5 questions as Conference USA basketball tips off

[Harry]

Give Conference USA credit for thinking outside the arena.

Hold the conference tournament at a football stadium? Why not?

The C-USA tourney has generated little buzz and attracted few fans in recent years on its own, so the league will play the next two at The Star in Frisco, the Dallas Cowboys’ glitzy practice facility.

Shake up the way teams schedule? What’s to lose? C-USA has been a one-bid league, so it hired consultant Mark Adams to devise ways to crack the at-large code with smarter scheduling.

Just 23rd in conference RPI last year, C-USA remains challenged by its vast geography and dragged down by its bottom tier of teams.

But as another season begins, everyone’s unbeaten and hopeful.

Here are some questions heading into the season:

Can anyone take down Middle Tennessee?

The Blue Raiders blew through the league last year, finishing 17-1 and 31-5 overall, then won a first-round NCAA game for the second straight year.

Forwards Reggie Upshaw and JaCorey Williams are gone, but with guard Giddy Potts back and Alabama transfer Nick King arriving, Middle is again the favorite – just not as prohibitive a favorite.

“There’s not a gap this year the same way there was last year,” Old Dominion coach Jeff Jones said. “They were head-and-shoulders above everyone.”

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