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Conference USA Basketball: 2020 conference tournament preview and predictions

By Brian Rauf

DAYTON, OHIO - DECEMBER 17: Zachary Simmons #24 of the North Texas Mean Green pulls the ball away from Trey Landers #3 of the Dayton Flyers during the first half at UD Arena on December 17, 2019 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OHIO - DECEMBER 17: Zachary Simmons #24 of the North Texas Mean Green pulls the ball away from Trey Landers #3 of the Dayton Flyers during the first half at UD Arena on December 17, 2019 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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BLOOMINGTON, IN – NOVEMBER 25: Cobe Williams #24 of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN – NOVEMBER 25: Cobe Williams #24 of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Teams to watch

Favorite: North Texas

The Mean Green enter the C-USA Tournament as the top seed after going 14-4 during the conference’s regular-season slate. They were tested early during a 4-7 start that included losses to teams like Dayton, Oklahoma, Utah State, and Arkansas, but have rebounded to go 16-4 over their last 20 games.

Three of those four conference losses came on the road, too, with the only home defeat coming via a 73-71 game against Louisiana Tech.

Contenders: Western Kentucky, Louisiana Tech

Both Western Kentucky and Louisiana Tech were only a game behind North Texas in the Conference USA standings and have pretty solid resumes in their own right.

The Hilltoppers might have the rawest talent of anyone in the conference and maintained a solid record despite losing former five-star center Charles Bassey to a season-ending leg injury in December. They’re not a great defensive team but are solid offensively (55th nationally in efficiency) and are one of the nation’s best free-throw shooting teams.

Then there’s Louisiana Tech, who is the only team in the conference without a Quad 4 loss on their resume and the only one with a Quad 1 victory (at Mississippi State). The metrics like the Bulldogs, as they have the conference’s best efficiency margin and are the only team that ranks in the top 145 in both offensive and defensive efficiency (60th and 91st, respectively).

Dark horse: Marshall

Looking for a team that can simply catch fire at the right time and ride a hot streak to the NCAA Tournament? Look no further than Marshall, who plays at the nation’s fourth-fastest tempo under head coach Dan D’Antoni. They’ve shown they can beat quality teams having knocked off Duquesne and Louisiana Tech, but they’ve also shown their run-and-gun style can cause them to lose to anyone, too.