By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Conference USA begins what could be its last basketball season under its current membership with three teams - No. 11 Louisville, No. 12 Cincinnati and No. 25 Marquette - ranked in the Top 25.

In its eighth year of existence, the league sent its long-awaited first representative to the Final Four last year when Marquette made it to the promised land.

The conference celebrated during the off-season by watching five of its members, including Marquette, announce their intentions to leave the league in 2005 - and possibly earlier - for the Big East.

For now, though, some intriguing story lines remain:

Can Cincinnati, which opens conference play Wednesday at Tulane, regain the regular-season championship it lost for the first time last year after seven straight titles?

How will Marquette adjust to the loss of All-American Dwyane Wade?

Is Louisville, in Rick Pitino's third season, ready to return to the national prominence it once enjoyed under Denny Crum?

How Conference USA is shaping up

Favorites: Louisville, with a nine-game winning streak that includes wins over Kentucky and Florida, is the favorite entering conference play along with Cincinnati, which has won its first nine games by an average margin of 26.2 points. But both schools could be challenged by defending champion Marquette and Memphis as the league switches to a one-division format this year.

Biggest surprises: East Carolina is off to an 8-2 start, but the Pirates started out 9-2 last year, only to finish 12-15. ... UC's Tony Bobbitt, after a trying junior year, has emerged as one of the league's top players off the bench, averaging 13.1 points per game in 20.1 minutes. ...Charlotte's Curtis Withers leads the league with seven double-doubles.

Biggest disappointments: UAB, expected to pose a challenge to the top four teams in the league, is just 7-4. The Blazers have been hindered by a shoulder injury to Morris Finley, the league's second-leading scorer a year ago and a pre-season all-conference selection. ... DePaul, looking for improvement after a 16-13 NIT season in Dave Leitao's first year as head coach, lost three straight games to Notre Dame, Toledo and Seton Hall, and is just 7-4 heading into the start of conference play.

The Blue Demons have also been hurt by a knee injury to forward Andre Brown, another preseason all-conference selection.

Best win for the league: Louisville's 65-56 upset of No. 2 Kentucky.

Worst loss for the league: Southern Miss's 94-54 loss at Murray State.

Statistically speaking: Thirteen of the 14 teams in the league have winning records. The league is 6-10 against Top 25 opponents.

C-USA at a glance

Team	Record
Cincinnati	9-0
Louisville	9-1
Marquette	9-2
East Carolina	8-2
Memphis	8-2
Charlotte	8-3
DePaul	7-4
Saint Louis	7-4
Ala.-Birmingham	7-4
Houston	6-4
Southern Miss.	7-4
South Florida	6-5
Texas Christian	4-7

Top scorers

Player	School	Avg.
1. D. Holland	DePaul	20.3
2. A. Owens	Houston	20.1
3. C. Gaines	S. Miss	17.7

Top rebounders

Player	School	Avg.
1. C. Gaines	S. Miss	10.5
2. C. Withers	Charlotte	9.9
3. L. Whitehead	Louisville	9.4

Top assists men

Player	School	Avg.
1. T. Diener	Marquette	6.5
2. F. Garcia	Louisville	6.4
3. D. Stiggers	S. Miss	5.9

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E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com