Here we are in the last week of the regular season, and the conference RPI numbers have turned out great. It would've been nice to see some teams do a little better, namely UTEP and Tulane, as stronger numbers from those two would've really boosted the overall strength of the conference. Either way, we have four teams in the top 50, and three more in the top 100. The strength of those teams, and that of others as well, has made Conference USA the 8th best conference in the nation, behind the power 6 conferences and the Mountain West. Here is a look at this week's Conference USA RPI rankings.
| Team | ESPN InsideRPI | CBSsports.com RPI | Realtimerpi.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAB Blazers | 31 | 32 | 31 |
| Memphis Tigers | 34 | 34 | 33 |
| Southern Miss Golden Eagles | 39 | 40 | 39 |
| Marshall Thundering Herd | 49 | 51 | 51 |
| UCF Knights | 54 | 56 | 56 |
| UTEP Miners | 70 | 70 | 70 |
| Tulsa Golden Hurricane | 92 | 93 | 93 |
| East Carolina Pirates | 118 | 118 | 123 |
| Rice Owls | 186 | 189 | 189 |
| SMU Mustangs | 195 | 197 | 197 |
| Houston Cougars | 218 | 217 | 217 |
| Tulane Green Wave | 244 | 244 | 244 |
What a great year we've had here in Conference USA. It will be a shame if the NCAA tournament selection committee does not take the strength of our teams (from top to bottom) into consideration. The only thing I can nitpick about is the dropoff of almost 70 spots between ECU and Rice. I would've liked to have to seen the bottom three teams numbers improved, but overall this is still very impressive. Much improved from last year, and much better than a handful of other conferences that are almost guaranteed multiple bids. Hopefully this means something to the committee.