In their conference opener at the FedEx Forum, Memphis dominated from start to finish in an 80-57 win over Marshall. The Tigers got a balanced scoring effort from Tyreke Evans and company. Things got scary in Orlando though as the Tigers got a stiff road test from UCF. Before last Saturday’s game, the athletic department encouraged all Knight fans to come to the arena “armored in black” to create a blackout effect. The Tigers ended up winning 73-66 due in large part to a 13 point effort from reserve Roburt Sallie. While this may be the season Memphis loses a conference game, it’s still been over 1000 days since that’s happened.

2.) UABlasted: Despite losing some scholarship players in December and playing with a short bench, UAB had played well and looked like they weren’t affected by these losses. Well that was until they made a trip to play Houston this past weekend to open conference play. The typically hot-shooting Blazer guard Robert Vaden was held to 10 points and 1-8 shooting from beyond the arc. As a team the Blazers were held to a measly 6.3% (1-16) from the three-point line. The Cougars got a 25 point effort from Aubrey Coleman, who scored all of his points in the second half.  Kelvin Lewis also had 19 points and Marcus Cousin had 12 points and 12 rebounds for his 5th double-double of the year. The Cougars and Blazers both have a lot of questions to answer as conference play continues.

3.) Jackson Becomes an All-Timer: I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that a few weeks back, UTEP guard Stefon Jackson is the all-time leading scorer in Miner basketball history. Jackson scored 44 points against Santa Clara in the Cable Car Classic and passed Brandon Wolfram’s 1,831 point total for the all-time record. The Miners have a great basketball history, so it’s pretty incredible that Jackson has accomplished this feat.

4.) A Few Non-Conference Highlights: There’s been no shortage of embarrassing losses for Conference USA in this basketball season. But there were a few highlights from this past week that are worth mentioning. UTEP went to New Mexico’s always intimidating home court: the Pit, and not only won, but blew out the Lobos. Stefon Jackson led the Miners with 18 points and Randy Culpepper also added 14. It’s worth noting in the second half that the Miners outscored the Lobos 49-33…  I’ve been very hard on SMU basketball and coach Matt Doherty in my weekly updates. But the Mustangs deserve big credit for beating Colorado 70-67 last Monday in Dallas. The Buffaloes may be the worst team in the Big 12, but the Mustangs won’t be picky about quality wins after the awful start they had this season. Derek Williams led the Ponys with 14 points and Bamba Fall had 13…  Ever since they beat Texas A&M in the South Padre invitational, Tulsa looked like they were in some kind of funk. Well, the Golden Hurricane went on the road and beat Atlantic 10 foe Charlotte 65-50 last Saturday. Big man Jerome Jordan led the Golden Hurricane with 16 points.

5.) CUSA Player of the Week: With the start of conference play I’ve decided to single out a player who was of the highest value to his respective team. Senior guard/forward Jermaine Taylor from UCF averaged 26.5 points in his two games last week. Last Monday the Golden Knights won their 12th game in a row at home in a 70-57 wins over Holy Cross. Also, in what was probably the most important game of the Knights’ season against Memphis, Taylor had 24 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. The Tigers ended up winning, but not before the Knights and Taylor gave them all they could handle. I can’t think of a player right now who’s more valuable to his team than Taylor.

For the last few seasons there’s always been the hope (misguided or not) that Conference USA basketball will return to the level it was prior to the Big East/Atlantic 10 exodus of a few years back.

As we enter the 2009 calendar, it’s looking more and more like the 2008-09 season will be another year of futility for the conference. There are still a few months to go in the season, but it’s clear that the teams in CUSA did not prove much in non-conference play.

1.) Ole Missed: The news has been mostly negative lately when it comes to CUSA basketball, but the Southern Miss program scored a huge win last Wednesday by defeating in-state rival Ole Miss 78-59. It has been an up and down few years for Golden Eagles coach Larry Eustachy, but it appears as though he has a pretty good team now in Hattiesburg. The credit for this improvement also should go to veteran guards Jeremy Wise and R.L. Horton. They are now sitting at 9-4 and have as good of a shot as anyone to be a top-echelon CUSA team.

2.) No ‘Miner’ Error: At the Cable Car Classic last Wednesday, UTEP was in a dog-fight with Santa Clara for the tournament title. Then with only 2.3 seconds remaining, a Santa Clara player tried to call a timeout that the team did not have. In this situation, that team is assessed a technical foul. Not only did the officiating crew not do this, but they allowed a substitution which eventually led to a game-winning shot by Santa Clara. In his post-game comments, Miner coach Tony Barbee owned up to his team’s poor defense on the final shot, but said he felt “violated” by the events of the final few seconds in that 89-88 loss. To their credit, the West Coast Conference suspended that particular officiating crew for their next contest.

