Conference USA Basketball Power Rankings

Things are getting tighter in the C-USA race, just like last Saturday's matchups.

Four games were decided by five or fewer points, highlighted by Charlotte's last second win, and UTEP snapping UAB's Bartow streak.

Forget Manning v Brady, LA Tech and So Miss was the highlight of my Sunday.

Two things to take away from that game: So Miss is good, real good, and LA Tech is still a top contender with or without Raheem Appleby.

The guard trio of Alex Hamilton, Cordarius Johnson, and Appleby is going to be tough to beat come tourney time in our hood.

Terrance Williams slammed home the finishing touches of a Charlotte sweep on Saturday, the Niners edged North Texas with that dunk, and out lasted pesky Tulsa in overtime on Thursday.

Huge pair of wins to bounce back in towards the top, when Pierra Henry is aggressive on offense, the Niners are tough to stop.

UTSA was the surprise of the opening weekend, a 2-0 start faltered this week to a Denny Green description of the Runners.

They will head out west to face UTEP, who turned in the best two game conference road trip under Tim Floyd.

Depth still remains an issue, but my write-up from last Sunday will explain the transformation of this team since the transgressions of a couple of weeks ago.

East Carolina also deserves a Denny Green sticker, just was not sold on them despite their very respectable record in the non-conference.

The Pirates have lost to three teams to open conference play that when you come into conference with 11 wins, and are scoring more than 80 night, you should beat.

The Mean Green of North Texas also have slipped since the open of conference, but to their credit, their schedule was very strong to open with.

How about Old Dominion?

I dislike the "Monarch" nickname, that will take time for me to get over, but love the way they play basketball, and have won all three of their first Conference USA games on the road. If you hold any conference opponent to under 50 points your going to be tough to beat each night.

The smaller Monarchs will face its tallest challenge of their C-USA existence with Southern Miss on Thursday. Aaron Bacote has to be back at full strength for ODU. A resilient two weeks for them as well, winning four straight after losing eight of their previous nine.

Every weekend is huge, but this one offers up some good match-ups that could make a difference in the standings later in the season.

Games To Keep An Eye On

Charlotte @ LA Tech, 5:30 PM MT, Thur

So Miss. @ Old Dominion 5:00 PM MT, Thur

Middle Tennessee @ Tulsa, 7:00 PM MT, Thur

UAB @ Tulsa, 2:05 PM MT, Sat

Teams Trending Up

Southern Miss.

Old Dominion

UTEP

Tulsa

Conference RPI

Trending Down

East Carolina

North Texas

Rice

After all the rambling here ya go...

16.

Marshall Thundering Herd

(6-13, 0-4)

Up Next: @ Rice, Thur @ LA Tech, Sat

Last Week Ranking: # 16

RPI: 315

SOS: 232

15.

Rice

(5-12, 0-4)

This Week: vs Marshall, Thur vs Charlotte, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #14

RPI: 276

SOS: 150

14.

Florida Atlantic Owls

(7-12, 2-2)

This Week: W(68-53) vs Harvard, Tue @ FIU, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #15

RPI: 277

SOS: 163

13.

UTSA Roadrunners

(6-11. 2-2)

This Week: @ UTEP, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #13

RPI: 296

SOS: 226

12.

Tulane Green Wave

(10-9, 2-2)

This Week: @ ECU, Thur @ ODU, Sat

Last Week: #11

RPI: 248

SOS: 263

11.

Fla. International Golden Panthers

(10-9, 2-2)

This Week: vs FAU, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #10

RPI: 204

SOS: 255

10.

North Texas Mean Green

(10-9, 1-3)

This Week: vs UAB, Thur vs Middle Tennessee, Sat

This Week Ranking: #8

RPI: 164

SOS: 128

9.

East Carolina Pirates

(11-7, 0-3)

This Week: vs Tulane, Sat vs So Miss, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #6

RPI: 215

SOS: 277

8.

Old Dominion Monarchs

(9-9, 3-0)

This Week: vs So Miss, Thur vs Tulane, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #12

RPI: 184

SOS: 193

7.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

(8-10-6, 3-1)

This Week: vs Middle Tennessee, Thur vs UAB, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #9

RPI: 124

SOS: 48

6.

UAB Blazers

(12-5, 1-2)

This Week: @ North Texas, Thur @ Tulsa, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #4

RPI: 141

SOS: 200

5.

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

(12-6, 2-1)

This Week: @ Tulsa, Thur @ North Texas, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #3

RPI: 125

SOS: 149

4.

UTEP Miners

(13-6, 3-1)

This Week: vs UTSA, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #7

RPI: 110

SOS: 118

3

Charlotte 49ers

(12-5, 3-1)

This Week: @ LA Tech, Thur @ Rice, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #5

RPI: 106

SOS: 136

2.

LA Tech Bulldogs

(15-4, 3-1)

This Week: vs Charlotte, Thur vs Marshall, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #1

RPI: 81

SOS: 230

1.

Southern Miss Golden Eagles

(16-3, 3-1)

This Week: @ ODU, Thur @ ECU, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #2

RPI: 41

SOS: 130

Conference RPI: 14

Conference SOS: 16