WKU Basketball: State of Conference USA - Saturday Edition
It's such a huge Saturday for Conference USA, so I'm feeling inspired and I want to pay tribute to this incredible day with a full article on today's games
I’m going to focus way more of this State of Conference USA on the actual matchups this week, because each one of them has some impact on the standings. First of all, every team in the conference has something to play for this week, and each one of them will likely sit in a stronger position than they currently are, or they will move up or down in the standings because of today’s action.
So I’m going to break down each game from top to bottom, explain its importance. Each of these games are ordered by how exciting I think they are, along with their relevance.
So first, check out the C-USA standings…
Shockingly, the usual suspects in the East have not quite come out to play yet, and in the West, it’s business (of late) as usual with UNT, UAB, and La Tech all sit in the top three spots as expected. But Middle and FAU have been the absolute surprise of the conference, standing in the top two spots at the moment. However, Dear Old Western has had Western fans singing “Stand Up and Cheer” for six games in a row after looking completely dead in the water. Normal powers ODU and Marshall (and occasionally FIU) have just not been very good this season for whatever reason. Charlotte has also had a fine season, but a tough conference schedule is starting to weed out the 49ers, who at one point looked a real contender for the East.
In the West, UNT has been the most dominant team of C-USA once conference play began without question. But ever lurking is Andy Kennedy with UAB. Those guys have lost to three teams with losing records or they would be undefeated in conference! La Tech has started to fade a little of late, but they’re still absolutely in it if they can keep scoreboard pressure on UAB. Right behind is definitely the surprise of the West, UTEP. They’re only two games in back of the second seed, so they’re certainly feeling like they can make a run at something most considered impossible. Rice is actually a good team and it’s a shame. In most years in C-USA, a team like Rice would probably be close to the top half of the league at minimum. But they’re almost certainly destined to land in the fifth spot in the West. Southern Miss and UTSA are certainly bottom tier in the entire league, with a combined three wins and only one against anyone but each other.
So let’s break it down for everybody, starting with a historic C-USA matchup.
Ranking Today’s Action
2. North Texas at UAB
For the first time since 2005, C-USA has two conference teams facing each other that stand in the top 50 of the rankings, meaning the winner of this gets a massive win that could arguably put them in serious conversation for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. On top of that, these two programs are the clear two best teams in C-USA thus far this season. Maybe someone is playing better than UAB, but without question, UNT has been incredible, only losing four total games all season. This one should be incredible. With a win, North Texas almost certainly clinches the division win with only four games to play. If the Mean Green lose, UAB sweeps the season series and sits within a game of first place and the tiebreaker if it comes down to it.
2. MTSU at FAU
Another top two matchup, this time from the East Division. Juicy, as well, with a red hot Western nipping on its heels, FAU has gone from the top to possibly dropping down out of bye position if the Owls don’t find a way against Middle Tennessee. Middle Tennessee is poised to be in the same position as North Texas if they win. The Blue Raiders would be sitting up three games with a tiebreaker. MTSU would have to turnaround and lose all of its games to not end up with first place. But if FAU wins, things get really interesting, because MTSU now puts it on the table for a WKU, who plays them next Saturday, or an FAU who would have just beaten them, to take their spot as top dog. ESPN FPI says this game is very evenly matched with Middle as the slight road underdog.
3. Old Dominion at WKU
This is the next really interesting game for C-USA as a whole. With ODU beating UAB, anything is possible with the Monarchs, plus they are really well coached. This is a classic trap game for the Tops, having played (and won) four games in the last nine days with none of them being more than a ten point margin. And WKU plays only six players. So imagine that load and only having six bodies to spread it around with. The Tops have to be at minimum a little weary from all of the travel and the wear and tear. But with a win, WKU either jumps into second with FAU losing or continues to put pressure on both MTSU and FAU by moving to within two games of either. Either way that other game goes benefits WKU. However, WKU has been on the outside the whole season and all of a sudden could be in the driver’s seat. ODU meanwhile followed up beating UAB by dropping a shocker to Marshall. Now ODU is sitting dangerously close to dropping to sixth with another loss or two. And if the Monarchs can win today, they will actually pull within a few games of WKU.
4. UTEP at USM
UTEP is one of the surprise teams of C-USA, and a road game makes this game more interesting than some. USM is capable of winning, especially at home. But UTEP could possibly start getting serious as a dark horse to represent the West as the second seed if they win and UAB and/or La Tech lose. If both did, UTEP would sit tied with La Tech and a game back of the players. USM is looking for some wins, so they are desperate to get out of the seventh seed and play a factor. The main draw is absolutely UTEP winning, but it’s another matchup that’s fascinating.
5. UTSA at La Tech
This game is much less likely to provide drama, but I’ll go ahead and put it here because UTSA played well against Western last week and and lost in overtime Thursday. So although this isn’t the sexiest matchup, with La Tech favored by more than 15, if this game was interesting, that would be nice and shocking. But more importantly if UAB loses and La Tech wins, they would tie UAB in the standings and then we have a different battle on our hands.
6. Charlotte at Marshall
This game is not as riveting, but he line is -2.5 to Marshall at home. So this could really be a complete guessing game as to who wins. Charlotte is the better team this season, but Marshall was picked in the preseason to be much, much better than they have been. However, they have won some games of late and you have to feel if you’re them, you’re back in the race and hoping to win a few games. Charlotte is 6-7 but only two games out of second place right now. So they’re fighting to be around when the second seed is up for grabs. But if they fade much more, then they they would start flirting with the possibility of a really bad seed. Marshall has actually given itself a chance to climb as high as fifth in the East, something that seemed pretty impossible a few weeks ago. Now they’ve done a good job, but it’s time for them to keep making steps forward or they will fall right back into the abyss.
7. Rice at FIU
Talk about an even matchup! Dead even in Vegas right now. But the game isn’t played in Vegas. Somebody’s going to win this game. So Rice is an interesting team. They’re pretty good, but bad luck of the draw has set them up for a losing season in conference so far. FIU is sitting in sixth but would almost certainly move up to a tie for fifth since WKU is highly favored to beat Old Dominion. This could be a good game, but the reason it’s so low is just because FIU is not really a relevant team, and even they win, they’re barely flirting with fifth. Rice is basically stuck as the fifth seed in the Wester besides the caveat of pure meltdowns and suddenly winning four or five in a row.
Let the Games Begin!
Games begin Saturday at 12 Central time and run all day through 8:00 or later depending on how each of the games go. It’s a huge day in C-USA, so stay tuned in to Towel Rack with all of the most recent results.