Steve Coulter is the RTC correspondent for Conference USA.

Reader’s Take

Despite having two teams earn bids into the NCAA Tournament last season, Conference USA walked away without a win.

Top Storylines

• Can Memphis Pull Away?: While the Tigers have fielded strong teams since John Calipari left after the 2008-09 season, they’ve never had quite as much talent in that time as they figure to show this season. With essentially every notable contributor returning, a huge gap could form quickly. On the other hand, chemistry rarely comes instantly, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Memphis have a double-digit loss season, either.
• Central Florida Continues To Build: Thanks partially to a soft non-conference schedule of six opponents with KenPom ratings 200 or lower and a non-D-I matchup, UCF cracked the national rankings for the first time in school history. While the Knights came down to Earth once conference play began, momentum is important no matter how it’s established. After winning two postseason games, we’re excited to see how the UCF follows up on a surprising season.
• Realignment Hovers Over C-USA: Perhaps no single conference houses as many schools that were rumored to be on their way out than Conference USA, even if its membership ultimately stayed intact. East Carolina and UCF are frequently connected to the Big East; Memphis’ basketball program is as valuable a commodity as there is outside of the Power Six, and in its shakier days, the Big 12 could have found itself eyeing the Texas schools as a contingency plan in case the Longhorns and Sooners packed up for the Pac-12. It didn’t come to pass, but you have to wonder just what C-USA will look like in the long term.

This Year's Tigers, Led By Will Barton, Could Be Pastner's Most Talented Memphis Team Ever

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Read the rest of this entry »

Steve Coulter is the RTC correspondent for Conference USA.

A Look Back

• Culpepper Ends Starting Streak: Once named the Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year, senior UTEP guard Randy Culpepper returned to the bench last weekend, snapping a streak of 40 games started in a row. The Preseason Player of the Year dropped 24 points coming off the bench and ultimately lead the Miners to a 65-56 win over Michigan.
• ECU’s Young Reaches 500-assist Plateau: Senior guard Brock Young became the seventh player in conference history to reach 500 career assists during the Pirates’ 81-53 win over UNC Greensboro. Despite a slow start and limited playing time, Young was able to reach the milestone only seven games into the Pirates schedule.
• UAB Tops Arkansas in OT: Senior guard Jamarr Sanders led the way with 19 points, while all five starters scored in double digits for UAB as they ousted Arkansas 70-65 in overtime. Sophomore Ovie Soko finished with 17 points, but the most impressive performance came from sophomore Cameron Moore, who ended up with his third double-double. Moore scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
• Rice keeps it close with #20 Texas: Texas guard Cory Joseph’s layup with 37 seconds left lifted the Longhorns over the Owls. Despite beginning the second half trailing 23-20, Texas walked away with a 62-59 win after making nine three-pointers in the second half. The Owls (3-3) were led by Arsalan Kazemi, who finished with 13 points and has scored in double digits every game this season.
• UTEP Splits in Atlantic City: After a win over New Mexico State on Tuesday, UTEP split a pair of games in the Legends Classic this past weekend. On Friday, the Miners were beaten by Georgia Tech 71-61, but rebounded with a 65-56 win over Michigan. The Miners finished third in the tournament.
• Clarkson Remains hot, Tulsa Rolls Past Stanford: After being named C-USA Freshman of the Week, Tulsa guard Jordan Clarkson scored a career-high 20 points to lead Tulsa to a 66-53 win over Stanford. The day before, the Golden Hurricanes were dropped by UNLV, 80-71. Against the Rebels, Clarkson was limited to just nine points.
• Houston Loses In-State Battle With TCU: Houston couldn’t win its first road game against in-state foe TCU. Ronnie Moss and Garlon Green led the Horned Frogs (4-2) with 17 and 16 points, respectively.  After winning their previous two games at home, the Cougars couldn’t overcome 19 turnovers and ended up losing 79-63.

Caught On Film

Marcus Jordan Dunking like Dad: Despite being in only his second season at Central Florida, Marcus Jordan has begun to compile a highlight reel. On Tuesday night, the guard intercepted an inbound pass from Stetson sophomore Ridge Graham and dunked over the dazed Graham. The result was Jordan ending up at #7 on SportsCenter next day as seen in the highlight below.

