2019 Conference USA men's basketball tournament

The 2019 Conference USA men's basketball tournament was the concluding event of the 2018–19 Conference USA (C-USA) men's basketball season. It was held from March 13–16, 2019 alongside the C-USA women's tournament in Frisco, Texas, at the Ford Center at The Star.[1] In the first round and quarterfinals, two games were played simultaneously within the same arena, with the courts separated by a curtain.[2] Old Dominion defeated Western Kentucky 62–56 in the championship game to win the tournament, and received the conference's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA tournament.[3] It was their first Conference USA title since joining the conference six years ago.

2019 Conference USA men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2018–19
Teams12
SiteFord Center at The Star
Frisco, Texas
ChampionsOld Dominion (1st title)
Winning coachJeff Jones (1st title)
MVPXavier Green (Old Dominion)
TelevisionStadium, ESPN+, CBSSN
← 2018
2020 →
2018–19 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Old Dominion 13 5   .722 26 9   .743
Western Kentucky 11 7   .611 20 14   .588
Southern Miss 11 7   .611 20 13   .606
UTSA 11 7   .611 17 15   .531
UAB 10 8   .556 20 15   .571
Marshall 11 7   .611 23 14   .622
FIU 10 8   .556 20 13   .606
Louisiana Tech 9 9   .500 20 13   .606
Florida Atlantic 8 10   .444 17 16   .515
North Texas 8 10   .444 21 12   .636
Rice 8 10   .444 13 19   .406
Middle Tennessee 8 10   .444 11 21   .344
Charlotte 5 13   .278 8 21   .276
UTEP 3 15   .167 8 21   .276
2019 C-USA tournament winner

Seeds

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Only 12 conference teams play in the tournament. The top four teams receive a bye to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Teams are seeded within one of three groups. After each team had played 14 conference games, the teams were divided into groups based on conference record at that point in the season. The top five teams were placed in one group, the next five in a second group, and the bottom four in a final group. All teams were at that time locked into a seeding range that corresponded to their group—for example, the top five teams were assured the top five seeds. The remaining four conference games were played strictly within each group. The final seeding within each group is determined by overall conference record, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records. Only the top two teams within the bottom group enter the tournament.[4]

Seed School Record Tiebreaker
1 Old Dominion 13–5
2 Western Kentucky 11–7 3–1 vs. Southern Miss/UTSA, 2–0 vs. Southern Miss
3 Southern Miss 11–7 2–2 vs. Western Kentucky/UTSA, 0–2 vs. Western Kentucky
4 UTSA 11–7 1–3 vs. Southern Miss/Western Kentucky
5 UAB 10–8 Clinched over Marshall on Feb 16.
6 Marshall 11–7
7 FIU 10–8
8 Louisiana Tech 9–9
9 Florida Atlantic 8–10 4–0 vs. North Texas/Rice/MTSU
10 North Texas 8–10 3–2 vs. FAU/Rice/MTSU
11 Rice 8–10 2–3 vs. FAU/North Texas/MTSU, 0–3 vs. FAU/North Texas
12 Middle Tennessee 8–10 0–4 vs FAU/North Texas/Rice
DNQ Charlotte 5–13
DNQ UTEP 3–15

Schedule

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[5]

Rankings denote tournament seed.

Session Game Matchup Score Television
First round – Wednesday, March 13
1 1 No. 8 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 9 Florida Atlantic 57–56 ESPN+
2 No. 5 UAB vs. No. 12 Middle Tennessee 70–61
3 No. 7 FIU vs. No. 10 North Texas 57–71
4 No. 6 Marshall vs. No. 11 Rice 82–65
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 14
2 5 No. 1 Old Dominion vs. No. 8 Louisiana Tech 57–56 Stadium
6 No. 4 UTSA vs. No. 5 UAB 76–85 Facebook
7 No. 2 Western Kentucky vs. No. 10 North Texas 67–51 Stadium
8 No. 3 Southern Miss vs. No. 6 Marshall 82–73 Facebook
Semifinals – Friday, March 15
3 9 No. 1 Old Dominion vs. No. 5 UAB 61–59 CBSSN
10 No. 2 Western Kentucky vs. No. 3 Southern Miss 70–59
Championship – Saturday, March 16
4 11 No. 1 Old Dominion vs. No. 2 Western Kentucky 62–56 CBSSN

Bracket

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First round
Wednesday, March 13
ESPN+
Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 14
Stadium/Facebook
Semifinals
Friday, March 15
CBSSN
Championship
Saturday, March 16
CBSSN
            
1 Old Dominion 57
8 Louisiana Tech 56
8 Louisiana Tech 57
9 Florida Atlantic 56
1 Old Dominion 61
5 UAB 59
4 UTSA 76
5 UAB 85
5 UAB 70
12 Middle Tennessee 61
1 Old Dominion 62
2 Western Kentucky 56
2 Western Kentucky 67
10 North Texas 51
7 FIU 57
10 North Texas 71
2 Western Kentucky 70
3 Southern Miss 59
3 Southern Miss 82
6 Marshall 73
6 Marshall 82
11 Rice 65

* denotes overtime period.

References

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  1. ^ Juarez, Lindsey (May 16, 2017). "Conference USA 2018, 2019 basketball championships moving to The Star in Frisco". Community Impact Newspaper. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  2. ^ "2019 C-USA Basketball Championships".
  3. ^ "Introducing Cinderella: Old Dominion wins Conference USA tournament". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  4. ^ "MBB: C-USA Rolls Out Innovative Schedule" (Press release). Conference USA. May 29, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  5. ^ "2019 C-USA Men's Basketball Championship". Conference USA.

See also

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