HUNTINGTON -- Tulsa, Houston and UTEP might be the Conference USA men's basketball teams to unseat Memphis at the top.

Memphis, however, won't fall off much, if at all, in the aftermath of head coach John Calipari's departure for Kentucky. Memphis won the last four conference championships.

"I think it's going to be as competitive as it's ever been," said Tulane head coach Dave Dickerson. "The last few years noone had a chance from second, third, fourth on down because Memphis was such a powerhouse."

Memphis still the team to beat, Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy said.

But, Houston head coach Tom Penders said he thinks it will be a season when anybody can beat everybody.

Here's a preview of each team, in order of expected conference finish.

Tulsa

Location: Tulsa, Okla.

Enrollment: 4,100

Nickname: Golden Hurricane

Colors: Old Gold, Royal Blue and Crimson

Arena: Reynolds Center (8,335)

Head coach: Doug Wojcik

Tulsa record: 81-53, four seasons

Career record: Same

2008-09 record: 25-11 (12-4)

Outlook: Size does matter in basketball, and Tulsa has it with 7-foot Jerome Jordan, the conference preseason player of the year who is expected to be a high NBA Draft pick.

Senior guard Ben Uzoh made the preseason all-confererence team. Junior guard Justin Hurtt is a double-figure scoring threat every game.

The C-USA tournament moved to Tulsa this season, so that alone gives the Golden Hurricane an edge.

Houston

Location: Houston, Texas

Enrollment: 36,098

Nickname: Cougars

Colors: Scarlet and White

Arena: Hofheinz Pavilion (8,479)

Head coach: Tom Penders

Houston record: 102-61, five seasons

Career record: 629-422, 35 seasons

2008-09 record: 21-12 (10-6)

Outlook: Two members of the preseason all-conference team -- senior guards Aubrey Coleman and Kelvin Lewis -- suit up for the Cougars.

They're also the league's top two returning scorers, Coleman at 19.4 per game and Lewis at 18.0.

Head coach Tom Penders hasn't won 629 career games by accident.

UTEP

Location: El Paso, Texas

Enrollment: 20,000

Nickname: Miners

Colors: Dark Blue, Orange, SIlver Accent

Arena: Don Haskins Center (12,000)

Head coach: Tony Barbee

UTEP record: 56-45, three seasons

Career record: Same

2008-09 record: 23-14 (10-6)

Outlook: Head coach Tony Barbee considers junior guards Randy Culpepper and Julyan Stone and 6-11 sophomore Arnett Moultrie to be three of the best players at their positions in the conference.

Culpepper is already a 1,000-point career scorer. He averaged 17.5 last season.

The Miners' missing piece might be 6-9, 275-pound Louisville transfer Derrick Caracter who becomes eligible Dec. 13.

Memphis

Location: Memphis, Tenn.

Enrollment: 20,214

Nickname: Tigers

Colors: Royal Blue and Gray

Arena: FedExForum (18,400)

Head coach: Josh Pastner

Memphis record: 0-0, first season

Career record: Same

2008-09 record: 21-12 (10-6)

Outlook: Rookie head coach Josh Pastner is on the hot seat, but he says players win games. And, Memphis has some players left from the former coach John Calipari era.

Senior guards Doneal Mack and Willie Kemp are two of the top 3-point shooters in school history. Elliot Williams joins the guard group as a Duke transfer.

Wesley Witherspoon, a 6-8 sophomore forward, and 6-5 sophomore Roburt Sallie are budding stars and 6-8 senior forward Pierre Henderson-Niles has slimmed down to less than 300 pounds.

Marshall

Location: Huntington

Enrollment: 13,814

Nickname: Thundering Herd

Colors: Green and White

Arena: Cam Henderson Center (9,043)

Head coach: Donnie Jones

Marshall record: 31-31, two seasons

Career record: Same

2008-09 record: 15-17, (7-9)

Outlook: Marshall is better than last season, but how much remains to be seen. It's still a young team with nine freshmen and sophomores.

The Thundering Herd's improved depth goes at least two players deep at every position.

Senior forward Tyler Wilkerson and senior guard Chris Lutz are the leaders.

Freshmen such as 7-foot Hassan Whiteside and 6-4 guard Dre Kane (if he gets through the NCAA Eligibility Center) figure heavily in the plans.

Southern Miss

Location: Hattiesburg, Miss.

