Conference USA Basketball: Wild conference tournament approaches
Semifinals
No. 1 Old Dominion vs. No. 4 Texas-San Antonio
The difference between these two teams this season has been razor thin, with both teams earning one-point victories. In the first game, UTSA stormed back from 18 points with 4:43 to play to steal a win. In the second meeting, ODU returned the favor and earned a conference championship in the process. The third meeting is likely to be another tight one, I’ll take Texas-San Antonio because they will be better at the free throw line than Old Dominion, shooting nearly nine percentage points higher on the season. Prediction: Texas-San Antonio
No. 2 Western Kentucky vs. No. 6 Marshall
These two teams split the season series, with each team protecting their home floor. In both games, each team blew a second-half lead leading to a loss. In the two games, Marshall shot just 28% from beyond the arc and on the season they are over 33%. This game should be a battle of the old guard Marshall seniors Jon Elmore and C.J. Burks against the new guard of Hilltopper sophomore Taveion Hollingsworth and freshman Charles Bassey. In the end, we see a changing of the guard and Western Kentucky moves on to the final. Prediction: Western Kentucky
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Finals
No. 2 Western Kentucky vs. No. 4 Texas-San Antonio
Both the meetings in this season-series split went to overtime, so a third meeting will likely be just as tight. The Hilltoppers had at least four players in double figures in both games and the Texas-San Antonio duo of Keaton Wallace averaged over 56 points in the two games. This is likely to be another high-scoring close affair, but I’ll take the balance of Western Kentucky to take home the automatic bid over Texas-San Antonio. Prediction: Western Kentucky