Conference USA Power Poll - Tigers are Fierce

This Week: Away @ Houston

3: Houston Cougars (11-8-1 ATS, 16-7 SU) (6-4 ATS, 7-3 SU in C-USA) (LW: 4) Houston has won four straight games in conference play and is beginning to look like a serious threat to challenge for the C-USA crown. The Cougs are doing it with defense, as they have held four straight opponents under 70 points. Don’t expect Marshall to find that 70-point barrier this week.

This Week: Away @ Marshall, Home vs. Central Florida

4: UTEP Miners (12-8-1 ATS, 15-9 SU) (5-5 ATS, 6-4 SU in C-USA) (LW: 2) Defending its home court has been a problem for UTEP’s bettors this year. The Miners are just 4-5 ATS at home after dropping both spreads to Marshall and UCF last week. They’ve won four out of five SU though, but the biggest test of the season is on deck when the Tigers come to town.

This Week: Away @ Rice, Home vs. Memphis

5: SMU Mustangs (8-8 ATS, 7-16 SU) (5-5 ATS, 1-9 SU in C-USA) (LW: 5) SMU came close to upsetting UAB in Birmingham last week, erasing the sour taste of a 69-56 loss to the Cougs at home on Wednesday. The Mustangs have to travel to Memphis this week, a place where even the best teams in the conference seem to be losing religiously. An upset almost certainly isn’t in the cards.

This Week: Away @ Memphis, Home vs. Rice

6: Rice Owls (9-10-1 ATS, 8-16 SU) (5-5 ATS, 4-6 SU in C-USA) (LW: 10) Rice has responded to a four-game ATS skid in January by rolling off four straight covers. The Owls have been frisky, winning two of the four games outright and narrowly missing out on a victory at East Carolina last week. UTEP and SMU are both candidates for another upset this week.

This Week: Home vs. UTEP, Away @ SMU

7: UAB Blazers (11-13 ATS, 17-8 SU) (4-6 ATS, 7-3 SU in C-USA) (LW: 7) The Blazers still have aspirations of making the NCAA Tournament should they not win the conference championship. Those dreams were almost crushed by the Mustangs last week, as a loss to a 7-16 club as 18-point underdogs would simply be inexcusable. They really shouldn’t lose to either of this week’s opponents either.

This Week: Away @ Tulane, Home vs. Southern Mississippi

8: Tulane Green Wave (8-10 ATS, 10-14 SU) (6-5 ATS, 4-7 SU in C-USA) (LW: 8) For the first time since January 14th and 17th, the Green Wave played two straight games without having to go to overtime! They split those proceedings against ECU and Houston. Tulane has gone 3-2 SU and ATS at home in its L/5, and hosts a pair of C-USA foes this week.