October 25, 2009

Mike Huguenin
Rivals.com College Basketball Editor

Today, we continue our conference countdown. We're working backward, from our No. 31 league to the top league in the nation.

We started with the low-major leagues, unveiling three per day, and the mid-major leagues, unveiling two per day. Each of the top 12 leagues gets a day to itself.

The Tigers have won 61 consecutive C-USA games but could lose three or four league games this season. They also could lose their stranglehold on the league title. Tulsa and UTEP are legit contenders, and for the first time in a while, league teams other than Memphis can go into the season with legitimate championship hopes.

PROGRAM ON THE RISE UTEP: The Miners return three starters from a team that lost to Oregon State in the best-of-three finals of the College Basketball Invitational. They're also bringing in a good recruiting class headed by transfers Derrick Caracter (a forward from Louisville) and Christian Polk (a guard from Arizona State). Coach Tony Barbee, a former Memphis assistant, has the Miners on the upswing.

PROGRAM ON THE DECLINE Memphis: "Decline" is a relative term, especially since Memphis is our pick to win the league. Still, the Tigers are going to take a step back - maybe even two or three - from the past couple of seasons, when they were national title contenders.

COACH ON THE HOT SEAT Matt Doherty, SMU: The Mustangs have won 33 games overall and just 10 conference contests in Doherty's three seasons. SMU showed with the hiring of football coach June Jones that it is willing to spend big bucks for a name coach, and some folks are wondering if the next big name the Mustangs go looking for is that of a basketball coach.

BIGGEST SNEAKERS TO FILL Guard Tyreke Evans, Memphis: Last season, Evans led Memphis to the Sweet 16. This season, it's unlikely Memphis gets that far, and one reason is that its new point guard won't be as good as Evans. Neither Elliot Williams nor Willie Kemp has Evans' physical tools - and neither has his offensive game, either.

MOST OVERRATED PLAYER Center Jerome Jordan, Tulsa: We're not saying Jordan is bad; he's not. He averaged 13.8 points and 8.6 rebounds last season. But come on - this is Conference USA, not the ACC. Jordan has a lot of tools, so shouldn't he be putting up double-doubles in this league?

MOST UNDERRATED PLAYER Guard Aubrey Coleman, Houston: Coleman was third in the league in scoring (19.0 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (8.2 per game). Coleman has a nice mid-range game, and his quickness makes one of the league's better defenders; he led C-USA in steals with 2.34 per game last season.

Mike Huguenin is the college sports editor for Rivals.com. He can be reached at mhuguenin@rivals.com.