Enrollment: 15,000

Nickname: Golden Eagles

Colors: Black and Gold

Arena: Reed Green Coliseum (8,095)

Head coach: Larry Eustachy

Southern Miss record: 75-80, five seasons

Career record: 335-225, 18 seasons

2008-09 record: 15-17 (4-12)

Outlook: Coach Larry Eustachy's new players could result in supporting roles for returning starters such as R.L. Horton and Sai'Quon Stone.

Horton, a junior guard, scored 12.7 points a game last season.

Junior college transfer Gary Flowers, a 6-8 forward, is extremely talented, Eustachy said. Angelo Johnson is a transfer guard who played at Southern Cal with O.J. Mayo.

Tulane

Location: New Orleans, La.

Enrollment: 11,517

Nickname: Green Wave

Colors: Olive Green and Sky Blue

Arena: Fogelman Arena (3,600)

Head coach: Dave Dickerson

Tulane record: 60-62, four seasons

Career record: Same

2008-09 record: 14-17 (7-9)

Outlook: Tulane boasts some backcourt continuity with the return of starting guards Kevin Sims and Kris Richard. The leading scorers last season averaged 13.0 and 10.7 respectively.

Sims, a 5-10 junior, is on the Bob Cousy Award watch list.

The 6-5 Richard, a junior, is a top-notch defensive player.

East Carolina

Location: Greenville, N.C.

Enrollment: 25,990

Nickname: Pirates

Colors: Purple and Gold

Arena: Minges Coliseum (8,000)

Head coach: Mack McCarthy

ECU record: 24-36, two seasons

Career record: 333-213, 18 seasons

2008-09 record: 13-17 (5-11)

Outlook: It's Brock Young's team now. Leading scorers Sam Hinnant (15.0) and James Legan (11.8) are gone, leaving the 5-11 Young, a junior, to run the show.

Young scored 10.6 points per game and was second in the nation with 7.6 assists per contest.

Junior forward Jamar Abrams averaged 11.8 points and 5.9 rebounds.

DaQuan Joyner is a sophomore forward who missed the final 25 games injured.

Rice

Location: Houston, Texas

Enrollment: 5,339

Nickname: Owls

Colors: Blue and Gray

Arena: Tudor Fieldhouse (5,208)

Head coach: Ben Braun

Rice record: 10-22, one season

Career record: 562-411, 32 seasons

2008-09 record: 10-22 (4-12)

Outlook: The Owls welcome back five players who scored about eight points a game, topped by 6-8 sophomore Lucas Kuipers at 8.8.

Added depth will help.

Freshman forward Arsalan Kazemi (6-7, 190) is the first player from Iran to play NCAA Division I basketball.

UAB

Location: Birmingham, Ala.

Enrollment: 17,330

Nickname: Blazers

Colors: Forest Green and Gold

Arena: Bartow Arena (8,500)

Head coach: Mike Davis

UAB record: 60-39, three seasons

Career record: 175-118, eight seasons

2008-09 record: 22-12 (11-5)

Outlook: UAB lost about 90 percent of its scoring and rebounding from last season.

Six-foot-eight senior Howard Crawford averaged 7.9 points and 3.5 rebounds. Junior Aaron Johnson returns a point guard.

The addition of two fifth-year seniors will help immensely. George Drake is a 6-4 transfer from Vanderbilt. Kenneth Cooper, 6-10, came from Louisiana Tech.

UCF

Location: Orlando, Fla.

Enrollment: 50,254

Nickname: Knights

Colors: Black and Gold

Arena: UCF Arena (10,000)

Head coach: Kirk Speraw

UCF record: 264-216, 16 seasons

Career record: 346-237, 19 seasons

2008-09 record: 17-14 (7-9)

Outlook: UCF is one of the nation's youngest teams with a roster that has eight freshmen.

Forward Keith Clanton was rated as the 68th best senior in the nation by Rivals.com. Freshman guard Marcus Jordan is Michael Jordan's son.

The Knights must replace 2009 C-USA player of the year Jermaine Taylor, now an NBA guard with the Houston Rockets. Taylor was third nationally in scoring (26.2).

SMU

Location: Dallas, Texas

Enrollment: 10,981

Nickname: Mustangs

Colors: Red and Blue

Arena: Moody Coliseum (8,998)

Head coach: Matt Doherty

SMU record: 33-58, three seasons

Career record: 123-129, eight seasons

2008-09 record: 9-21 (3-13)

Outlook: Maturity is the key word for improvement at SMU. Sophomore guard Paul McCoy, 6-9 senior forward Mouhammad Faye and senior guard Derek Williams have all grown up, head coach Matt Doherty said.

McCoy led the Mustangs last season with 13.4 points per game.

Papa Dia, a 6-9 junior, has looked good in the preseason.

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