The Conference USA Tournament starts on Wednesday with four games. View updated college basketball odds.
The 2011 Conference USA tournament tips off on Wednesday with the distinct possibility that only the champion will be rewarded with an invitation to the Big Dance on Selection Sunday. The other remaining teams that do not win the conference’s automatic bid will likely be left out of the NCAA tournament, making every game even more critical.
Top seed UAB (22-7, 12-4 Conference USA) is the team projected to get the lone invite but should get stiff competition from #2 Tulsa (18-12, 11-5), #3 UTEP (23-8, 11-5) – the host of the tournament – and #4 Memphis (22-9, 10-6). A few of the lower seeds also have the potential to pull off upsets and keep the Blazers from making it to the Big Dance for the first time since 2006.
Last year, UTEP was the top seed and still got into the NCAA tournament despite losing to #7 seed Houston 81-73 in the championship game. The Miners will have homecourt advantage working in their favor and get Wednesday’s winner between the 11th-seeded Cougars (12-17, 4-12) and #6 Marshall (21-10, 9-7) in the quarterfinals on Thursday. UTEP beat both teams during the regular season, getting revenge for last year’s title game loss by sweeping Houston in two meetings and knocking off the Thundering Herd once.
UAB will play the first quarterfinal game on Thursday against either #8 East Carolina (16-14, 8-8) or #9 Central Florida (19-10, 6-10). The Blazers beat both teams once apiece in the lone meetings during the regular season, and they are riding a four-game winning streak into the tournament. The Knights are one of the most intriguing teams in the field, losing eight in a row following a school-record 14-0 start to the season. All of the losses were in league play, although Central Florida did finish strong by winning five of seven down the stretch.
Other first-round matchups on Wednesday include #5 Southern Miss (21-9, 9-7) against #12 Tulane (13-16, 3-13) and #7 SMU (17-13, 8-8) against #10 Rice (13-17, 5-11). The Golden Eagles beat the Green Wave 67-54 at home in the only previous meeting during the season while the Mustangs swept the Owls in two games, winning them by a combined 17 points.
Southern Miss would play Memphis in the quarterfinals on Thursday with a victory and lost both meetings with the Tigers during the regular season. A win for SMU would mean a quarterfinal matchup with Tulsa, a team the Mustangs split two meetings with, including a road victory.
