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CONFERENCE USA
Conference USA may be ready for a name change to the Bracket Buster Conference. Two years ago, UAB ruined everyone’s bracket by knocking Iowa State out in the Round of 64. Last season, it was Middle Tennessee pulling an even bigger shocker, upsetting Tom Izzo’s 2-seed Michigan State team that many people had picked to win it all. Although Middle Tennessee was the league’s only team to make the Big Dance, UAB also put together a solid season and played in the NIT. Louisiana Tech and Old Dominion received postseason invites as well, both to the newly formed Vegas 16 event, where ODU cut down the nets as champions.
This year, UAB again figures to be at or near the top of the conference, even though head coach Jerod Haase moved west to Stanford. Middle Tennessee and Louisiana Tech should also be in the mix, along with a handful of teams that have not made as much noise in recent years. Western Kentucky has added Rick Stansbury as their new head coach, and his recruiting skills are already starting to pay off in Bowling Green. North Texas may have the best overall collection of guards in the conference, and could use them to push their way into contention. But the team that could rise the most this year is Rice. The Owls bring their top 5 players back and add more to that. They may have lost 20 games last season, but don’t be shocked to see them at 20 or more wins when the dust settles this year.
Predicted Order of Finish
1. UAB – With Chris Cokley’s offense, William Lee’s defense and Nick Norton at the point, the Blazers will be tough to beat every time they take the court – even with Robert Brown having moved on.
2. Rice – The Owls return their top five players from last season led by Marcus Evans and Egor Koulechov. Added to that, Marcus Jackson is back healthy after missing last season. The talent is there. If the Owls can improve their defense, the sky may be the limit in this conference.
3. Western Kentucky – New head coach Rick Stansbury already has his team ready to challenge with transfers Que Johnson (Washington State), Junior Lomomba (Providence) and Willie Carmichael (Tennessee) coming in to join top returnee Justin Johnson. Given Stansbury’s recruiting acumen, WKU should be at or near the top of the conference for years to come.
4. Middle Tennessee – The Blue Riders lost a pair of double-digit scorers but do return Giddy Potts and Reggie Upshaw. A pair of new additions, Arkansas transfer Jacorey Williams and junior college transfer Brandon Walters will help make up for the offseason losses.
5. Louisiana Tech – Erik McCree has a chance to star for the Bulldogs, but making up for the loss of guard Alex Hamilton and his 19.8 points per game could be tough. Having Qiydar Davis back healthy and returning players such as Jacobi Boykins and Derric Jean should help ease the burden.
6. North Texas – The Mean Green may have as much talent and depth at the guard position as any team in Conference USA. J-Mychal Reese Reese is a scoring point guard, Deckie Johnson is a scary three-point threat, and SMU transfer Keith Frazier (yes, the same Keith Frazier that was the center of the scandal that landed the school on probation) is looking to make a fresh start for himself. Jeremy Combs is the top player down low and a double-double threat every time out, but he will need some help down there if the Mean Green want to challenge for one of the top spots in the league.
7. Marshall – The Thundering Herd had the nation’s #3 scoring offense last season and, if nothing else, it makes them a fun team to watch. They also had the #343 scoring defense, which needs to get much better if they want to contend. The team has tons of scoring options again, led by Stevie Browning, Ryan Taylor and Jon Elmore.
8. UTEP – Three of the top five scorers are gone, so this looks like a rebuilding year for Tim Floyd’s team. They do boast a dangerous backcourt, however, with Omega Harris and former Oregon Duck Dominic Artis.
9. Old Dominion – The champions of the inaugural Vegas 16 Tournament lost their top two players in the offseason, Trey Freeman and Aaron Bacote. Brothers Brandan and B.J. Stith (sons of former NBAer Bryant Stith) will need to lead the way this season, but the team will be hard pressed to come anywhere close to last year’s 25 win total.
10. Charlotte – The 49ers return plenty of backcourt scoring led by Braxton Ogbueze, but may not have what it takes to make up for losing a pair of double-digit scorers down low.
11. Florida International – Guard Donte McGill is back after leading the team with 16.1 points per game. Frontcourt players Adrian Diaz (15.3 ppg) and Daviyon Draper (15.9 ppg) are not. Replacing that much offense will be very difficult to do.
12. Florida Atlantic – The good news is that the Owls should be better than last season. The bad news is that it is not hard to improve on a 25 loss season. There just don’t seem to be enough pieces here to make any serious move upwards in the standings.
13. Texas-San Antonio – The Roadrunners bring in longtime Lon Kruger assistant Steve Henson as their new head coach. He will have his work cut out for him rebuilding this program. Junior guard Christian Wilson should star this season and be among the top scorers in the conference.
14. Southern Mississippi – Last season was pretty much another train wreck. This year may not be much better as Doc Sadler still has a ton of work to do.