2025 CUSA Basketball Conference Tournament: Bracket, Key Players and Predictions

It came down to the final day, but Liberty has won the Conference USA regular season crown outright. Entering the final week, three teams remained in contention for a share of the regular season championship. Liberty beat both Middle Tennessee State and Western Kentucky to stay atop the standings while Jacksonville State stumbled in their last game against Kennesaw State to drop to second. 

Now all ten teams will turn their attention to the conference tournament and the NCAA invitation that comes with winning it. The league overall has improved dramatically from last year; if the conference tournament mirrors the regular season it should provide a lot of surprises and competitive games.

The final CUSA standings are below:

1. Liberty 25-6 (13-5)

2. Jacksonville State 20-11 (12-6)

3. Middle Tennessee State 21-10 (12-6)

4. Kennesaw State 18-13 (10-8)

5. New Mexico State 17-14 (10-8)

6. Louisiana Tech 20-11 (9-9)

7. Western Kentucky 17-14 (8-10)

8. Texas El-Paso 17-14 (7-11)

9. Sam Houston State 13-18 (6-12)

10. Florida International 9-22 (3-15)

All ten teams will participate in the CUSA tournament. The winner will get the conference’s auto-bid to the NCAA tournament and will almost certainly be the only CUSA school in the Big Dance. Last year, Western Kentucky won an upset filled tournament as a three seed and was awarded a 15 seed. While it depends on who wins, this year’s winner will probably wind up in the 12-14 seed range. All games will take place in Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama. The first game will tip off on March 11th, with the championship game being held on March 15th.

Players To Watch

Jason Pierre, Jr. (Senior guard, Jacksonville State)

Pierre is the leading scorer in Conference USA, averaging 21.8 points per game. The Wichita State transfer has really upped his game this year as he has been the focal point of the Gamecocks offense. He ranks fourth in the nation by percentage of minutes played and rarely comes off the floor. He’s more than just a scorer too; he averages 3.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game. He has five games this season where he’s cracked the 30 point mark and is capable of carrying the load for Jacksonville State. 

Zach Cleveland (Junior forward, Liberty)

Cleveland is a do-everything forward who anchors Liberty on offense and defense. While his scoring isn’t going to jump off the stat sheet at you, he contributes in multiple ways while on the floor. His stat line in Liberty’s crucial win last week against MTSU is a good example of his versatility: 16 points, five rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal.  He leads the Flames in both assists and rebounds per game and will be critical if Liberty is to turn their regular season crown into a CUSA tournament championship.

Adrian Wooley (Freshman guard, Kennesaw State)

Wooley should be a shoo-in for CUSA Freshman of the Year. The guard from Tuscaloosa, Alabama is averaging 18.6 points per game for the Owls, making him as the third highest scorer in the conference. Wooley also leads his team in assists (3.5) and steals (1.4) per game. He’s also deadly from long range, connecting on over 40% of his three pointers. Wooley is a big reason why Kennesaw State finished fourth in the conference despite being picked to finish last in the preseason poll.

Teams to Watch

The Favorite: Liberty

Liberty is the favorite to emerge from the bracket and make the NCAA tournament. The Flames have demonstrated a clutch gene, winning two games on the road to clinch their regular season championship. They’re rated as the 62nd best team in the country according to Kenpom, by far the best in CUSA (no one else is in the top 100). Liberty owns solid non-conference wins over Kansas State and McNeese State. They have a top-40 defense anchored by the number one defense in the country against the three point shot. 

Contenders: Middle Tennessee State and Jacksonville State

The MTSU Blue Raiders had an opportunity to claim a share of the regular season crown but couldn’t quite put away Liberty at home, falling in a hard fought 86-81 game. MTSU has the second best offense in conference games and is one of the better shooting teams in the conference. Fifth year senior Essam Mostafa is the leading rebounder and second on the team in scoring; his 30 point effort against Liberty was one of the main reasons MTSU had a chance down the stretch to win it. Noone should be surprised if the Blue Raiders end up in the finals.

Jacksonville State is another CUSA surprise. Picked to finish eighth in the league in the CUSA preseason poll, the Gamecocks used an eight game winning streak to leap to the top of the conference standings and remain there until the final week. The Gamecocks are the top free-throw shooting team in the conference and one of the better rebounding teams. They stumbled a bit down the stretch, going 3-4 over their last seven but still managed to lock up the two seed in Huntsville.

Dark Horses: Louisiana Tech and Sam Houston State

Louisiana Tech was the preseason favorite to win the CUSA title but never seemed to completely click. They have a dominant inside threat in Daniel Batcho, who is in the top-50 in the country in block percentage, free throw rate and effective field goal rate. They also swept MTSU - their first opponent in the tournament- and have a win against Liberty. Don't sleep on the Bulldogs ability to make a run.

Sam Houston State is in a similar situation as Louisiana Tech. The Bearkats were projected to finish third in the conference but lost 10 out of their first 11 conference games to drop to the bottom of the standings. They’ve ended the season hot though; they’ve won five of their last seven games including a win over Jacksonville State. They will have to win an additional game to make the championship game but SHSU is getting better at the right time of the year.

Predictions

First Round

#9 Sam Houston State over #8 Texas-El Paso

#7 Western Kentucky over #10 Florida International

Quarterfinals

#1 Liberty over #9 Sam Houston State

#4 Kennesaw State over #5 New Mexico State

#3 Middle Tennessee State over #6 Louisiana Tech

#2 Jacksonville State over #7 Western Kentucky

Semifinals

#4 Kennesaw State over #1 Liberty

#3 Middle Tennessee State over #2 Jacksonville State

Final

#3 Middle Tennessee State over #4 Kennesaw State

Liberty has been a step above the rest of the conference for most of the season, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t make it to the title game. Overall the conference is really competitive; you can make an argument for almost any team to make a run to the final, so there’s a higher than normal chance for chaos here than, say, the Big South.

I’m not positive MTSU gets past Louisiana Tech in their first game, but if they do I like their chances to cut down the nets in Huntsville and go dancing. MTSU would probably be somewhere in the 13-14 seed range if this were to happen. This should be one of the more entertaining conference tournaments to watch if you want unpredictability, but that’s what March is all about right?