Tulane

Conference USA Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:59:49 -0500

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Conference Rank: 11th

10 year average: 8th

All-CUSA Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Stefon Jackson	UTEP	Sr
G	Robert Vaden	UAB	Sr
G	Tyreke Evans	Memphis	Fr
G	Jermaine Taylor	Central Florida	Sr
F	Jerome Jordan	Tulsa	Jr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
CHN All-Americans Robert Vaden High-Major All-Americans Stefon Jackson Jerome Jordan Jermaine Taylor Ben Uzoh Robert Vaden Jeremy Wise All-Freshman Team Tyreke Evans		Points: Stefon Jackson 23.6 Rebounds: Jerome Jordan 7.9 Assists: Jeremy Wise 4.2 Team: Memphis 79.9

Conference USA Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

?	Memphis**	CUSA	1	NCAA
47	UAB	CUSA	2	NCAA
68	Southern Miss	CUSA	3	NIT
75	UTEP	CUSA	4	NIT
106	Tulsa	CUSA	5
119	Marshall	CUSA	6
131	UCF	CUSA	7
137	Houston	CUSA	8
185	Tulane	CUSA	9
221	East Carolina	CUSA	10
260	SMU	CUSA	11
285	Rice	CUSA	12

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the CUSA?

Other CUSA Content

Head Coach Interviews

Larry Eustachy: Southern Miss

Mack McCarthy: East Carolina

Other

Rise & Fall: CUSA

Top Non-BCS Players: Vaden/Evans

Top Centers: Jerome Jordan

Conference USA on National TV

State of '08: Louisiana

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:17:35 -0400

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

Up today: Louisiana. For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

LOUISIANA

LSU - There's not much to say here, because LSU is by far and away the top program in the state. The Tigers made the Final Four in 2006, though have quickly descended since then.

LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE - The Ragin' Cajuns were one of the best mid-majors from 2000 to 2005, which included 3 NCAA Tournament trips and 2 NITs. In 2007, the program was cited for rule violations, and the past three seasons haven't been up to the former standards. Last year's crew did show some promise though with an 11-7 Sun Belt record.

NORTHWESTERN STATE - Mike McConathy has done a great job in a decade at Northwestern State. In 2001 & 2006, the Demons made the Big Dance, and you might remember their epic 2006 win over Iowa in the First Round. Even last year when the team seemed to struggle, NSU still managed to upset SFA to make the Southland Championship game.

TULANE - The Wave haven't made a dent on the national scene since 2000, when they won 20 games and knocked off 6 Top 100 teams. To put that in perspective, in the last five seasons, Tulane has only beaten 6 Top 100 teams. Last year the Wave did knock off big-name programs like Georgia, Auburn, and LSU, something that most schools in the state couldn't accomplish.

LOUISIANA TECH - Last year's Bulldogs were extremely inexperienced and struggled to a brutal 6-24 record. This year's group should show substantial improvement, and will push for .500 in league play. Last year aside, La Tech has had decent success over the last decade, with scattered Top 150 and Top 100 finishes. The program's 7th NCAA Tourney trip will have to wait a couple more years.

6. NEW ORLEANS - Joe Pasternack did a nice job in his first season, leading UNO to upset road wins over BCS teams like NC State and Colorado, and finishing 8-10 in league play. This was the program's best season since making a surprise run to the Sun Belt finals in 2004.

7. SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA - SELU made its lone NCAA Tournament in 2005. In the past three seasons though, the Lions have merely hovered around .500 in SLC play. They did knock off in-state SLC rivals McNeese & Nicholls State all four times last year.

8. SOUTHERN - Since 2003, Southern has finished .500 or better every season in the SWAC. In 2006, Rob Spivery led the Jags to the NCAA Tournament in his first season at the helm.

9. MCNEESE STATE - In 2001 & 2002, McNeese enjoyed back to back postseason trips, reaching the NIT and then the NCAAs. Once 2004 got underway, there's been little success and not even one season above 200th in the RPI. This year should be similar to last with a middle of the road Southland record expected. The Cowboys did have a nice road upset of Lousiana-Lafayette last season.

10. LOUISIANA-MONROE - The Warhawks (nee Indians) haven't had much success on the basketball court in about 25 years. Outside of a surprising 2002 campaign (98 RPI), ULM hasn't sniffed the postseason in the past decade. Moving to the Sun Belt Conference a couple years ago has yet to reap any major rewards.

11. NICHOLLS STATE - From 2002 to 2005, Nicholls somehow managed to only average 2 D1 wins a year. The past couple years have been better, but nothing to write home about.

12. CENTENARY - In 2005 & 2006, Centenary was easily one of the worst programs in the country. They won a combined 5 D1 combines in that span. Last year was somewhat of an improvement with an RPI of 283, and this year's team might creep up into the 250 range.

13. GRAMBLING STATE - After an embarrassing 2000 campaign in which the Tigers went winless, Grambling has hovered around .500 in SWAC play for most of the decade. Then again, the SWAC is the country's worst conference, so .500 in league play isn't a big accomplishment. Grambling hasn't won a non-conference game against a D1 team since 2005.

Last: Kentucky - Next: Maryland

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

Three Stars of the Day: Brown, Rogers, Gomez

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 11:47:33 -0500

Three Stars of The Day

We handpick the best performances of the day, whether it be stat lines that make you drool, or clutch performances. Either way, its our way of showing the love:

Andrew Brown - Lafayette

Scored a game-high 32 points against Mount Saint Mary's, as the Leopards improved to an impressive 8-3 mark

Kevin Rogers - Baylor

The Bears improved to 9-1 behind 21 and 10, both game highs, from the junior forward

David Gomez - Tulane

The Wave sent Georgia to their 2nd straight loss behind the senior's season-high 24 points

Other Top Performers

Trevor Booker - Clemson - Continuing his consistent play, Booker had 18 points and 10 rebounds in an easy win over DePaul

Charles Rhodes - Mississippi State - Broke out of a mini scoring slump with 26 points against TAMU-CC

Leon Williams - Ohio - In a late game in Hawaii, scored 23 points and also grabbed 10 boards against ULL

Previous Stars of the Day

December 20th - Levance Fields, Pittsburgh

December 19th - Jordan Hill, Arizona

December 18th - Tim Pollitz, Miami (OH)

December 17th - Darnell Dials, Eastern Kentucky

December 16th - Ty Lawson, UNC

December 15th - Demetric Bennett, South Alabama

December 13th - Jack McClinton, Miami

December 12th - Lee Cummard, BYU

December 11th - Bryan Mullins, SIU

December 10th - Ben Nwachukwu, Columbia

December 9th - Dane Watts, Creighton

December 5th - Drew Lavender, Xavier

December 4th - Luke Harangody, Notre Dame

December 3rd - DJ White, Indiana

December 2nd - Jerryd Bayless, Arizona

December 1st - George Hill, IUPUI

November 30th - Craig Brackins - Iowa State

November 29th - Ryan Anderson, California

November 28th - James Powell, UCSB

November 27th - Stephen Curry, Davidson

November 26th - Michael Bramos, Miami (OH)

November 22nd - Michael Beasley, Kansas State

November 21st - Kyle Singler, Duke

November 20th - Patty Mills, Saint Mary's

November 19th - Matt Causey, Georgia Tech

November 18th - Daniel Hackett, USC

November 17th - Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis

November 16th - JJ Hickson, NC State

November 15th - Jon Brockman, Washington