Help from other teams

[Mustangsabu]

It looks like Rice might beat Memphis tonight. If we could just get Houston to do UTEP too we'd still only be one game out of first....

[Hoop Fan]

Memphis lost by 15 to Rice. It wasnt good when Memphis dominated the league, but this is not good either. Its not as much parody as it is utter mediocrity.

[Mustangsabu]

And I see Tulane has lost it's 11th straight game.... Took Marshall to OT, though.

[ponyte]

I know the world ends with a Pony loss. This one hurt. We just didn't execute on both ends of the floor and TU did. Give TU credit. They came to play and we 'need 'help'. Sure we want to end the season wining all games and then win the conference tourney.

But even if we don't win out, this team has proven it can beat anyone in the conference. We are vastly superior this year to any team in recent memory.

[Mustangsabu]

I know the world ends with a Pony loss. This one hurt. We just didn't execute on both ends of the floor and TU did. Give TU credit. They came to play and we 'need 'help'. Sure we want to end the season wining all games and then win the conference tourney.

But even if we don't win out, this team has proven it can beat anyone in the conference. We are vastly superior this year to any team in recent memory.

It's true. And even beyond SMU-land, this years C-USA is very exciting for a number of teams, and almost anyone has been shown to be able to beat anyone else. I just want to see our boys play hard the rest of the way, and I really think that 2010-11 is going to be a season we all look back on with a lot of enjoyment and pride.

[wcspony]

Pat Forde (ESPN) tweeted today that "C-USA race is as organized as a tub of live bait" in response to the UTEP loss this afternoon to UCF. I couldn't agree more- it's looking like it will be a definite one-bid conference.

[GiddyUp]

Memphis lost by 15 to Rice. It wasnt good when Memphis dominated the league, but this is not good either. Its not as much parody as it is utter mediocrity.

Definitely a pillow fight this year. Makes for competitive matchups very game.
CUSA RPI is #8, just below SEC and Pac 10. I would think the Horizon or MVC could beat any of our teams though. Sun Belt is #23.

Do you guys think CUSA should get more than 1 bid? Does the conference OOC hurt a lot?

[EastStang]

The good news is that the SEC and ACC are considerably weaker this year than in the past. The bad news is that the BE is fully loaded and the CAA has some great teams.

[hoopmanx]

I have no idea what mid leagues you guys are watching that impress you more than CUSA. CUSA should be a 2 bid league, IMO, if only b/c of RPI/SOS. I watch a ridiculous amount of mid-major ball, and there is no way the MVC or Horizon are better leagues this year, none. I've watched tons of the MVC, and they aren't on the same level in terms of talent. Check out their performance in the bracket-busters. Even Wichita St got housed. Same goes w/the Horizon. Two of our old assistants, now in the MVC, will tell you which league is tougher.

I love to watch the CAA and follow it pretty regularly, as well as the SoCon. CAA is competitive this year, but VCU is a far cry from the Capel/Grant years, and George Mason is running wild, despite being a run of the mill CUSA type. Old Dominion is solid and Hofstra average/ Their isn't a high major on any of those clubs right now. College of Charleston is quite good in the SoCon, and would be top 3rd of CUSA this year, I'd think.

The best comparison to CUSA, imo, is the A-10 this year. That's a competitive league where they all bump each other off, and have for depth down to team 8.

[Mitch McConnell]

I disagree. I think this is a very average conference. It will only secure one bid to the NCAA tournament.

Personally, I think the mid-majors are weaker. Plus, I think college basketball is a weaker game. You just have a bunch of sameness going. You don't have marquee teams or players. There are some very good teams but I just don't think it's as a good as it was even 5 years ago.

Generalities, I know. But IMO it's been like this for a couple of years.

That said, let's beat Rice and and get to 17-10. I hope to be there.

[hoopmanx]

I disagree. I think this is a very average conference. It will only secure one bid to the NCAA tournament.

Personally, I think the mid-majors are weaker. Plus, I think college basketball is a weaker game. You just have a bunch of sameness going. You don't have marquee teams or players. There are some very good teams but I just don't think it's as a good as it was even 5 years ago.

Generalities, I know. But IMO it's been like this for a couple of years.

That said, let's beat Rice and and get to 17-10. I hope to be there.

and the high majors are weaker too this year. Look at the ACC & Pac 10. Those are awful races that may result in very average teams dancing like a Maryland etc. I'm not disagreeing, but of the average mid conferences, CUSA is better than most all of them, short of MWC. The league is far better than the SoCon, Sun Belt, Horizon, WCC, and slightly better than the CAA, MVC etc.

Maybe it's a one bid league, but that would be a real shame, cause that just means a 5th or 6th ACC team gets picked for having a very average year, in a very down league.

[Harry0569]

Pat Forde (ESPN) tweeted today that "C-USA race is as organized as a tub of live bait" in response to the UTEP loss this afternoon to UCF. I couldn't agree more- it's looking like it will be a definite one-bid conference.

As long as it is not arranged like "tub girl," then I'm fine. All kidding aside, I think UAB wins C-usa tourney.

[shadowman]

As a whole, the league is up this year. We have 5 teams in the top 65 RPI spots. It just doesn't seem like it, since there is no dominant team.

To see how tough the league is, look no further than UCF, who ran a tough non conference schedule and was actually ranked 18th in the nation when conference play started.

Looking forward to watching the Coogies play Memphis tonight. Memphis will probably thrash them, but hey, if Memphis can lose by 15 to Rice, Houston has a shot if they have those three pointers falling.

[mustangsfan3030]

Shadowman, those RPI Numbers are interesting. I would have thought the league was down but you set the record straight. Thank you for the good observation and letting us know. Go Mustangs!

[shadowman]

Here are the current RPIs being tossed around by people that follow that closely every day:

Current RPIs

31 UAB
33 Memphis
43 Southern Miss
59 Marshall
61 UTEP
69 UCF
88 Tulsa
140 East Carolina
160 Rice
199 South. Methodist
212 Houston
241 Tulane

Easy to see, we have 7 teams in the top 100, C-USA as a whole is very strong, we just don't have one dominant team. Of course, it probably won't translate to a bevy of NCAA invites, but at least it will be there for discussion, when the NCAA has to explain why they skipped a team with a high RPI.