Scott Gleeson

USA TODAY Sports

THE FIRST WORD: More than a decade removed from coaching in a national championship game, Mike Davis is content with being the furthest thing from it now.

"I love it here, I love Houston," Davis said of his new home, entering his third season as the head coach of Texas Southern.

Davis' challenge is getting a similar buy-in from his recruits given that Texas Southern plays in one of college basketball's worst conferences — with the SWAC's tournament winner almost an automatic for a play-in game in the NCAAs. That was the case last year, when Davis piloted the Tigers to the Dance before they fell to Cal Poly in the tournament's "first four." Nevertheless, Texas Southern reached the NCAA tournament, largely due to the play of West Virginia transfer Aaric Murray, who was the SWAC Player of the Year after averaging 21.2 points and 7.7 rebounds a game.

After losing Murray and, well, just about everybody from last year's roster (the Tigers bring back just three key players, two of them starters), how does Texas Southern regroup and reach the tourney again? By following a similar format.

Davis won't confide which players formerly of marquee programs will be transferring or signing onto his program this season — because he's not allowed to until they officially sign — but just like he did with Murray last year, he's poised to give several hungry-to-break out stars a chance to reinvent themselves after sour endings with their respective high-major schools. And the selling point isn't a bad one: Play for a veteran coach with Final Four experience, live in the thriving city of Houston, and if you're Murray, score 48 points in a non-conference clash against Temple, thus reminding his previous two teams (La Salle and West Virginia) what he's capable of.

That reinvention lure is what brought Davis himself to Texas Southern. "I needed a refresher," he said. "And that's what these guys can get."

All it takes is a stretch of games when things finally click — as Davis knows from his 2002 Indiana squad — and he constantly reminds his players (and "recruits") as much as he can.

2013-14 IN REVIEW: 19-15 overall, 12-6 in Southwestern Athletic Conference (tied for second), won SWAC Tournament, lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament (first four) to Cal Poly.

PATH TO THE DANCE: SWAC auto-bid. Top challengers in the SWAC will be Southern, Alabama State and Jackson State.

PROJECTED TOURNEY SEED: No. 16.

NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE GRADE: B.

Davis did about all he could to make up for a dreadful SWAC schedule. The Tigers will play Indiana, Baylor, Tennessee, Auburn, Kansas State and New Mexico State.

STAR WATCH: Jose Rodriguez (11.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg) was an aggressive utility man on last year's roster. He tapered off during conference play after scoring 29 points vs. Texas Tech and 24 vs. Stanford in non-league action. Expect the springy forward to take on a more pivotal role and establish better consistency.

X-FACTOR: Point guard Madarious Gibbs (9.1 ppg, 5.2 apg) is a crafty point guard who can finish with a smooth tear drop near the rim. With a large assortment of newcomers, having an experienced floor general who can lead on and off the court will be crucial.

STRENGTH/WEAKNESS: Last year, with Murray, the Tigers focused heavily on getting the ball inside. Look for a much more guard-oriented scheme in 2014-15 with the new caliber of players that Davis expects to "lead by committee." The SWAC is a guard-driven league, so Davis will need to find the right recipe of perimeter scoring and have a much more sound defensive effort than last year — when the Tigers ranked 275th in points allowed (73.9).

KEY STAT: Texas Southern started 2012-13 with a 1-13 record before finishing on a 16-1 run.

FUN FACT: Future NFL Hall of Fame member Michael Strahan is a graduate of Texas Southern University.

BASICS:Texas Southern University is in Houston and plays at the H&PE Arena, which opened in 1985 and seats 8,100.

***

About this post: Every week day for the next three months, one of the 68 teams in USA TODAY Sports' projected field will be dissected. In November, the final bracket will be revealed.