The Conference USA basketball tournament is one of only a handful of leagues that breaks up its seeding by divisions. Preseason favorite and East Division champion Western Kentucky leads the 14-team field into the tournament. Will the Hilltoppers successfully punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament? The following contains the Conference USA Tournament bracket and schedule, as well as a preview of what we can expect to see.
Be sure to visit our College Basketball Conference Tournaments Hub for more Champ Week coverage!
Conference USA Conference Standings
| Team | Conference Record | Overall Record | Tournament Outlook |
| East Division | |||
| Western Kentucky | 11-3 | 18-6 | East 1 seed |
| Old Dominion | 11-5 | 15-7 | East 2 seed |
| Marshall | 9-5 | 15-6 | East 3 seed |
| FAU | 7-5 | 12-9 | East 4 seed |
| Charlotte | 5-11 | 9-15 | East 5 seed |
| Middle Tennessee | 3-13 | 5-17 | East 6 seed |
| FIU | 2-15 | 9-17 | East 7 seed |
| West Division | |||
| Louisiana Tech | 12-4 | 20-6 | West 1 seed |
| UAB | 13-5 | 21-6 | West 2 seed |
| North Texas | 9-5 | 13-9 | West 3 seed |
| UTSA | 9-7 | 14-10 | West 4 seed |
| UTEP | 8-8 | 12-11 | West 5 seed |
| Rice | 6-10 | 13-12 | West 6 seed |
| Southern Mississippi | 4-13 | 8-16 | West 7 seed |
Conference USA Tournament Schedule
Dates: March 9-13
TV: CBSSN, Stadium, ESPN+
Site: Ford Center at The Star — Frisco, TX
Byes: Top 10 get single; Top 4 get double
Most Recent Champion: Old Dominion
Conference USA Tournament Bracket
First Round
- (East 6) Middle Tennessee vs. (East 7) FIU
- (West 6) Rice 61, (West 7) Southern Mississippi 52
Note: Middle Tennessee advances to Second Round on forfeiture
Second Round
- (West 6) Rice 72, (East 3) Marshall 68
- (West 3) North Texas 76, (East 6) Middle Tennessee 56
- (East 4) FAU 76, (West 5) UTEP 70
- (West 4) UTSA 72, (East 5) Charlotte 62
Quarterfinals
- (East 1) Western Kentucky 80, (West 4) UTSA 67
- (West 1) Louisiana Tech 75, (East 4) FAU 69
- (West 3) North Texas 61, (East 2) Old Dominion 55
- (West 2) UAB 73, (West 6) Rice 60
Semifinals
- (East 1) Western Kentucky 64, (West 2) UAB 60
- (West 3) North Texas 54, (West 1) Louisiana Tech 48
Championship
- (West 3) North Texas 61, (East 1) Western Kentucky 57 (OT)
North Texas advances to NCAA Tournament
Conference USA Conference Breakdown
This year’s top seed, Western Kentucky, has come up just short in each of the last two Conference USA basketball tournaments. The Hilltoppers fell to Old Dominion in the most recent championship game in 2019. This was a year after finishing runner-up to Marshall in 2018. Middle Tennessee won back-to-back Conference USA Tournament titles in 2016 and ‘17 while UAB cut down the nets in 2015. Care for an interesting fun fact? All prior C-USA Tournament champions before the Blazers’ win in 2015 are no longer members of the conference.
Is Conference USA basketball perhaps underrated this year? It is worth noting that five teams enter the tournament ranked in the top 100 of the College Basketball Net. North Texas (73), Louisiana Tech (74), Marshall (81), UAB (84) and Western Kentucky (86) comprise this list. All told, only four teams rank outside of the top 200 in the net. Curiously enough, neither East Division winner Western Kentucky nor West Division winner Louisiana Tech led any scoring stat category in league play this year. Marshall was the best scoring offense in Conference USA, averaging 80.5 points per game. UAB held opponents to a league-low 59.6 points on the defensive end and also had the best scoring margin (+12.9).
The Conference USA basketball preseason poll correctly picked Western Kentucky to be the best team in the league. In terms of overachievers, Louisiana Tech is the most notable., The Bulldogs won the West Division after being picked to finish seventh overall. Two of the biggest underachievers in Conference USA relative to preseason projections were North Texas and Charlotte.
