2022-23 Conference USA Betting Preview

Throughout the NCAA, realignment is wreaking havoc on traditional rivalries and frequently, geographical logic. But if you squint hard enough, the clouds have a silver lining.

That is especially true in the Conference USA.

Three teams departed this offseason: Old Dominion, Marshall and Southern Miss. Notably, those three teams combined to go 13-41 in league play last season and finished ninth, 12th and 14th in the 14-team standings.

Combined with a rising talent level elsewhere, that “trimming of the fat” has the league trending towards its best season in a long time.

The Favorite

The last time the C-USA earned an at-large bid was back in 2012. At that point, half of the current American Athletic Conference was still in the league (Memphis, Houston, UCF, SMU etc.).

Several teams have gotten on the fringes of the conversation, but no one quite accomplished the feat.

This year, UAB has legitimate hopes of building a resume worthy of consideration on Selection Sunday.

Andy Kennedy quickly righted the ship at his alma mater, dipping into the portal for talented transfers from all over.  He continued to ply that trade this offseason.

Former LSU guard Eric Gaines is arguably the best newcomer in the league. His disruptive defensive talents profile perfectly in Kennedy’s various pressure schemes.

He joins the incendiary Jelly Walker in one of mid-majordom’s best backcourts.

The rest of the roster is loaded with enticing pieces, as well.

The Contenders

One of the C-USA’s near-misses for an at-large? Last year’s North Texas team, which again looks like a top contender despite losing multiple elite defenders.

Tylor Perry earned the league’s Sixth Player of the Year award, but he’s far more than just a bench weapon. The crunch-time hero is a Player of the Year candidate this time around.

Coach Grant McCasland was voted as the best X’s and O’s boss in the league by his peers in The Almanac. McCasland has also hinted to several publications that this edition of the Mean Green will be more offensively-inclined than last year’s suffocating unit.

Of course, even with UAB’s loaded roster of imports, Western Kentucky might possess the most talent in the league.

The Hilltoppers boast transfers from Kentucky, Indiana, Boston College, Boise State and Davidson — and that’s before you get to their two best players.

Those would be power southpaw lead guard Dayvion McKnight and 7-foot-5 shot-swatting menace Jamarion Sharp. That inside-out duo could vault WKU into title contention.

Rick Stansbury knows how to get that talent to play up against high-caliber competition, too. As an underdog, his Hilltoppers are 31-11-1 against the spread in the last five years, per TeamRankings.

We may not see that scenario until mid-December, but it is a stat worth remembering.

Rounding out the “contenders” tier are two upstarts: Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee.

Both are on a sharp upward trajectory, and anyone that identified…