Piaad 3 Basketball

C-USA fans have reason to be excited about their conference’s future. Lately this league has been mixing it up with the big boys, acting like it’s a BCS conference instead of a “mid-major.” In fact, according to the numbers and the money, it’s getting harder and harder to distinguish C-USA from conferences like the Pac-10 and the Big 12 when it comes to basketball success and funding. Not to mention, the C-USA has been producing some awesome Tournament teams in the past few years, notably the Memphis Tigers.

This season it looks as though the Tigers of Memphis are taking a year to recuperate after the bailing of their coach and some of their best recruits. This has opened the door for other teams in the C-USA to take the top spot.  Which C-USA teams will make it to the NCAA Tournament?  Will you be able to purchase NCAA basketball tickets from StubHub.com to see a C-USA team in the Final Four this year?  Let’s take a look at some of the best teams in this conference and see which ones have a shot at March Madness glory.

UTEP – The Texas-El Paso Miners are arguably the best team in the C-USA, having fought their way to the top of the standings as of Feb. 21, 2010.  The Miners have a balanced attack coming from Randy Culpepper and Derrick Caracter, and they are one of the better defensive teams in the conference. Most experts are expecting this team to finish with only two conference losses, giving them a nice shot at the league title and thus an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

UAB – The UAB Blazers are right on the heels of the Miners in the conference standings, having earned a 21-5 overall record and a 9-3 record in the conference.  Whereas the Miners are a stronger defensive team, the Blazers are a hot scoring team, relying on Elijah Millsap to bring the points and snag the boards every night—with more or less finesse. One thing that the Blazers have to look out for is the frantic finish to the year. They will play Memphis and UTEP in consecutive games to close out the season.

Memphis – A tourney regular the past few years, Memphis is not out of the running for a spot in March Madness this year. However, they’re rooting for both UTEP and UAB to falter in the last few weeks. Memphis is a stellar offensive team, but they sometimes struggle to play elite interior defense.

Marshall – Not out of the running is Marshall, a team that has suddenly heated up in the past couple of weeks. The Thundering Herd are taking a five game win streak into their Feb. 24 matchup with Rice, a team they should beat easily.  Their last big test is a home game against UTEP on March 2.

So there you have it—a couple of the best C-USA teams and their chances of making the Tourney.  Make sure to see the conference tournament in March, and then get some tickets to follow your favorite C-USA team in the NCAA Tournament.