Many storylines make up 2010 conference tournament

TULSA, Okla. — Over the past five years, this incarnation has been dominated by Memphis. The Tigers have been C-USA champions every year, and the tournament has been hosted in the Bluff City.

But this year, it seems different.

Not only is Memphis no longer the top team going into the tournament, but the tournament has found a new location.

The BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., will host C-USA's 12 teams as each fight for a place in the NCAA Tournament.

UTEP heads into the tournament as the No. 1 seed, but head coach Tony Barbee knows it will take a lot to win the tournament this year.

"When you got teams like Marshall and UAB and Tulsa, you can never be comfortable in this league," Barbee said. "Once you get to the conference tournament, as good as the league is and with as much parity as we have, this could be one of the most exciting conference tournaments that we've had in a long time."

There are many different storylines that add to the excitement, and it seems this year any team can make the finals.

Are the Tigers Tamed?

Since 2005 the Memphis Tigers have won the C-USA Tournament and gone deep in the Big Dance, having been national runner-up in 2007-08.

But before this season began, John Calipari resigned to take over Kentucky and Josh Pastner took over the Tigers.

The Tigers started the season slow but came back into contention for an at-large bid and could cause trouble for others this week.

Memphis stands at the second seed with a 23-8 record and are 13-3 in conference play. Pastner's team of juniors and seniors is used to winning.

The shining star is a sophomore transfer from Duke University, Elliot Williams. Williams averages 18.8 points per game, is garnering attention for C-USA Player of the Year.

As Pastner leads this team into the 2010 tournament, many are seeing that winning the tournament is the team's only shot to go dancing. Memphis can make the run, but will other teams lie down to the former big bully of the conference?

We will find out Thursday as Memphis will face the winner of Wednesday's Houston/ ECU game.

Who can surprise this week?

While its record might not show it, Houston can be dangerous when the tournament tips-off Wednesday.

If the Cougars can find the stroke from the field, it can beat anybody. Houston has defeated Memphis, UTEP and Marshall this season.

But when it can't find the basket, Houston can't buy a win. Houston has lost to Louisiana Tech, UT-San Antonio and conference bottom feeder Tulane.

The team's fortunes seem to hinge on star guard Aubrey Coleman. The Player of the Year candidate leads the nation in scoring with 25.6 points per game and also contributes 7.5 rebounds per game.

If Houston can click in the tournament, the entire field of teams needs to be on the lookout for the Cougars.

Houston plays East Carolina in the first game of the tournament at noon Wednesday.

Can UAB finish strong?

In the early part of the season, it looked like C-USA would be a one-bid team for the NCAA Tournament. Many experts said that one team would be UAB.

But as the season wore on, the Blazers fell too many times. Many are questioning the team's bid credentials.

A quality win over Butler still stands, but a win over Cincinnati doesn't have as much quality as it did in December. As the season went on, the Blazers we're unable to beat other top teams in the conference.

With losses to Memphis, UTEP and Marshall, the Blazers seem to be outside the Big Dance right now.

Head coach Mike Davis has to lead UAB to the C-USA Championship to be sure they will be invited to the Big Dance next week.

UAB's record stands at 23-7 and 11-4 in the C-USA. The Blazers come into the tournament as a No. 3 seed and must rely on star guard Elijah Millsap to be successful.

The 6-foot-6 junior averages 16.1 points per game and also leads the C-USA in rebounds. If Millsap can take over a game as he has previous in times this season, UAB can make a run in both the C-USA Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.

UAB will play Thursday against the winner of the Southern Miss/Tulane game.

Can the hometown team pull it off?

With a new home it may be the first time in five years the host team of the tournament might not walk away with the trophy.

Many experts picked Tulsa to win the conference at the beginning of the year. They even had Preseason Player of the Year in center Jerome Jordan.

The Golden Hurricane could not pick up any big wins. They only have one win against the top four C-USA teams. Then it lost to Memphis twice, Marshall once and UTEP twice. If Tulsa wants to win in front of its hometown crowd, it has to learn how to win the big game.

Head coach Doug Wojcik is going to have to lean on the 7-foot Jordan and one of the best guards in the country, the team's leading scorer Ben Uzoh, who averages 15.6 points per game.

The men's tournament will be at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., from March 10-13 and can be seen on CBS College Sports with the Championship Game on CBS.

Kyle Hobstetter can be contacted at hobstetter@marshall.edu.