2025 Conference USA Basketball Tournament

The Conference USA Conference Tournament is back in Huntsville, AL for the second straight year after being held in Texas for six years. Realignment really took away a major chunk of this conference, as six members joined the AAC prior to the 2023-24 season. Sam Houston State, Liberty, New Mexico State, and Jacksonville State all joined to give us the conference we have now and Kennesaw State is this year’s newcomer from the Atlantic Sun.

All 10 teams are entered into this field, with the top six receiving byes to the staggered Quarterfinals. One NCAA Tournament bid is available for this conference.

 

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How to Watch the Conference USA Tournament

When: March 11-15

Where: Propst Arena in Huntsville, AL

Format: Top six seeds get byes to Quarterfinals; staggered Quarterfinals schedule with No. 1 and No. 2 seeds on Wednesday, Semifinals on Friday

Watch: ESPN+, CBSSN; Championship Game on CBSSN at 8:30 pm ET on Mar. 15

College Basketball Odds | College Basketball Betting Splits | Greg Peterson’s Daily Lines | Steve Makinen’s Power Ratings

Conference USA Tournament Bracket

Conference USA Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds

1. Liberty (+115)

2. Jacksonville State (+800)

3. Middle Tennessee (+600)

4. Kennesaw State (+1400)

5. New Mexico State (+500)

6. Louisiana Tech (+1200)

7. Western Kentucky (+2200)

8. UTEP (+2500)

9. Sam Houston State (+6000)

10. FIU (+25000)

(odds from DraftKings Sportsbook accurate at time of publish)

Favorite To Win Conference USA Tournament

Liberty is the favorite and clearly the best team in this conference, but I do find it fascinating that No. 5 seed New Mexico State is the second choice per the odds. That would imply that the likely Semifinal matchup between the two is the de facto championship game here. I’m not sure it’s that cut and dry, but New Mexico State would need to beat Kennesaw State and then turn around from a 5:30 p.m. local time game on Thursday to play Liberty at 11:30 a.m. local time on Friday.

Having one of the top two seeds is a big deal here with Thursday off before the Friday lunchtime games. New Mexico State is the second-ranked team in C-USA per Bart Torvik and fifth-ranked per KenPom, though Middle Tennessee, Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, and Kennesaw State were all ranked within 17 spots at time of publish in KenPom’s rankings.

Liberty is actually a top-60 team for Torvik and 62nd for KenPom, so they have a decent case for an at-large berth with wins over McNeese, Kansas State, and Charleston during non-conference play, but mid-majors like this are rarely considered.

Conference USA Tournament Darkhorse

I actually don’t really like New Mexico State here, as the Aggies were the top team by adjusted defensive efficiency, but ranked ninth in 2P% and eighth in 3P% during conference play. I don’t think they make enough shots to win this thing. Honestly, Jacksonville State is a little bit disrespected at +800 given the advantage of being the No. 2 seed. They split with Liberty, New Mexico State, Middle Tennessee, and Kennesaw State. They also would avoid the No. 2 seed New Mexico State until the finals.

Kennesaw State has a really tough draw getting the Aggies in their first game, but the Owls just beat Liberty and Jacksonville State on the road to end the regular season. They’ll be a slight underdog in that first game and split with the Aggies during the regular season. A moneyline rollover is likely to be a good bit better than +1400, but they intrigue me.

Players to Watch in Conference USA Tournament

There are a lot of good players in this conference, which has a lot of transfer players on rosters. Jaron Pierre Jr. is one of the top scorers in the nation with 21.8 PPG for Jacksonville State. Lamar Wilkerson from Sam Houston State is the other player with 20+ PPG, as he’s second with 20.4 on 48.1% shooting.

Kennesaw State is led by Adrian Wooley (18.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG) and Simeon Cottle (17.7 PPG). Middle Tennessee has two top-10 scorers as well in Jestin Porter (14.8 PPG) and Essam Mostafa (14.2 PPG, 9.2 RPG). One of those transfers, Peter Filipovity, leads New Mexico State in rebounds (8.3) and is second in points per game (13) to Christian Cook (13.1 PPG).

It is not a coincidence that so many teams are highly-rated in this league and are largely interchangeable. There are a lot of really good scorers here.

Betting Pick to Win The Conference USA Tournament

Three of Liberty’s losses were clustered in a two-week period from Jan. 2-16, as they had to adjust to life without Isaiah Ihnen, who was a really valuable sixth man and the best offensive rebounder on a team that really struggles in that area. They are the best team in this conference and a deserving favorite. They should win it, but I don’t think +115 is a very good price. I think Kennesaw State really does create matchup problems for them, as the Owls led the conference in 2P% defense and were the league’s best rebounding team.

As mentioned above, a moneyline rollover is a better option for Kennesaw State, but I think they are worth a long shot look here.

Pick: Kennesaw State +1400

Makinen Power Ratings for Conference USA

  • In Conference USA’s ever-changing field, favorites have been a reliable wager over the last nine years, going 65-27 SU and 54-37-1 ATS (59.3%) during that stretch. Those laying 7 points or more are on a 22-3 SU and 18-7 ATS (72%) run.
  • Teams off a bye in earlier round(s) are on a 34-9 SU and 27-16 ATS (62.8%) run in the CUSA tourney versus teams that have already played.
  • Conference USA tournament games have gone Under the total at a 38-21 (64.4%) rate since 2018. Those with totals of more than 147 are on an 18-7 Under (72%) surge.

More Steve Makinen Conference Tournament Betting Trends.

Check out the other previews in our 2025 College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Guide.

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