Conference USA Basketball 2023: early-February Roundup

Conference USA Basketball is in the middle of the conference slate. Here’s where each team stands in early February.

Team	NET	KenPom	Record
Charlotte	106	119	13-10 (4-8)
FAU	18	34	22-2 (12-1)
FIU	206	211	12-12 (6-7)
LA Tech	143	141	13-10 (6-6)
MTSU	109	120	15-9 (8-5)
North Texas	57	64	19-5 (10-3)
Rice	152	169	15-8 (6-6)
UAB	72	71	17-7 (8-5)
UTEP	174	175	11-12 (4-8)
UTSA	318	317	7-18 (1-13)
WKU	177	168	13-11 (5-8)

Kenpom, NET, and standings reflect games as of 2/6/2023

Key Storylines

FAU mortal

Florida Atlantic suffered its first and only Conference USA loss this past week to UAB. Not only did it knock the Owls from their unbeaten perch in league play, but they dropped from the AP Top 25 as well and saw their possible NCAA Tournament at-large opportunities take a sizable dent in the process. The Owls are by no means out of the driver’s seat in the league, but they’re no longer untouchable.

Just add Jelly

UAB started slowly in conference play and looked mediocre at times in games without their star Jordan “Jelly” Walker on the court. But he returned against Florida Atlantic, paving the way for the Blazers’ upset of the Owls and subsequent win over FIU two days later. UAB is a different team with him on the court and one that will pose a threat to all comers down the stretch.

Separation starting at the top?

UAB’s big weekend elevated the Blazers to 8-5 in conference play, tied for third in the standings with Middle Tennessee. North Texas (10-3) and FAU (12-1) sit above them, but there’s a multi-win gap between that top four and the rest of the conference. Rice and Louisiana Tech are both at .500, but they each still have multiple games remaining against FAU. After a muddled midseason, an upper-tier may be starting to emerge.