3.) Houston, We Have a Problem: There’s no question that the Houston program has improved in many ways since Tom Penders took over in 2004. But if things didn’t look stagnant after last year’s late season collapse, this past week proved it in a big way. In a Sunday matinee the Cougars lost at home 71-67 to a below average Iowa State team. In addition to that, they went on the road and got demolished by Mississippi State, while only shooting 27.6% from the field. In his post game comments Coach Penders said his team couldn’t even get the ball in the Mississippi River. The 82-65 final score does not nearly do justice to how decisive of a blowout that game was. Even though they currently have an 8-3 record, it is practically meaningless and the Cougars have hardly played any decent opponents.

4.) Youth-CF: I don’t think there’s a younger team in America than the UCF Knights who have a total of 8 freshmen on their roster. Most prominently, A.J Rompza and Isaac Sosa are both Knight freshmen who’ve played in all 13 games. In fact, Rompza has started in 11 of the Knights’ games. Another freshman, Will Weathers, has also played in all 13 games. Really the biggest story on this team is senior Jermaine Taylor, who’s averaging a conference-high 23.2 points per game and a team-high 5.2 rebounds. Although they have not played the hardest schedule, the Knights are currently 7-0 on their home court.

5.) The Low Lights of the Week: Really, I wish these games didn’t occur and I didn’t have to write about them. But they have become quite frequent during this non-conference season. UT-San Antonio is an average Southland Conference team that has now knocked off not one… but TWO CUSA teams. Last Monday UTSA defeated SMU 80-75, despite the Mustangs getting a 19 point performance from stud freshman Paul McCoy. In reality, the only bright spot for the Mustangs all year has been McCoy… Typically a loss to an SEC team, however decisive, is not a cause of embarrassment for a CUSA basketball team. Well, the Tulane Green Wave found a way, by losing to Auburn 78-53 last Saturday. Keep in mind that Auburn has consistently been in the cellar of the SEC for the past several seasons. I hope Green Wave coach Dave Dickerson is getting his resume ready, because it looks like his team has taken a HUGE step back this season… I am a big fan of what Rice head coach Ben Braun has done so far, but his team got absolutely embarrassed on the road by a thoroughly average Richmond Spider team 74-43. I have watched them play a few times, and while they can play defense, they have some serious holes offensively.

Well, slowly but surely it’s looking like it’s back to the “one bid blues” once again for CUSA basketball.

Same song, just the second verse now.

This was another tough week for Conference USA basketball as the league desperately tries to find respect in non-conference play.

If we were to stop non-conference play today and commence CUSA play, I’d practically guarantee that this league would only get one bid to the NCAA tournament. But there are a few more opportunities for the teams in this league to prove themselves.

1.)    Let’s Get the Bad News Out of the Way: There were a few losses that were just very tough to swallow in the league. While they have a decent business school SUNY-Binghamton isn’t known for being a basketball powerhouse. You wouldn’t know it though by the way the Bearcats went on the road and beat Tulane 74-73. There will be a heated battle between the Green Wave and SMU for worst team in CUSA.  Really there’s no shame in losing to a top 10 caliber team like Wake Forest. But ECU didn’t just lose, they got hammered 95-54 by the Demon Deacons. But the real embarrassment came this past Sunday when the Pirates lost 63-55 to mighty Coastal Carolina. To put that loss in perspective CCU has losses to Presbyterian, Savannah State, North Carolina A&T and Coker. I wouldn’t call it embarrassing, but Houston needed a non-conference win against Iowa State if it wanted to call itself a contender for the NCAA tournament. The Cougars allowed ISU’s Larry Brackins to have a career day of 38 points and 14 rebounds, as the Cyclones won 71-67.

2.)    Blazing On: Yours truly predicted that there’d be rough times ahead for the UAB basketball program, which lost 4 scholarship players due to academic issues early in the month. To make up for the lack of depth on the bench, Blazer coach Mike Davis brought in Mike Jones, a sophomore receiver from the football team. Early last week the Blazers cruised in a 76-43 win over Florida Atlantic in which Paul Delaney III had 16 points. However in a nationally televised match-up with Louisville, the Blazers faded late and lost decisively 82-62. Expect to see the problem of fading late come up in future Blazer basketball games.

3.)    If Tudor is Rockin’, Come A Knockin’: Last week, Rice’s Tudor Fieldhouse was rocking as the Owls gave the #4 Oklahoma Sooners more than they bargained for. Future NBA lottery pick Blake Griffin had 28 points and 11 rebounds, while Willie Warren added 31 points for the Sooners. But the Owls actually held a lead as late as midway through the 2nd half. Despite Griffin’s gaudy totals, the Owls actually had a good defensive game-plan and neutralized him on the offensive end. Also, last Sunday the Owls defeated a respectable Arkansas-Little Rock 79-72 and got their first true road win of the 2008-09 season.

