By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A preview of the Conference USA Tournament, beginning Wednesday in Louisville:

TEAM TO BEAT

Marquette. No other team in the conference can match the Golden Eagles' (23-4) inside-outside scoring balance. They also have the best player in the league in junior guard Dwyane Wade.

DARK HORSE

Saint Louis. The Billikens (15-12) have bought into coach Brad Soderberg's deliberate approach and have won seven in a row, including victories at Cincinnati and Louisville at home. Guard Marque Perry is averaging 19 points in conference games.

MOST TO PROVE

Cincinnati. Despite their lofty RPI, which held at No. 24 on Sunday, the Bearcats (17-10) would like to have another win or two to solidify their NCAA Tournament berth as an at-large team. Winning the league tournament and the automatic NCAA berth, of course, would be even better.

TOUGHEST DRAW

DePaul. At one time, it appeared the Blue Demons (16-11) might have an outside shot at an NCAA Tournament berth, but they've lost three of their last five. If they get past South Florida in the first round, they face the prospect of having to play No. 2 seed Memphis in the quarterfinals, No. 3 seed Louisville on its home floor in the semifinals and then No. 1 seed Marquette in the final.

WEAKEST DRAW

Louisville. The Cardinals (21-6) get to play at home, face the winner of Tulane (15-14) and Houston (8-19) in the quarterfinals, then could get a chance to avenge a home-court loss to rival Memphis in the semifinals. They wouldn't have to play Marquette until the final. Not a bad deal.

MOST LIKELY MVP

Wade. . The best player in the league leads the conference in scoring at nearly 22 points per game, but more importantly, his game is well-rounded enough that he can help his team win in a variety of ways. He's so versatile it's difficult to design a way to stop him.

PLAYER ON THE SPOT

Chris Massie, Memphis. The Tigers, who didn't play Marquette during the regular season, would love to knock off the Golden Eagles in this tournament and claim one of the two C-USA crowns. To do so, Massie will have to have a huge tournament in the low post.