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Conference USA Basketball: 2021 conference tournament preview, predictions

By Matt Melton

NORFOLK, VA - MARCH 06 : Conference USA logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the Old Dominion Monarchs at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on March 6, 2019 in Norfolk, Virginia. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
NORFOLK, VA - MARCH 06 : Conference USA logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the Old Dominion Monarchs at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on March 6, 2019 in Norfolk, Virginia. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Conference USA Basketball Jordan Ivy-Curry Eric Parrish UTSA Roadrunners (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
Conference USA Basketball Jordan Ivy-Curry Eric Parrish UTSA Roadrunners (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images) /

Play-In Games

6W Rice vs 7W Southern Miss

These two teams played twice during the regular season, both of which Rice won. The Owls are a far superior offensive team averaging over 10 PPG more than Southern Miss, and due to this Rice should cruise to a Play-In victory.

Prediction: Rice 77, Southern Miss 65

6E Middle Tennessee vs 7E FIU

This will be a matchup of arguably the two worst teams in Conference-USA. These two split the season series, and this game could honestly be a toss-up. FIU is a far better offensive team, and the Panthers should win this game due to a big performance from star guard Antonio Daye Jr, one of the top scorers in C-USA.

Prediction: FIU 76, Middle Tennessee 69

First Round

4W UTSA vs 5E Charlotte

This game will feature the top scorer in C-USA in UTSA’s Jhivvan Jackson. These two teams never played this season, but the Roadrunners average 79.6 PPG, which is 15+ more than Charlotte, making this an easy win for UTSA.

Prediction: UTSA 82, Charlotte 66

3E Marshall vs 6W Rice

After Rice picked up an opening-round win in the play-in game, they now have to face a good Marshall team. These two did not play during the regular season, but this could be a sneaky good game. The Thundering Herd are a popular pick to win the C-USA Tournament as a sleeper team, and may just be too much for Rice to handle here.

Prediction: Marshall 82, Rice 73

4E Florida Atlantic vs 5W UTEP

This is a game that can go either way. Florida Atlantic is a good offensive and defensive team scoring 78.6 PPG, while only allowing 66.3 PPG. UTEP is not as good offensively, but did play Kansas very close in the previous game on the road. UTEP could surprise some people, but I’ll go with FAU moving on.

Prediction: Florida Atlantic 77, UTEP 71

3W North Texas vs 7E FIU

North Texas is a very good defensive team only allowing 62.5 PPG to opponents, while FIU is a good offensive team. It’s strength vs strength in this one, but however, FIU is not a good defensive team. FIU will not be able to contain them defensively with North Texas winning a high-scoring game.

Prediction: North Texas 82, FIU 76