4.)    Tigers Try to Get Back On Track: It was a fairly uneventful week for the school that has become the basketball flagship of Conference USA: Memphis. Tiger coach John Calipari got a chance to relax somewhat as his team dominated Drexel from start-to-finish in an 87-48 win. The big test came from Cincinnati, who the Tigers handled 60-45, even though they shot only 37.8% total from the field. While it hasn’t been as dominant as recent years, an 8-3 record in non-conference is nothing to sneeze at.

The week of final examinations usually equates to a slow basketball week and Conference USA is no exception to the rule.

In fact Houston, Memphis, Tulane, Rice, ECU, UAB, UTEP, Marshall and SMU all refrained from scheduling games during the week.

However there were a few games and storylines worth talking about in this rather uneventful week:

1. Hurricane Alert? It’s an absolute mystery to me as to what’s happened to the Tulsa basketball team. They looked great in a 67-56 win over Texas A&M and have completely disappeared since. First they had a puzzling 75-63 loss to a mediocre Ohio team and then didn’t bother showing up in a 69-44 loss to in-state rival Oklahoma. Granted Blake Griffin and that Oklahoma team will make a lot of teams look bad this year. They have just looked bad offensively throughout this streak and can’t seem to get their stud 7-footer Jerome Jordan involved offensively. They couldn’t even blow out lowly Presbyterian College, settling for a 62-48 win.
2. The ‘Dez Dispenser. The lone freshman on the Houston roster has done wonders for their offense so far this year. Desmond Wade, who had a decorated prep career at Linden High School in New Jersey, was overlooked by many nearby colleges because of his 5 foot 9 stature. But Wade is proving many of the doubters wrong and so far has averaged 9.3 points and a team-high 6.3 assists per game. He also is second on the team with 33.4 minutes per game and has started every game except the Cougars’ opener. The emergence of Wade is a welcome sign for a Houston team that has lacked consistent point guard play the last two seasons.
3. Early Tests for the Tigers. Everyone would agree that Memphis has played the toughest non-conference schedule in CUSA and they’ve gotten some lumps to show for it. The Tigers struggled against #19 Georgetown in a 79-70 overtime loss and seem to keep having the same problems. As a team they shot a measly 34.6% and 26.3% from the three-point line. In the ‘dribble-drive’ offense, the big men will never be a huge part of the offense, but Robert Dozier is struggling to be the man in the low post. Tyreke Evans scored 21 points against Georgetown and is obviously the best freshman in CUSA. But the Tigers need one of their more experienced guys like Shawn Taggart, Doneal Mack or Antonio Anderson to step up. They’ll face stiff tests from Syracuse and Cincinnati before they get to CUSA play.
4. Just the Pitts. They have looked a little erratic at times this year, but the Marshall basketball team has a great point guard in freshman Damier Pitts and people are taking notice. The Sporting News named Pitts as one of the “2008-09 Top Freshman You’ve Never Heard Of” recently. So far this year Pitts is averaging 11.4 points and 3.0 assists per game, trailing only fellow ‘Herd freshman Shaquille Johnson in scoring.

There is no polite way to spin it: this was a bad week for Conference USA basketball.

From the outset of the season I have said that this league as a whole needs to win some significant non-conference games.

Not only did the conference not win any games of significance, there were several embarrassing losses this week.

1.)    A New Tiger Comes Aboard: It was a generally ‘ho-hum’ week in Memphis as the Tigers beat Marist 100-61 and then entered into an 11 day layoff for final exams. But this past Thursday the NCAA cleared Tiger freshman F Matt Simpkins to practice and play with the team. Previously Simpkins had academic issues that kept him off the court. Coming out of the Patterson School in North Carolina, Simpkins was a 4-star prospect and expected to make immediate contributions.

2.)    Ay, the Pirates Be Winning Road Games: Did I mention last week that ECU basketball has been pretty bad in the recent years? This week they beat UNC-Wilmington on the road 99-85, which is a team the Pirates hadn’t beaten away from home since 1992. Adding onto the significance was the fact that they hadn’t won back-to-back road games in even longer. Texas native James Legan had 26 points for the Pirates in their road win. I guarantee that this team will ruin a fellow C-USA team’s season when it’s all said and done.

3.)    The Ugly: I can’t overlook some of the truly hideous games of the week. The Tulane Green Wave look like the odds-on favorite to be the worst team in Conference USA this year. In an intra-city rivalry game against New Orleans the Wave lost in a 49-39 snoozer. The most baffling loss came from the Tulsa Golden Hurricane who lost 73-58 to Ohio University. And to top it all off the Rice Owls lost 78-75 to Texas…San Antonio. Currently the Owls are 1-3 on their home court, with their only win coming over lowly Texas State.

