Conference USA Basketball Power Rankings

Is it March yet?

Exactly a month from now we will all gather in the Haskins Center as the conference tournament will be underway, and the fun will really begin.

Until then there are still four weeks of play left in the regular season.

The clear leaders have loudly identified themselves. Southern Miss, UTEP, and LA Tech will all hold down the top three spots, the fourth is up for grabs for 4-6 different teams.

LA Tech has played more D-1 opponents that anyone in the conference, which is why they have the second highest RPI in the league. 6-8 weeks cant come any sooner for the return of Raheem Appleby.

Southern Miss struggled in the first halves against Marshall, and Charlotte, though further justified their top ranking with a solid second half finish against a tough Charlotte team.

Neil Watson is one the best defensive guards in the country, his hands are stupid quick, and he can give fits to the best of them, just like Pierria Henry found out.

UTEP deserves a good look at number one, though the Miners have six losses against D-1 opponents compared to Southern Miss' 19-3 mark against D-1 teams. The Golden Eagles are also 11-0 at home on the season.

Febuary 22nd that debate will be settled on the hardwood.

UAB has officially fell out of the contender label.

After winning two solid games against Tulsa and Old Dominion, the Blazers have lost two straight including coming up empty in their Florida swing last weekend.

Is it safe to say Tulane might make a run?

The Green Wave used a pair of slim margin victories to move up to the 7th spot. Jay Hook knocked down a game winning trey to put away Marshall, that is now four wins out of their last six.

Tulane's conference losses are all respectable, So Miss, LA Tech, ODU, Tulsa, though if they are for real, they will need to sweep their Middle Tennessee, UAB swing this coming weekend.

Jonathan Stark is making a very strong case for freshman of the year with 20 double digit scoring games this season, he will need the continued contributions from Hook and Louis Dabney if this Tulane team plans on making a run.

Game of the week is Saturday night when Middle Tennessee visits Southern Miss. The Blue Raiders have quietly won five straight, I'm pretty confident in putting out an upset alert in this one.

The physical nature of the Blue Raiders could be the difference against the smaller, quicker Golden Eagles. Southern Miss has some mass to make up for the height, though Shawn Jones has been on a tear, just don't know who can hold him from the Golden Eagles standpoint.

Its always nice to play Southern Miss at home, hope there is a strong crowd in Murfreesboro, a Blue Raider win, and the madness will officially start in February, at least in the C-USA.

Here are this week's rankings, and a mid-season look at some possible candidates for individual awards at the end of the season.

Games to keep an eye on this week:

Tulane at Middle Tennessee, Thur

Southern Miss at Middle Tennessee, Sat

Old Dominion at Tulsa, Sat

16.

Marshall Thundering Herd

(8-17, 2-8)

Up Next: @ Charlotte, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #15

RPI: 279

SOS: 168

15.

Rice Owls

(7-16, 2-8)

Up Next: @ LA Tech, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #16

RPI: 294

SOS: 204

14.

UTSA Roadrunners

(7-15, 3-6)

Up Next: vs FIU, Thur vs FAU, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #14

RPI: 300

SOS: 219

13.

North Texas Mean Green

(11-12, 2-7)

This Week: @Old Dominion, Thur @ ECU, Sat

Last Week: #9

RPI: 184

SOS: 125

12.

East Carolina Pirates

(13-11, 2-7)

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

Last Week Ranking: #13

RPI: 201

SOS: 175

11.

Florida Atlantic Owls

(9-15, 4-5)

This Week: @ UTEP, Thur @ UTSA, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #12

RPI: 242

SOS: 133

10.

Florida International Golden Panthers

(12-12, 4-5)

This Week: @ UTSA, Thur @ UTEP, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #11

RPI: 218

SOS: 230

9.

Old Dominion Monarchs

(11-13, 5-4)

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

Last Week Ranking: #8

RPI: 174

SOS: 124

8.

UAB Blazers

(14-9, 3-6)

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

Last Week Ranking: #7

RPI: 173

SOS: 202

7.

Tulane Green Wave

(13-11, 5-4)

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

Last Week Ranking: #10

RPI: 216

SOS: 231

6.

Charlotte 49ers

(14-9, 5-5)

This Week: vs Marshall, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #5

RPI: 110

SOS: 151

5.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

(11-12, 6-3)

This Week: vs East Carolina, Thur vs Old Dominion, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #6

RPI: 128

SOS: 151

4.

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

(17-7, 7-2)

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

Last Week Ranking: #4

RPI: 89

SOS: 136

3.

LA Tech Bulldogs

(20-5, 8-2)

This Week: vs Rice, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #3

RPI: 69

SOS: 207

2.

UTEP Miners

(18-6, 8-1)

This Week: vs FAU, Thur vs FIU,Sat

Last Week Ranking: #2

RPI: 76

SOS: 122

1.

Southern Miss. Golden Eagles

(21-3, 8-1)

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

Last Week Ranking: #1

RPI: 33

SOS: 146

Conference RPI: 13

Conference SOS: 13

Miner Rush Mid-Conference All-C-USA Awards.

MVP: John Bohannon, UTEP

Six-men: Shawn Lester, Charlotte, Cedrick Lang, UTEP

Freshmen of the year: Vince Hunter, UTEP, Johnathon Stark, Tulane

Defensive Player of the Year: Kenneth Smith, LA Tech, Michale Kyser, LA Tech, Neil Watson, Southern Miss, Julian Washburn, UTEP

First Team All-C-USA

Neil Watson, So Miss

Akeem Richmond, East Carolina

Michael Craig, So Miss

Shawn Jones, Middle Tennessee

John Bohannon, UTEP,

Second Team

Pablo Bertone, FAU

Alex Hamilton, LA Tech

Chad Frazier, UAB

Julian Washburn, UTEP

Tymell Murphy, FIU

All-Freshman Team

Jonathan Stark, Tulane

Kareem Canty, Marshall

Ryan Taylor, Marshall

Vince Hunter, UTEP

Sean Obi, Rice

Honorable Mention

C.J. Cooper, UTEP

Pierria Henry, Charlotte,

Kenneth Smith, LA Tech

James Woodard, Tulsa

Rakeem Buckles, FIU

C.J. Washington, UAB

Aaron Bacote, Old Dominion

Louis Dabney, Tulane

Keon Lewis, UTSA

Willie Clayton, Charlotte