The Knights went on to win the contest 85-48, then obliterated Alabama State 84-48 on Saturday. Jordan scored 18 points in that contest and has scored in double figures in all five games this season. He leads the 5-0 Knights, averaging 16.8 points per game. Older brother Jeff sits on the bench this season after transferring from Illinois last year.

Power Rankings

1. Memphis (5-0): The conference’s only ranked team also is in the top ten among scoring offenses in the nation. Everything seems to be running smoothly for the Tigers following the departure of Jelan Kendrick. Freshmen Will Barton and Joe Jackson are combining for 23 points a game, while junior Will Witherspoon is having a big season, scoring 15.4 points and 5.6 rebounds a contest. The team is a week away from taking on #4 Kansas in Madison Square Garden.
2. Central Florida (5-0): The Knights have been absolutely dominant thus far, earning small wins over Stetson and Alabama State this past week. Currently, UCF is #12 in the nation in points per game and is shooting over 55% from the field. Limiting their last four opponents to fewer than 60 points has helped the quick start.
3. Southern Mississippi (4-0): Winless Alcorn State looms for the Golden Eagles as the number three rebounding team in the nation looks to get to 5-0 before next weekend’s matchup vs. Ole Miss. Freshman guard D.J. Newbill has come on strong, recording two double-doubles so far this season. Meanwhile, seniors Josimar Ayarza and Gary Flowers have provided stability.
4. UAB (4-1): The Blazers make a strong case to be inside the conference’s top four teams. Apart from a three-point loss to Arizona State, the Blazers are perfect and utilizing all team members. In their win over Arkansas, all five starters scored in double digits. Also, Aaron Johnson continues to shine, averaging 9.6 assists per contest.
5. UTEP (4-2): The move of benching Culpepper paid dividends last weekend, but it is unseen whether or not head coach Tim Floyd is going to keep his superstar from the starting lineup. Senior Jeremy Williams grabbed ten rebounds against the Wolverines. He is currently second on the team, averaging 6.3 boards a game.
6. Houston (4-2): Big performances off the bench helped the Cougars stay in their last game against TCU, but the starting lineup will need to play better if Houston plans on having the same success as they did last year. Tuesday night they will travel to LSU to continue their tough out of conference schedule. Senior guard Adam Brown is shooting over 50 percent from the three-point line and is averaging 15.5 points per game.
7. Marshall (3-2): Tough loss to Louisville (4-0), but it is important to note that the Thundering Herd led 34-33 at halftime only to be outscored by 15 in the second half. DeAndre Kane finished with a career-high 25 points, averaging a little less than 14 per game. The biggest problem for Marshall right now: turnovers. Six giveaways in the first couple of minutes in the second half allowed Louisville to take over and never look back.
8. Tulsa (4-2): With a trio of scorers in Justin Hurtt, Steven Idlet and Jordan Clarkson, the Golden Hurricane looks to be a spoiler team come conference play. Wins over Oral Roberts and Stanford have helped.
9. East Carolina (5-2): Five weak wins for the Pirates, which means they still remain in the bottom tier of the conference. Senior guard Jontae Sherrod scored 17 off the bench. He currently leads the team in scoring and has scored in double-digits in three consecutive games.
10. SMU (4-3): The Mustangs are one of the worst rebounding teams in the nation, despite the inside presence of Papa Dia who is averaging 15.3 points a game and 8.3 rebounds per contest. Dia’s double-double against Central Arkansas helped the Mustangs hold on for their fourth victory. With a three-game winning streak, SMU travels to Louisiana Tech, then return home to host Grambling.
11. Rice (3-3): Despite never trailing by more than five points in the second half against Texas, this is a team that can comfortably set up shop in the bottom tier of the standings. It only gets tougher for the Owls as they travel to take on Arizona on Wednesday.
12. Tulane (3-2): Getting dropped by Nicholls State (2-2) for the first time in 19 meetings didn’t help the Green Wave get out of the conference’s cellar.  On the bright side, the scoring duo of Kris Richard and Kendall Timmons is averaging over 30 points per game and gives Tulane reason to be confident as the season progresses.

