Roundtable Predictions: How Far do the Lady Toppers Go in the Conference USA Tournament? If Not WKU, Who Wins it All?
WBK: Liberty and MTSU sit atop the league standings, but in a clear third sits WKU, fully capable of winning the whole thing. Can the Lady Tops pull off the upset win and take home the crown?
The Western Kentucky Lady Toppers enter the Conference USA Tournament with much better chances than the WKU men. Whether the Lady Toppers have been on your radar this year or not, here we are. The men are out, and it’s time to fully focus on the ladies.
WKU (22-8, 13-5 CUSA) has had an above average season, and certainly one above expectations. Not only were they picked fourth, but they were nearly picked fifth or sixth. Instead, they have have been the clear lesser team than Liberty and MTSU (but competitive against them), and they have not really had anyone chasing them from behind in the standings in the last month and a half of the season.
A season above expectations, perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise. WKU returned a lot of stars, and they field one of their biggest teams in school history. Although they do not have tons of post presence, the general size (other than Alexis Mead) has served well for the Tops with the pressing, trapping style of the Greg Collins (and Michelle Clark-Heard) defensive mindset.
Without further delay, we bring you our predictions.
We ask our writers two things:
How far do the Lady Tops go and why?
If not WKU, who?
Predictions
Matt McCay
I’m excited for the women. For the men, it felt like dread. Basically, how bad is this gonna suck? Now I can conclusively say, “Fully.” So anyway the Lady Toppers have been playing absolutely amazing basketball lately, and I really think they have a real shot. The problem is the draw. They get FIU in the quarterfinals, who gave them one of their five losses in Conference USA play. Then, we now know for sure they get MTSU, who beat them once and is a nationally legitimate program. They’re going to have a tons of fans, too. Then, if the Tops can get through those two, it’s likely Liberty, the number seed who swept the Tops twice.
They absolutely can do it and I believe it is very even between the three teams despite Liberty sweeping WKU. Both games were close. Both games with Middle were competitive, and WKU took one of them. Liberty lost to Middle at Middle by 28. They beat Middle in the second to last game of the year by 19. Middle is the better matchup for WKU, but they have to beat both. That’s why I don’t think they will take care of both to win the championship. WKU is playing well, and I think they will beat MTSU in a war. But I think Liberty has the easier road and poses huge matchup issues for the Tops. WKU struggles to rebound, and Liberty is big. They also have tall and thick guards, and WKU does not. Therefore, I say WKU loses in the championship in a hard fought battle, which to be fair to the Lady Tops, would be an incredible performance in a year not much was expected.
First Round Prediction vs. FIU: W 85-59
Alex Sherfield
I believe that the Lady Tops have a better chance of making a great CUSA tourney run more than what most people are expecting. The first round bye is a huge plus as the Lady Tops have shown their competitive potential & finished 3rd in the conference. Alexis Mead, Destiny Salary, & Mariama Sow are going to be the names to watch as the seniors are striving to keep the season going. I’m also expecting some great enjoyed from Acacia Hayes & Josie Gilvin, in which the latter scored a team & career high 31 points during the hard fought loss to Liberty last weekend. My prediction is the Lady Tops making the conference final on Saturday.
If it’s not WKU cutting down the nets, it’s going to our rivals down I-65 in MTSU that’ll get the automatic bid into the Women’s NCAA Tournament. Although Liberty has been on a roll & remains the favorite to win the whole thing, Middle isn’t far behind them either in controlling their destiny. The Blue Raiders have the number two seed, giving them some time through the quarterfinals as well. One thing worth noting is that MTSU was the only team in the conference who’s won 10 games on the road, which should come into play in Huntsville considering that they can compete on any court, even if it’s neutral.
First Round Predictions VS FIU: WKU women: 77-65
David McCay
The Lady Toppers have been a hot team over the last several weeks, but the teams they can’t get past are Liberty 0-2 and MTSU 1-1. If WKU plays well, they can win it all and upset MTSU and Liberty. It is what I hope for, but I’m not sure Western can pull it off without a healthy Acacia Hayes and everyone hitting their averages. Liberty has been the hot team offensively and defensively over the last few weeks and you would be hard pressed to look past them as their path only contains La Tech and MTSU who beat the Flames earlier this year. MTSU is a proven winning team over the past few years and I expect them to prove it once again. But which team will show up this week? Will it be the team that destroyed Liberty at home early in the season? Will it be the one that was destroyed on the road a few nights ago at Liberty?
But in the FIU game I will take WKU winning a close one 80-76.
I think the Lady Toppers will not have enough fan support or fire power against MSTU in the semifinals. I will ride with the hot hand. The Liberty Flames will get it done in the final against MTSU. But I hope WKU plays their upset cards and prove me wrong. No matter what in this tournament you will find me behind the bench cheering on the players in “Red and White from Dear Ole Western.” GO TOPS!!! Win CUSA!
Bret Combest
I don’t know as much about the Western women, so I’m just going to be the optimist and say Western’s women run the table and give us another Hilltopper team in the NCAA Tournament this year. I’m there for it! GOOOOOOO TOPS! It’s March Madness baby ooooooo yea!
Conclusion: Lady Toppers Make at Least the Semis, Have a Good Shot at MTSU in the semis and Liberty in the Championship Game
What a different tone than the men! In an article that hoped for a semifinal appearance, this one is much brighter. We average out to believing in an appearance in the championship, and one of us picked the Tops to go make it happen and dance for the first time since 2018.
It’s been a long seven year drought for the Lady Toppers, a program steeped in tradition. Western Kentucky has three Final Fours and a national championship appearance in its history. To not even make it for seven years in a row? It’s torture for the Lady Topper hardcore fan.
But the Tops are playing really good basketball. Despite losing a couple of games to the other contenders, the Lady Toppers were the clear third best team this season, and they were the much less conclusively third best team down the stretch. One could argue they played better than MTSU down the stretch. Regardless, it was much more even in the back half of CUSA, with WKU winning most of its final games in blowout fashion.
Regardless of the details, the focus is all now on Lady Topper Basketball for the month of March. Once again, the Lady Toppers are the best basketball team on campus, and we honor them with our full attention the rest of this week.
Make sure you tune in Thursday at 2:30 PM on ESPN+, or if you can make it down to support them in person, do it. Conference tournament is always an incredible experience.
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GO TOPS!!!!