C-USA Basketball: State of Conference USA — February 24th
Last week when writing this article, I was excited to see how this past weekend would end up and who all would win but sadly the only real…
Last week when writing this article, I was excited to see how this past weekend would end up and who all would win but sadly the only real winner was COVID and winter weather.
Sadly there were only three C-USA games played this weekend. Texas was hit really hard with winter storm Uri so none of the Texas schools were able to play and none of them are likely to be made up, including North Texas vs WKU.
The only series that happened was UAB vs ODU and they ended up splitting games and Southern Miss vs FIU were able to play one game with the Golden Eagles winning.
Even with just that one series being played, it still caused a little bit of shakeup in the standings. The Blazers now sit tied at second place in the West with Louisiana Tech with a 10–4 C-USA record (Blazers get the edge due to their overall record).
Also, ODU now has the same amount of conference wins as WKU in the East with eight but the Monarchs have two more losses than the Tops in C-USA so the Tops still have the lead.
With the lack of conference games being played, some schools improvised. UAB scheduled a game against Rust College Monday night and destroyed them 117–45 but perhaps the biggest game for C-USA being played this week isn’t even a conference game.
The Hilltoppers were able to schedule the #11 ranked Houston Cougars for Thursday night. This is a huge matchup and if the Tops are able to come out of this game with a win, it could give them the big win they need to solidify being an at-large for the NCAA Tournament and could potentially make C-USA a two bid league depending on who wins the conference tournament.
But let’s see our plate for conference games (of course, if everything goes well).
The biggest C-USA matchup this week for me would be North Texas vs Marshall. If the Herd can win a game or two that could give UAB or LA Tech the chance to take the lead in the West as well as help themselves move up some more in the East.
Several of the good teams have matchups with lower level teams. Not pictured above is the Hilltoppers series with FIU but with FIU being the worst team in conference, I hope to God the Tops don’t have any issues putting them away this season. ODU plays MTSU as well so it’s critical for the Tops to sweep Sunday and Monday regardless of how their matchup with Houston ends up.
It’s hard to believe March is only a week away so these last two weeks will help determine who walks out of Frisco with a championship and potentially if they will be the sole representative for C-USA in the Big Dance.