The 2023 Conference USA men's basketball tournament was held March 8–11, 2023, at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. First-round and quarterfinal games of the tournament were televised on ESPN+ while the semifinal and championship games were aired on CBS Sports Network.[1] The winner of the tournament, Florida Atlantic, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA tournament.
| 2023 Conference USA men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2022–23 |
| Teams | 11 |
| Site | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, Texas |
| Champions | Florida Atlantic (1st title) |
| Winning coach | Dusty May (1st title) |
| MVP | Alijah Martin (Florida Atlantic) |
| Television | ESPN+, CBSSN |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 25 Florida Atlantic † | 18 | – | 2 | .900 | 35 | – | 4 | .897 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Texas | 16 | – | 4 | .800 | 31 | – | 7 | .816 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UAB | 14 | – | 6 | .700 | 29 | – | 10 | .744 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Middle Tennessee | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 19 | – | 14 | .576 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charlotte | 9 | – | 11 | .450 | 22 | – | 14 | .611 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rice | 8 | – | 12 | .400 | 19 | – | 16 | .543 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIU | 8 | – | 12 | .400 | 14 | – | 18 | .438 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Kentucky | 8 | – | 12 | .400 | 17 | – | 16 | .515 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTEP | 7 | – | 13 | .350 | 14 | – | 18 | .438 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana Tech | 7 | – | 13 | .350 | 15 | – | 18 | .455 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTSA | 4 | – | 16 | .200 | 10 | – | 22 | .313 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2023 C-USA tournament winner Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seeds
editTeams were seeded by conference record. The top five teams received byes to the quarterfinals.
| Seed | School | Conference record |
Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida Atlantic | 18–2 | |
| 2 | North Texas | 16–4 | |
| 3 | UAB | 14–6 | |
| 4 | Middle Tennessee | 11–9 | |
| 5 | Charlotte | 9–11 | |
| 6 | Rice | 8–12 | 3–1 vs. FIU/Western Kentucky |
| 7 | FIU | 8–12 | 2–2 vs. Rice/Western Kentucky |
| 8 | Western Kentucky | 8–12 | 1–3 vs. Rice/FIU |
| 9 | UTEP | 7–13 | 1–1 vs. Middle Tennessee |
| 10 | Louisiana Tech | 7–13 | 0–2 vs. Middle Tennessee |
| 11 | UTSA | 4–16 |
Schedule
edit| Game | Time | Matchup | Score | Television | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round – March 8, 2023 | |||||||
| 1 | 5:30 pm | (8) Western Kentucky vs. (9) UTEP | 73–67 | ESPN+ | 1,041 | ||
| 2 | 8:00 pm | (7) FIU vs. (10) Louisiana Tech | 76–81OT | 1,232 | |||
| 3 | 8:30 pm | (6) Rice vs. (11) UTSA | 72–71 | ||||
| Quarterfinals – March 9, 2023 | |||||||
| 4 | 5:30 pm | (1) Florida Atlantic vs. (8) Western Kentucky | 75–51 | ESPN+ | 1,773 | ||
| 5 | 6:00 pm | (4) Middle Tennessee vs. (5) Charlotte | 66–65 | ||||
| 6 | 8:00 pm | (2) North Texas vs. (10) Louisiana Tech | 74–46 | 2,765 | |||
| 7 | 8:30 pm | (3) UAB vs. (6) Rice | 87–60 | ||||
| Semifinals – March 10, 2023 | |||||||
| 8 | 11:30 am | (1) Florida Atlantic vs. (4) Middle Tennessee | 68–65 | CBSSN | 2,005 | ||
| 9 | 2:00 pm | (2) North Texas vs. (3) UAB | 69–76 | ||||
| Championship – March 11, 2023 | |||||||
| 10 | 7:30 pm | (1) Florida Atlantic vs. (3) UAB | 78–56 | CBSSN | 1,681 | ||
| *Game times in CT. ()-Rankings denote tournament seeding. | |||||||
Bracket
edit| First round Wednesday, March 8 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 9 | Semifinals Friday, March 10 | Championship Saturday, March 11 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Florida Atlantic | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Western Kentucky | 73 | 8 | Western Kentucky | 51 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | UTEP | 67 | 1 | Florida Atlantic | 68 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Middle Tennessee | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Middle Tennessee | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Charlotte | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Florida Atlantic | 78 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | UAB | 56 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | North Texas | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Florida International | 76 | 10 | Louisiana Tech | 46 | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | Louisiana Tech | 81* | 2 | North Texas | 69 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | UAB | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | UAB | 87 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Rice | 72 | 6 | Rice | 60 | ||||||||||||||