4.)    The ‘D’ in Davis Isn’t for ‘Defense’: No team has shown more of a ‘Jekyll & Hide’ persona than the UAB Blazers at this point in the year. They have shown themselves more than capable of running with the likes of teams such as Oklahoma and Arizona. Yet they just cannot play a lick of defense, regardless of who the opponent is. It took an overtime period for the Blazers to squeak by a bad USF team 78-77 at home. Lawrence Kinnard had 20 points and Robert Vaden had 18 in the USF win. This past Saturday the Blazers lost 87-80 to former CUSA foe Cincinnati in yet another lackluster defensive performance. There are enough good offensive teams in this league to give coach Mike Davis and the Blazers fits if they don’t shore up the defense.

5.)    Arsalan Kazemi: This is not breaking news, but it’s a really cool story. Rice coach Ben Braun has signed the first ever Iranian player in Division 1 basketball. Arsalan Kazemi, a 6 foot 8 forward prospect from the Patterson School and Isfahan, Iran, signed a letter of intent on November 2nd to play basketball for Rice University. Given all of the political tensions between Kazemi’s home country and the United States, this should be an interesting story to follow the next few seasons. Even more important than the political implications, Kazemi chose Rice over bigger name programs like Maryland, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Seton Hall.

If they’d just stopped there, we’d have no problem with their rankings.  However, they also felt a need to add a third criterion – the NCAA’s school graduation rates for student-athletes, which have been long derided as archaic, inconsistent and generally not useful as a tool for determining how well a school is serving and educating its student-athletes.  Use of these graduation rates as a performance measure ultimately results in a reductio ad absurdum situation where an elite academic and athletic instutition like Stanford is penalized because an obviously articulate and well-rounded athlete such as Tiger Woods did not formally graduate before turning pro.  

A Relevant Indicator?  Not Here

And not only that, the NCSA decided to weight graduation rates equally (each counting one-third) with the academic and athletic ratings.  We could probably live with its inclusion if its weight was substantially minimized, but not as it currently exists.  Nevertheless, here is the NCSA list.  See Table A below.

Table A.  NCSA Division I Power Ratings 

Ok, so we have no problem with many of the schools at the top – HYP, Duke, Stanford, Rice, the other usual suspects…  But look at some of the more dubious schools that piggyback a high graduation rate (and not much else) into the top 50 – UMass-Lowell??  Bentley??  Coastal Carolina??  The NCSA cannot be serious.

According to the NCSA, Bentley Does Better Than Cal & Texas as an Academic/Athletic School

Additionally, consider the schools who do not have athletes who would normally be inclined to leave school early for the pros, train for the Olympics or seek more playing time elsewhere (not even benchwarmers leave Harvard).  The NCAA penalizes schools with transfers under its current metric for determining graduation rates.  Therefore, the Ivies, W&M, Furman, Drury, etc., all fare well in Table A because of the disproportionate weight given by the NCSA to graduation rates.  The bigger state schools that have excellent academics and athletics, yet are more vulnerable to market forces and playing time considerations - Michigan, UNC, Virginia, UCLA, Cal – are all penalized using the NCSA method. 

So let’s take a look at what the NCSA should look like, by eliminating the graduation rates and simply comparing academic success and athletic success.  See Table B below.

Table B.  Division I Ratings (US News + Sears Cup)

That’s more like it.  Stanford is in its rightful place at #1 (how could the #4 national university and 13-time defending Sears Cup winner not be?), and all the schools we’d expect to be near the top of such a list are there.  Look at some of the highest risers – Johns Hopkins went from 59th to 3d; Cal from 88th to 5th; Texas from 78th to 14th; Wisconsin from 45th to 10th. 

This list is instructive in the sense that it shows which schools are getting the most out of its academic and athletic programs, but the NCSA flubs it my weighing graduation rates on par with the other two much more informative criteria.  Maybe they’ll do better next year.     

Update:  a UCLA fan rightfully questioned us as to why the Bruins and crosstown rival USC were not originally included on our list.  After a few moments of thought, we realized that the NCSA list didn’t have either school in its top 100!!!  This can only mean that the LA schools’ respective graduation rates were so low that its weight carried both schools outside the NCSA top 100 D1 schools, essentially proving our point about the ridiculousness of its weighting system.  UCLA (#25 US News and #2 Sears Cup) would earn a rating of 13.5 in our system, which would place the Bruins #4 on our overall list.  USC (#27 US News and #5 Sears Cup) would earn a rating of 16.0, placing the Trojans #7 overall. 

Update #2:  After reviewing NCSA’s data, we decided a whole new post was warranted.  We revamp the entire list and also take a look at how the BCS conferences stack up in our Athlademic Ratings – Revised.