Only half the conference is in action tonight. East Carolina, Marshall, Memphis, Southern Mississippi, Tulsa and UCF are off.


**Tip-Off at 7:05pm CT**
in Dallas,
SMU (13-14, 3-9)...RPI: #213 (SOS: #234)
Rice (5-21, 1-11)...RPI: #312 (SOS: #140)

*This game will be televised on Time Warner Texas. This is a battle between the two worst teams in the conference. SMU comes into this game having lost four of five overall and four consecutive at home. Rice has lost six straight and has not won away from home all year (0-12 in both road and neutral contests). Against teams rated #201 or worse in the RPI, SMU is 9-2. Against those same teams, Rice is 4-5. In their previous meeting this season @ Rice, SMU won by 22.


**Tip-Off at 7:05pm CT**
in New Orleans,
Tulane (18-9, 6-6)...RPI: #151 (SOS: #242)
UAB (13-14, 5-7)...RPI: #167 (SOS: #116)

*This is an interesting game between two teams that have been playing better of late. Tulane has won four of five overall and four of their last five at home. UAB is 5-2 over their last seven games and are 2-1 in their last three road games. On the year, Tulane is 9-3 at home, 4-2 in C-USA home games. UAB is 3-9 in true road games, 2-4 on the road in C-USA. Against teams rated between #101 and #200 in the RPI, Tulane is 3-4. Versus those same opponents, UAB is also 3-4.


**Tip-Off at 8:05pm CT**
in El Paso,
UTEP (14-12, 7-5)...RPI: #97 (SOS: #62)
Houston (15-10, 4-8)...RPI: #202 (SOS: #291)

*Both UTEP and Houston have been struggling. The Miners are losers of four of their last five. UH has gone 2-4 over a tough stretch in which they have played only twice at home. UTEP is a strong 12-2 at home this season (5-1 in C-USA play). Houston is a respectable 4-6 in true road games, but just 1-5 away from home in league games. Against teams rated outside the top 200 of the RPI, the Miners are 5-1. The Coogs are 1-4 vs. the RPI top 100. In their earlier meeting, Houston pounded the Miners in Hofheinz, winning 79-61.

**HALFTIME**
in Dallas,
SMU- 35
Rice- 20


**HALFTIME**
in New Orleans,
Tulane- 26
UAB- 34

**FINAL**
in New Orleans,
Tulane- 71 (18-10, 6-7)
UAB- 76 (14-14, 6-7)

*It has been a long road back, but UAB no longer has a losing record. The Blazers have won 6 of their last 8 overall and 3 of their last 4 on the road. They now finish the regular season with home games against SMU and UCF and a road game at Memphis. Tulane loses for just the second time in their last 6 games. This is also their first home loss this month. Tulane's remaining regular season games are @ Tulsa, @ ECU and Houston.


**FINAL**
in Dallas,
SMU- 67 (14-14, 4-9)
Rice- 55 (5-22, 1-12)

*As expected, SMU handles the Owls fairly easily. It's the first home win for the Mustangs since January 12. Rice loses their seventh straight game. They fall to 0-13 away from home this season. SMU finishes the year with @ UAB, @ Tulsa and UTEP. Rice has UTEP, @ Houston, Tulsa.

**HALFTIME**
in El Paso,
UTEP- 36
Houston- 25

**FINAL**
in El Paso,
UTEP- 63 (15-12, 8-5)
Houston- 53 (15-11, 4-9)

*The Miners get their revenge on the Coogs. UTEP improves to 13-2 at home. Houston has now lost three straight and falls to 1-6 on the road in C-USA play. UTEP's final three regular season games are @ Rice, Memphis and @ SMU. Houston finishes with Marshall, Rice and @ Tulane.

Conference USA Standings (after action from Wednesday 02-27-13)
1. #19/#17 Memphis^...13-0...24-4...Sat game: @ UCF (8-5)
2. Southern Miss...10-3...21-7...Sat game: East Carolina (7-6)
3. UCF...8-5...19-9...Sat game: #19/#17 Memphis (13-0)
3. UTEP...8-5...15-12...Sat game: @ Rice (1-12)
5. East Carolina...7-6...16-10...Sat game: @ Southern Miss (10-3)
6. Tulane...6-7...18-10...Sat game: @ Tulsa (6-7)
6. Tulsa...6-7...14-13...Sat game: Tulane (6-7)
6. UAB...6-7...14-14...Sat game: SMU (4-9)
9. Marshall...5-8...12-16...Sat game: @ Houston (4-9)
10. Houston...4-9...15-11...Sat game: Marshall (5-8)
11. SMU...4-9...14-14...Sat game: @ UAB (6-7)
12. Rice...1-12...5-22...Sat game: UTEP (8-5)

^Clinched the regular season championship and #1 seed in the C-USA tournament

*If the regular season ended today, Memphis (1), Southern Miss (2), UTEP (3), East Carolina (4) and UAB (5) would receive first round byes in the Conference USA tournament in Tulsa.

Ho hum night in CUSA.

Looks like Marshall will be either 8th or 9th?

Not good.

Utep is going to be tough for us. They are a Jekyl and Hyde team at home versus away.

If the 2013 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship were held today, this is how the teams would be bracketed:

Day 1
-#6 Tulane vs. #11 Rice
-#7 Tulsa vs. #10 SMU
-#8 Marshall vs. #9 Houston

Day 2
-#1 Memphis vs. winner of #8 Marshall vs. #9 Houston
-#2 Southern Miss vs. winner of #7 Tulsa vs. #10 SMU
-#3 UTEP vs. winner of #6 Tulane vs. #11 Rice
-#4 East Carolina vs. #5 UAB

Day 3
-Winner of #1 Memphis vs. #8 Marshall/#9 Houston plays the winner of #4 East Carolina vs. #5 UAB
-Winner of #2 Southern Miss vs. #7 Tulsa/#10 SMU plays the winner of #3 UTEP vs. #6 Tulane/#11 Rice

Day 4
-Championship Game

(02-28-2013 12:09 AM)JMSTiger Wrote:  If the 2013 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship were held today, this is how the teams would be bracketed:

Day 1
-#6 Tulane vs. #11 Rice
-#7 Tulsa vs. #10 SMU
-#8 Marshall vs. #9 Houston

Day 2
-#1 Memphis vs. winner of #8 Marshall vs. #9 Houston
-#2 Southern Miss vs. winner of #7 Tulsa vs. #10 SMU
-#3 UTEP vs. winner of #6 Tulane vs. #11 Rice
-#4 East Carolina vs. #5 UAB

Day 3
-Winner of #1 Memphis vs. #8 Marshall/#9 Houston plays the winner of #4 East Carolina vs. #5 UAB
-Winner of #2 Southern Miss vs. #7 Tulsa/#10 SMU plays the winner of #3 UTEP vs. #6 Tulane/#11 Rice

Day 4
-Championship Game

Of course Marshall can't stay away from us. They still scare me. Also, glad UTEP won so they can stay inside the top 100.