| 11 | UTSA | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
* – Denotes overtime period
Game summaries
editFirst round
editESPN+
|
March 8, 2023
5:30 pm |
| No. 8 Western Kentucky 73, No. 9 UTEP 67 | ||
| Scoring by half: 28–34, 33–45 | ||
| Pts: Sharp (16) Rebs: Sharp (8) Asts: McKnight (7) |
Pts: Solomon (18) Rebs: Onyema (9) Asts: Givance (8) | |
Ford Center at The Star
Frisco, Texas Attendance: 1,041 Referees: Amy Bonner Gary Maxwell Shane Staggs |
ESPN+
|
March 8, 2023
8:00 pm |
| No. 7 Florida International 76, No. 10 Louisiana Tech 81 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by half: 24–36, 45–33 Overtime: 7–12 | ||
| Pts: Jones (25) Rebs: Dean (6) Asts: Dean (7) |
Pts: Willis (23) Rebs: Mangum (11) Asts: Crawford/Willis (3) | |
Ford Center at The Star
Frisco, Texas Attendance: 1,232 Referees: Rick Crawford John St. Clair Antinio Petty |
ESPN+
|
March 8, 2023
8:30 pm |
| No. 6 Rice 72, No. 11 UTSA 71 | ||
| Scoring by half: 42–33, 30–38 | ||
| Pts: Olivari (18) Rebs: Olivari (8) Asts: Fiedler (6) |
Pts: Medor (20) Rebs: Richards (7) Asts: Medor (6) | |
Ford Center at The Star
Frisco, Texas Attendance: 1,232 Referees: Darron George Chris Merlo Chris Pacsi |
Quarterfinals
editESPN+
|
March 9, 2023
5:30 pm |
| No. 1 Florida Atlantic 75, No. 9 Western Kentucky 51 | ||
| Scoring by half: 30–20, 45–31 | ||
| Pts: Davis (14) Rebs: Greenlee (8) Asts: Davis (4) |
Pts: McKnight (18) Rebs: Sharp (11) Asts: McKnight (2) | |
Ford Center at The Star
Frisco, Texas Attendance: 1,773 Referees: Kelly Self Craig Murley Kevin Mathis |
ESPN+
|
March 9, 2023
6:00 pm |
| No. 4 Middle Tennessee 66, No. 5 Charlotte 65 | ||
| Scoring by half: 26–28, 40–37 | ||
| Pts: Weston (22) Rebs: Dishman (9) Asts: Dishman/Weston/Lenard Jr./Bufford/Millin (1) |
Pts: Khalifa/Patterson (14) Rebs: Khalifa (7) Asts: Khalifa (4) | |
Ford Center at The Star
Frisco, Texas Attendance: 1,773 Referees: Rick Crawford Antinio Petty Chris Hudson |
ESPN+
|
March 9, 2023
8:00 pm |
| No. 2 North Texas 74, No. 10 Louisiana Tech 46 | ||
| Scoring by half: 35–19, 39–27 | ||
| Pts: Scott (19) Rebs: Ousmane (9) Asts: Huntsberry (4) |
Pts: J. Crawford (10) Rebs: Hunter (5) Asts: I. Crawford/J. Crawford (1) | |
Ford Center at The Star
Frisco, Texas Attendance: 2,765 Referees: Darron George Tyler Kumpf James Duke |
ESPN+
|
March 9, 2023
8:30 pm |
| No. 3 UAB 87, No. 6 Rice 60 | ||
| Scoring by half: 40–30, 47–30 | ||
| Pts: Walker (27) Rebs: Jemison (10) Asts: Gaines (6) |
Pts: Evee (20) Rebs: Sheffield (6) Asts: Fiedler (5) | |
Ford Center at The Star
Frisco, Texas Attendance: 2,765 Referees: Stephen Divine Rodrick Dixon Gary Maxwell |
Semifinals
editCBSSN
|
March 10, 2023
11:30 am |
| No. 1 Florida Atlantic 68, No. 4 Middle Tennessee 65 | ||
| Scoring by half: 37–25, 31–40 | ||
| Pts: Davis (18) Rebs: Martin (6) Asts: Greenlee (3) |
Pts: Dishman (17) Rebs: Dishman (11) Asts: Weston (6) | |
Ford Center at The Star
Frisco, Texas Referees: Darron George Tyler Kumpf Gary Maxwell |
CBSSN
|
March 10, 2023
2:00 pm |
| No. 2 North Texas 69, No. 3 UAB 76 | ||
| Scoring by half: 28–35, 41–41 | ||
| Pts: Perry (17) Rebs: Scott (13) Asts: Huntsberry (4) |
Pts: Walker (32) Rebs: Buffen (7) Asts: Walker (6) | |
Ford Center at The Star
Frisco, Texas Attendance: 2,005 Referees: Rick Crawford Jeb Hartness Antinio Petty |
Championship game
editCBSSN
|
March 11, 2023
7:30 pm |
| No. 1 Florida Atlantic 78, No. 3 UAB 56 | ||
| Scoring by half: 46–27, 32–29 | ||
| Pts: Martin (30) Rebs: Martin (11) Asts: Rosado/Boyd/Gaffney (2) |
Pts: Walker (18) Rebs: Jemison (8) Asts: Gaines (2) | |
Ford Center at The Star
Frisco, Texas Attendance: 1,681 Referees: Jeb Hartness, Antinio Petty, Gary Maxwell |
*Game times: CT
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "2022-23 Championship Schedule". Conference USA.
- ^ "Basketball Championships Schedule" (PDF). Conference USA.
- ^ "Men's Basketball Championship Bracket" (PDF). Conference USA.