We’ve made our way to the halfway point of Conference USA action this season with every team having played at least 10 conference games. This week, we begin the second half of conference play and before you know it the top ten teams will be headed to Huntsville, Alabama for the conference tournament which begins March 10.

At this point, we’ve got a good amount of information to understand much more about CUSA basketball than we had in the preseason, non-conference, or even early in conference play. Before the second half of conference play resumes this week, let’s take a step back and look at what we’ve learned thus far.

First, here’s a look at the current CUSA standings:

Liberty 10-0
Sam Houston 7-4
Missouri State 7-4
Jax State 6-4
Kennesaw State 6-5
Middle Tennessee 5-5
Louisiana Tech 5-5
Western Kentucky 5-6
UTEP 4-7
FIU 3-7
New Mexico State 3-8
Delaware 2-8

General thoughts on CUSA as a whole

CUSA is ranked as the 13th best league in the country, according to KenPom. Out of 31 conferences, it is a really strong conference even though not quite as strong as last year’s league. As easily seen by the standings, there is a lot of parity throughout much of the league. Other than Liberty, no one team stands out as the best or being the favorite to cut down nets in Huntsville. Just about any team can beat any other team on any given night. Even Delaware, despite their 2-8 record, could play a factor in the race for seeding down the stretch. Of their eight losses, one has come in overtime and two others by three points or less.

The most important thing to note in a league like CUSA, is the final regular season standings might not matter too much. Sure, you always want to compete for and win a regular season title and have the best finish you can, but there’s very little reward given towards having a strong regular season. The entire conference tournament is played on a neutral floor, so no matter if you are the regular season champ or finish last, you do not get a home court advantage.

Having said that, there are a couple of key things to remind about the tournament format. The top six seeds get a bye into the quarterfinals while seeds 7-10 have to play in the first round on Tuesday night. The Tuesday night winners then have to turn around and play again 24 hours later against the 1 and 2 seeds. The top two seeds also get a bonus in playing a team that already played a game the night before and then, if the 1 and/or 2 seed wins their quarterfinal game on Wednesday, they get a day off before playing in the semifinals on Friday.

Other than those two caveats, seeding matters very little for the CUSA Tournament, especially with the league as balanced as it is with eight teams separated by just three games in the middle of the standings.

Who could make a run?

The Flames are clearly in the driver’s seat to win the regular season title and get the 1-seed in Huntsville. They’ve done that by winning 12 straight, including 10 straight to open conference play. Zach Cleveland is the likely favorite for CUSA Player of the Year, but Liberty has more than just Cleveland. Kaden Metheny, Colin Porter, Brett Decker, and JJ Harper form a veteran and formidable starting five while Josh Smith and Zander Carter are developing as solid bench pieces for head coach Ritchie McKay. Liberty currently has a four game cushion in the loss column atop the league standings and could clinch the regular season title with multiple weeks to play before Huntsville.

Sam Houston was one of the best CUSA teams in the non-conference, posting a 8-3 mark that included some pretty good wins including Wyoming and Oregon State. Starting with their first 3 road games on the road and then hosting Liberty in their 2nd league game, the Bearkats limped out of the gates at 1-4 to begin conference play. Since then, Chris Mudge and his team has found their rhythm by winning six straight to surge into a tie for second place behind the Flames. The Bearkats are the second highest rated team in the computer metrics, including NET. They spent much of the year atop the rest of the league in that department before Liberty caught them.

Missouri State has been the surprise of the league through the first half. The first year CUSA members are led by a pair of senior forwards in Keith Palek and Michael Osei-Bonsu. That combo combined to average 32.1 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game. The Bears successfully navigated a four-game road swing with a pair of wins and remain in contention. They have a huge test Saturday at Liberty before finishing the regular season with five of eight at home.

Jacksonville State had a pretty slow start to the season, entering conference play with a losing record. But they have quickly emerged as a contender. They opened CUSA play at 3-1 and posted a three-game win streak before losing at Missouri State this past weekend. Mostapha El Moutaouakkil is one of the best scorers in the league and gives Ray Harper and his crew a chance most nights.

Several other teams could also be in the mix when we get to Huntsville. Kennesaw State and Middle Tennessee seem to be the next most likely. The Owls were picked to finish second in the preseason poll, but they are learning to adjust to live without their leading scorer Simeon Cottle. The Blue Raiders were 4-1 in conference play and looked to be a team that could threaten the Flames early, but they have lost three straight and have slipped to .500 in league play.

What about Liberty and their chances?

The Flames are clearly in the mix. The defending conference champs, Liberty was the preseason favorite behind the returning big three of Colin Porter, Zach Cleveland, and Kaden Metheny. With the emergence of sophomore Brett Decker, the Flames are an explosive offensive team. It seems that opposing teams are only hopeful to slow down this offensive juggernaut rather than looking to stop them as Liberty has so many weapons and ways to beat the opposition.

Other than the conference opening overtime win at FIU and a two-point win at home against New Mexico State, most of the rest of the games have been leaning towards the lopsided final score with Liberty winning by an average of 11.4 points in the other games.

Missouri State is the only team Liberty hasn’t played in conference play so far this season as the Bears come to Lynchburg on Saturday. The Flames also have two-game road trips out west to UTEP and New Mexico State and CUSA contenders Kennesaw State and Jax State.