This article is part of our Conference Preview series.
Conference USA is aptly named, as it is a melting pot of programs. It is a "super conference" based the amount of teams it has. There have always been a few programs with little to no real success either in conference or reaching post season play. It is mid-major all the way. There are some programs with a more storied history as well. The first one that should come to mind is Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are also aptly named, as they sit at the apex of the conference standings pre-season. They possess one of the best centers in the nation, Charles Bassey as well as Taveion Hollingsworth and touted transfer, Camron Justice. Their talent level makes them the easy favorite to be the CUSA's automatic bid for the Big Dance.
Louisiana Tech has also had decent success and some good players in their history, most notably Karl Malone. The Bulldogs have enough talent to challenge WKU.
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) is poised to rebound from a disappointing season. It's a program that had lost all its best players, plus its head coach moved to Mississippi to coach the Ole Miss Rebels. Second-year head man Nick McDevitt has Antonio Green returning after having transferred in. He averaged 17.9 points along with 4.0 rebounds and will lead a balanced squad who came more into their own in the second half of the conference schedule.
Texas-San Antonio has two prolific guards who are good enough to carry the team to