A Look Ahead

• Central Florida Gets a Shot Against The Gators: The Knights have an early season test this week when they host on in-state foe Florida. So far, UCF is 5-0 with small victories. The Gators (5-1) are a ranked #18 currently and are coming off a big road win against Florida State. Besides an early win over South Florida, this is the first quality game UCF will play this season.
• UAB Hits the Road: On Friday, UAB will travel to Athens., to take on Georgia, which will be the second SEC team the Blazers have faced in as many weeks. Last Saturday, the Blazers took on Arkansas in a neutral location and walked away with the upset victory. After the game against the Bulldogs, UAB’s schedule gets a little easier until they have to travel to take on top-ranked Duke on January 5.

Zach Hayes is a editor, contributor and bracketologist at Rush the Court.  To see the entire group of 2010-11 Class Schedules, click here.

If you’ve been a visitor to RTC since last summer, you’ll remember our Class Schedule feature during the offseason, one in which we dissect and analyze the schedules of the most notable teams in the nation, from the easiest to the hardest stretch, the most intense rivalry to the early season tune-ups, upset watch to best individual matchup. If your team is lingering around the expected preseason top 25, their schedule will be scrutinized in the next couple of months. There’s no rhyme or reason to the madness, just a prominent school every few days as the releases begin to trickle out from the respective schools (up next is Texas).

Team Outlook: As we did last summer, let’s start with the Kansas Jayhawks (schedule here). Kansas saw another mass defection similar to the post-Chalmers shot version of Rock Chalk, but just as that team barely blinked on their way to a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, we don’t expect much rebuilding this winter in Lawrence, either. Marcus Morris returns as a candidate for Big 12 Player of the Year and one of the most skilled big men in the country. Josh Selby enters as one of the most heralded freshmen in the nation and could step in as starting point guard immediately. There’s plenty of talent around Morris and Selby that have the chance to make a leap forward, from enigmatic wing Tyshawn Taylor to athletic forward Thomas Robinson and Marcus’ brother, Markieff Morris. The reloading of this roster should be strong enough to maintain a spot in the polls wire to wire with a chance that Bill Self hoists his seventh consecutive conference crown next March.

Non-Conference Schedule Rank (ranked 1 thru 10, 10 being the most difficult): 6. Kansas’ non-conference games remind me of Notre Dame’s football schedule every fall- a slate chocked full of “name” programs that, well, shouldn’t be all that powerful when the dust clears. At first glance, one can’t help be impressed by the names: UCLA, Arizona, Michigan, California, USC, Memphis. And yet, in all likelihood only Memphis has a legitimate chance to sniff the Top 25 this season unless things come together for Ben Howland awfully quickly, and even the Tigers were just dealt a potentially devastating blow this past week. Give Self credit, though. He couldn’t have anticipated the Pac-10 would be mired in such a down spiral and he could have drawn top-15 Syracuse or top-five Michigan State in the Jimmy V Classic instead. As it stands right now, Kansas should be favored in every single non-conference game this year. Their only true road games are at California and at Michigan, two teams that are in the process of re-stocking their squads and could find themselves missing out on postseason play altogether in 2011.

Cupcake City: With six games against “name” schools and Colorado State thrown in, the frosting isn’t piled on too heavy for Kansas. Even two of their weaker non-conference games come against teams that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament- North Texas and Ohio. The Mean Green are expected to win the Sun Belt once again with three of their top four scorers returning, while the Bobcats have four double-digit scorers not named Armon Bassett back in Athens following their improbable blowout of Georgetown last March.  Another team that could hang with a Kansas team still feeling each other out in mid-November is a talented Homer Drew coached Valparaiso squad. The teams that Kansas should run roughshod over in Lawrence include Longwood, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UT-Arlington and UMKC. Also: ask Kentucky if you should overlook Miami (OH).

Toughest Early Season Test: As we mentioned, California and Michigan are rebuilding, rendering those true road games a bit lower on the difficulty scale (although it wouldn’t be wise to overlook any true road game in college basketball). The stiffest challenge should come from Memphis in the first game of the Jimmy V Classic doubleheader on December 7. Memphis is one of the few teams that can match Kansas’ explosiveness and athleticism. Even factoring in the Will Barton fiasco, Josh Pastner brings in two other five-star recruits in small forward Jelan Kendrick and Memphis native point guard Joe Jackson. They’ll join forces with returnees Will Witherspoon, Will Coleman and sleeper Angel Garcia to reclaim what they believe is their rightful spot atop Conference USA. Remember last season when a less talented Tigers squad took the Jayhawks down to the wire in November?

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