2022 Preseason Conference Preview: Conference USA

[Ezaco]

CONFERENCE USA

 

This is a conference with some really good teams. Not only will it be a bloodbath, but it will be heavily underrated.

 

CHARLOTTE 49ERS

The 49ers may not turn any heads, but they're notable because they have two legitimate NBA Draft prospects on their roster: William Hallmark and Richard White, the latter of which will contend for the title of the best player in the country. What makes the 49ers interesting there's very little to lay your head on beyond them. Defensively this team is a mess, and rebounding is simply average. Paint scoring is average, while midrange shooting and 3 point shooting are both below average. Charles Innis is, hands down, the best scorer on this team but he's an insane liability on defense, which is why he might be written off on the NBA level. The 49ers have good individuals, but it's a bad team.

 

Season Prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:fiu: FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL PANTHERS

Joshua. Marsh. That's really all you have to say about the Panthers. When he is on the floor for FIU, he alone makes them one of the best teams in the country. When he's not on the floor... well, they're still pretty good. After this season watch for the former 3 star to be on a NBA roster, making big waves. Until then, the Panthers are an average defensive team who's a bit above average on the boards. Paint scoring is slightly above average, with a great midrange game and a pretty good effort beyond the arc as well. Do not take this team lightly.

 

Season Prediction: NCAA Tournament - Round of 32

 

 

FLORIDA ATLANTIC OWLS

FAU is an interesting team. Scott Munro is a very special and talented player, but his complete ineptitude from 3 point land not only holds himself and the Owls back, but could cost him a chance at an NBA roster. Chris Sica and Todd Buranich are both great defenders, but with limited scoring ability, while conversely Justin Taylor is an awesome short man scorer with little defensive ability. Taken as a whole the Owls are pretty poor both defensively and rebounding. Their paint work is great, able to score at will, and they're very good from the midrange as well, and not bad from 3 point with notable exceptions. So the Owls could be really dangerous. Or they could be really forgettable.

 

Season Prediction: Bubble Team

 

JACKSONVILLE DOLPHINS

The Dolphins are an add-in team for the C-USA, but they're definitely going to earn their stay. Alden Jarrett is a good player who's going to highly this team all season long. And this is a team that is great at scoring from the paint, and one of the best 3 point shooting teams in the country. Defensively average with an okay rebounding effort, they're going to rely on scoring more than stopping... but I don't think that's going to be much of a problem, honestly.

 

Season Prediction: NCAA Tournament - Sweet 16

 

:liberty: LIBERTY FLAMES

Technically an add-on, Liberty is already set to join the C-USA... it's just happening a little early. And that it unfortunate news for the rest of the C-USA, because woo-boy-howdy these boys are scary looking. If you see Edurado Lomas, Joseph Le, Thomas Arrieta, or even Douglas Strom called in next year's NBA Draft do not be surprised at all. These are legit NBA talents.... four of them on a single team. A team that is above average on defense and mild on the boards, but they are pretty good from the paint, and a really good team from the midrange and 3 point land. Look out.

 

Season Prediction: NCAA Tournament - Elite 8

 

:louisianatech: LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS

Warren Jones could be one of the best players in the country. It's a bit unfortunate for him that he plays on Louisiana Tech in this year's C-USA, because while the Bulldogs are not a bad team.. it's a difficult conference for them. An average defensive team, they're quite poor on the boards. But scoring from the paint is absilutely no problem for this team, who can also fill it up from the midrange and the 3 point. So why so dour? Because while they're good, it's not to the same level as their competitors in this conference. The Bulldogs are going to have trouble attaining the wins necessary for the tournament, despite their talent.

 

Season Prediction: NCAA Tournament - Round of 64

 

:middletennesse: MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS

The Blue Raiders have some ways to go. This is a really bad defensive team, and no much better at rebounding. While they shoot the ball pretty good from three, it's an average midrange and paint scoring team. David Chavez should have some nice development this year - and this from an already very good player - and Robert Gannon could still develop into the one of the best small guards in the country. But this is a development year for the Blue Raiders, nothing more.

 

Season Prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:newmexicostate: NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES

The Aggies are going to be in a tough spot. They're not really good at anything... in fact in everything they're just about below average. And from a development standpoint there's not much to go on either, so the future isn't looking very bright. The special players they do have - like Nicholas Cannon and Quoc Patel, are pretty bad at specific, key areas. So there's not really a lot of hope here.

 

Season Prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:northtexas: NORTH TEXAS MEAN GREEN

North Texas is much the same as New Mexico State, even though they are better. It's difficult to see where scoring comes from outside of a couple specific key players like Samir Yokoyama, but defensively this team is just a mess, and they're not very good for rebounding either. This looks like a long and tough season of frustration for the Mean Green, despite their talent.

 

Season Prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:rice: RICE OWLS

Look I ain't mad about there being two Owls team in one conference - it's a unique and cool mascot - but Rice is definitely second best here. This is a team that's bad on defense and rebounding - except for Christopher Toms and Ramon Yanez - so let's get that out of the way. But also when it comes to scoring, they're bad from the midrange, worse from three, and simply average in the paint. Despite scoring talents like Frederick English and Jorge Hernandez, there's simply not a lot to go on here.

 

Season Prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:uab: UAB BLAZERS

Don't look for the Blazers to torch anyone this season. Despite some pretty good defense, it's an average rebounding team with average scoring ability from the paint and midrange, and not great from 3 point. And I simply don't see a leader among this roster to step up and lead the Blazers through the season reliably.

 

Season Prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:utep: UTEP MINERS

Now the Miners could hit some gold this season if things fall right. It's a good defensive team who can also rebound well. Paint scoring they could be one of the best, while they can also hit the midrange, and I wouldn't doubt their 3 point shooting ability either. Felipe Raymond and Reginald Speese have the chance to garner some late draft NBA attention, so watch out.

 

Season Prediction: NCAA Tournament - Round of 64

 

:utsa: UTSA ROADRUNNERS

The Roadrunners are simply going to get run over. This is a team who can't score very well from any range, and aren't very good on the boards or on defense. There's not a reliable scorer on the roster, and though they have some really good defensive players the team as a whole just isn't very good. Defense may win championships, but you still have to score, and they simply can't.

 

Season Prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:westernkentucky: WESTERN KENTUCKY HILLTOPPERS

The Hilltoppers may be taking the football world by storm (quietly), but you're not going to see a repeat here. Dustin Summerford is a really good player, but that's about the line for Western Kentucky. It's an average paint scoring team, who may have some really good midrange shooters in an overall bad midrange game, and simply poor from the arc. To add to that they're not a very good rebounding team, and even worse defensively.

 

Season Prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

[Ezaco]

Pick to win conference: Liberty