12. Rice Owls (1-3) - Pretty simple here. The Owls are off to a 1-3 start against a comparatively very easy schedule. Not a lot of hope in the early season. They also got pounded this week by Georgia Tech, the only somewhat significant team they have seen so far.
11. Houston (4-0) - There, I said it. Sure, 4-0 looks pretty, but they have played a horrible schedule. Their four opponents have a combined win total of 2 victories. Not an average. Total of two wins over four teams. The have four more cupcake games before they take on Texas A&M, the first from a conference of note. So don't be shocked if they are off to a 7-0 run.
10. East Carolina (4-0) - Another undefeated team without much substance. ECU scheduled the Mickey Mouse teams upfront before they head to #9 UNC midway through their non-conference schedule. They have played two close games against weak opponents already. Only a matter of time before the Pirates come back to earth.
9. Tulsa (4-1) - C-USA is a conference of a great records so far. But Tulsa is a textbook case of some underlying weakness. Tulsa is looking OK thus far until you see the 20+ point drubbing they suffered at the hands of the Cal State Northridge Matadors. Life comes at you fast.
8. UAB (3-2) - Their two losses came to ranked Creighton and Illinois St. They have UNC and Rutgers coming up soon, which should be additional tests. They are playing one of the tougher non-conference schedules of the conference.
7. Marshall (2-3) - Marshall had high hopes coming into this year but has struggled so far. A tough loss to South Dakota State and a 2OT defeat against Hofstra definitely have limited the Thundering Herd's expectations.
6. Tulane (3-2) - The Green Wave clashed with Nebraska in the finals of their preseason tournament but came up short in the 1:05. Had Tulane pulled it off, they would have real momentum in the early season. Luckily, the team will play a series of easy teams to get rolling once again. Josh Davis is thriving in his leadership role, and Jordan Callahan has been effective. Let's see where this goes.
5. UTEP (2-3) - The Miners' record looks weak, but their losses came against Arizona, Oklahoma, and Clemson. For whatever reason, UTEP missed the memo on avoiding major conference opponents, but the Miners look like a competitive team moving forward.
4. SMU (5-0) - The Larry Brown era is starting with a bang for the Mustangs. 5-0 looks great, and there isn't too much ahead of them before conference play. Ken Pomeroy's computer is still saying they have the third easiest schedule in C-USA, so it's tough to give much weight to this team just yet.
3. Central Florida (3-2) - You can definitely excuse their loss tonight to #7 Florida, but a drubbing by Middle Tennessee St. definitely makes you wonder about the Knights' viability. UCF will have to gain some steam as they rebound from a chomping by the Gators.
2. Memphis (2-3) - Yeah. Definitely bold to put the Tigers at #2 in C-USA. They are always the conference leader come March, after all, and they started this week with a #16 national ranking. Well... a lot can change in a week. It's tough to justify the Tigers as the conference top spot right now after suffering beatdowns by VCU and Minnesota at the Battle for Atlantis. Memphis is playing bad basketball, and until they get their groove back, their resume consists of a win against North Florida and a squeezed home victory against Samford. Yuck.
1. Southern Miss (5-0) - USM is looking solid right now, especially with two overtime wins in away games (Western Kentucky and Georgia) already. An away visit to #10 Arizona in two weeks will likely bring them back to earth, but a solid foundation to the season so far.
That's all for now. We'll do another update next Saturday.
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