The most patriotically named conference outside of the Patriot League, the 2023 Conference USA tournament starts tonight with three first round games.

When is the Conference USA Tournament?

Over the next four days. March 8th through the 11th.

Where is the Conference USA Tournament played?

All games at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

How to watch the Conference USA Tournament

ESPN+ for the first two rounds, CBS Sports Network for the semifinals and championship.

Who won the regular season title?

Florida Atlantic with and 18-2 record.

Defending Champ

The UAB Blazers won as the 2nd seed in the Western Division back when they had a weird setup with multiple one seeds.

Who will participate

All eleven teams will play in Texas.

How Many teams will the Conference USA send to the tournament?

Maybe two, but it likely takes a bid stealing run to the title here by any team other than FAU. Tough to see North Texas or UAB getting an at-large.

Conference USA Tournament Bracket

Three pigtails on Wednesday, top five team get a bye to Thursday’s quarterfinals, no reseeding, all games in Frisco.

Conference USA Tournament Odds

Bit of a three-horse race with two of the horses headed for the glue factory if they don’t finish first.

Conference USA Tournament Preview

I looked hard at Charlotte and MTSU to try to make cases for some longer shots to make a run here. They both have their flaws, Charlotte struggles with offensive rebounding and getting to the line, Middle Tennessee State turns the ball over a bit too much and can’t make free throws. In the end I couldn’t pick one over the other, which is a huge problem since they play each other tomorrow. That should be a closely lined game and could go either way, so I’ll be sticking with the top three here.

The same issue arises for North Texas and UAB: They will more than likely play each other in the semifinals. UNT was able to sweep UAB this year, but it was a combined four points and two overtimes. I’ll still give North Texas the edge seeing how the price is a bit longer, they have the best defense, the player of the year and it’s like a half hour commute over to the arena (so long as they don’t cut over through Hackberry). As the golf betting community says, they’ll be sleeping in their own beds. They went 4-0 versus possible quarterfinal opponents this year.

Conference USA Tournament Prediction

Fading the team getting the at-large no matter what with the school on the other side of Lewisville Lake.

My Bet: North Texas MEAN GREEN +300

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