You might want to take a snapshot of the 2004 Conference USA tournament. Two years from now when the league convenes for its postseason party, this year's gathering of juggernauts might be a mere vivid memory of a once-emerging Goliath.

In its place could well stand a conference dramatically trimmed down from its current heavyweight status. Future winners of the Low Carb-USA tournament won't wear the number of battle scars that should mark the champion of this year's event.

Given the number of wounds each club already has suffered heading into the tourney, wearing the crown this Saturday will be more a symbol of survival than supremacy.

"I think one of the key things, whether you have a first round bye or not, is you have to have your ducks in order so to speak in the two weeks leading up to it," Saint Louis coach Brad Soderberg said. "In other words, I think the teams that are playing really solid basketball at this time of the year have a marked advantage over the teams that aren't.

"If your team is struggling or is not sound, or your offense is not clicking going into the tournament, I think it's going to be hard to win it because you don't have enough practice time from game to game. So right now, I think everybody is trying � us included � to just make sure the quality of practice this week is excellent."

As far as league tournaments go, C-USA historically has lacked the drama and competition of older, more established conferences. Only eight years old and assembled primarily by a hodgepodge of geographically diverse metropolitan universities, the league's annual tournament to date has been a relative snooze.

But that generally is the case when there is a shortage of regional rivalries and a surplus of pushovers.

The script this week should be much different, given the star-studded cast. Top to bottom, this by far is the most balanced tournament in C-USA history. While the ACC has received most of the national press with regard to parity, C-USA's logjam at the top produced one of the more competitive regular season battles ever in college basketball.

Common logic suggests the tournament will be no different.

Unlike most postseason events, all 12 schools have a legitimate shot of winning a game, perhaps even two, in Cincinnati. Odds are the champion will come from the pool of teams that received first round byes (Face it, winning four straight against this lineup and under this pressure is a long shot at best.), but the amount of havoc first round winners can create shouldn't be overlooked.

For starters, East Carolina finished the regular season winning four of its last five and is playing at a level much higher than its No. 11 seed. The Pirates are an easy out by no measure and play a style of defense that can be mentally taxing on any opponent.

Rest assured Louisville hasn't already etched its name alongside Cincinnati. And regardless of which school faces the Bearcats, expect an emotionally draining fight to the finish Thursday.

With some postseason bids and seedings still in flux, that should be the recurring theme throughout the week. Though six C-USA schools are virtual NCAA locks, this week provides a final opportunity to impress the selection committee.

Louisville's high RPI has kept it off the bubble, but the Cardinals' stretch run has been more of a limp. If the Cardinals can rebound and run the table, their stock could rise as high as a No. 4 seed.

DePaul, Cincinnati, Memphis, Charlotte, and UAB all have played well over the past month, though a quick exit from the conference tournament may set up an undesirable first round match-up in the Big Dance.

Seven bids are not out of the realm of possibility considering that Marquette could earn an at-large berth with an appearance in Saturday's championship. That would give the Golden Eagles 20 wins, including several over quality opponents.

Even East Carolina could earn an NIT bid with a couple of wins.

About the only given heading into Wednesday is the amount of concentration, intensity, and stamina it will take to win the C-USA brass. At this point, reaching the peak of Mt. Everest might be the easier task.

The greatest danger is that the C-USA tournament could leave its NCAA participants with little fuel in the tank. Then again, the mental toughness developed throughout the rigorous league gauntlet may provide enough postseason armor.

The winner Saturday no doubt will ride a powerful wave of emotion throughout the week, which sometimes can be enough to thrust a team into the Sweet 16. But the question remains whether or not C-USA's casualties will recover in time to make a deep NCAA run.

Two years from now it won't be an issue.