Conference USA Basketball Power Rankings

Madness has started a month early in the C-USA.

Former number one Southern Miss was upset Thursday, so was former number two UTEP, that opened up some huge opportunities for a mumble jumble at the top of the standings Saturday night.

Middle Tennessee held steady in my upset alert I put out last week, nailing nine out of their first ten three-pointers to dominate Southern Miss making it seven straight wins for the Blue Raiders.

Kerry Hammonds II is my player of the week for his 6/10 3-point shooting, also dropping 26 points against the Golden Eagles, Neiko Hunter poured in 20 points and 7 rebounds for the hottest team in the league.

Not only have they won seven straight, no one has scored over 70 points on them during their streak as well.

Southern Miss had a tough weekend, wouldn't count them out just yet, they still have the highest RPI in the league, and have a chance to get back into the first place mix this week.

The Golden Eagles are still unbeaten at home, Saturday's bout with UTEP is the C-USA game of the week.

Things won't be easy with a report that Michael Craig will miss the next two weeks with an injury.

UTEP had its win streak snapped thanks to a Marquan Botley bank shot at the buzzer, for the record I didn't hear him call glass.

The Miners shut down Florida International Saturday without John Bohannon who was sat out by Tim Floyd for academic reasons. Surely UTEP needs Bohannon this week, facing two teams who always give the Miners trouble.

Based on head-to-head match ups UTEP deserves to be number one this week.  Although as far this week goes, it seems the number one spot could be listed as A-D, but as for now scoreboard.

Tulsa continues to surge.

Dominating Old Dominion 76-37 on Saturday night, holding its opponent to their lowest scoring figures since 2008.  That's three in a row for Danny Manning, and six of their last eight have gone in the win column, their guard depth is amazing.

C-USA may lead the country in suspensions, Pat Swilling Jr. was suspended from Tulsa pending a hearing.  Swilling was a clutch perfomer, though four Golden Hurricane scored in double figures Saturday, time and close games games will tell if this will effect one the tougher teams in the league.

All sixteen teams will be in action both Thursday, and Saturday, expect more movement and controversy as crunch time is officially upon us with three weeks left in the regular season.

Games to keep an eye on:

Middle Tennessee @ Charlotte, Thur

LA Tech @ East Carolina, Thur

UTEP @ So Miss, Sat

LA Tech @ Old Dominion, Sat

Tulsa @ FIU, Sat

16.

Rice Owls

(7-17, 2-9)

Up Next: @ Old Dominion, Thur @ ECU, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #15

RPI: 288

SOS: 169

15.

Marshall Thundering Herd

(9-17, 3-8)

Up Next: vs UAB, Thur vs Middle Tennessee, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #16

RPI: 260

SOS: 147

14.

UTSA Roadrunners

(8-16, 4-7)

Up Next: @ Southern Miss, Thur @ Tulane, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #14

RPI: 298

SOS: 221

13.

East Carolina Pirates

(13-13, 2-9)

This Week: vs Louisiana Tech, Thur vs Rice, Sat

Last Week: #12

RPI: 220

SOS: 178

12.

North Texas Mean Green

(12-13, 3-8)

This Week: @ FIU Thur @FAU, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #13

RPI: 192

SOS: 131

11.

Florida Atlantic Owls

(10-16, 5-6)

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

Last Week Ranking: #11

RPI: 234

SOS: 145

10.

UAB Blazers

(15-10, 4-7)

This Week: @ Marshall, Thur @ Charlotte, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #8

RPI: 165

SOS: 161

9.

Fla. International Golden Panthers

(13-13, 5-6)

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

Last Week Ranking: #10

RPI: 201

SOS: 217

8.

Charlotte 49ers

(14-10, 5-6)

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

Last Week Ranking: #6

RPI: 141

SOS: 167

7.

Old Dominion Monarchs

(12-14, 6-5)

This Week: vs Rice, Thur vs Louisiana Tech, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #9

RPI: 166

SOS: 126

6.

Tulane Green Wave

(14-12, 6-5)

This Week: vs UTEP, Thur vs UTSA, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #7

RPI: 210

SOS: 233

5.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

(13-12, 8-3)

This Week: @ FAU, Thur @ FIU, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #5

RPI: 119

SOS: 92

4.

Southern Miss. Golden Eagles

(21-5, 8-3)

This Week: vs UTSA, Thur vs UTEP, Sat

Last Week Ranking: #1

RPI:42

SOS: 141

3.

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

(21-5, 9-2)

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

Last Week Ranking: #3

RPI: 79

SOS: 230

2.

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

(19-7, 9-2)

This Week: @ Charlotte, Thur @ Marshall,Sat

Last Week Ranking: #4

RPI: 72

SOS: 121

1.

UTEP Miners

(19-7, 9-2)

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

Last Week Ranking: #2

RPI: 98

SOS: 138

Conference RPI: 13

Conference SOS: 13