The 2024 Conference USA Tournament Championship Game will take place from the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, AL, this evening as the No. 5 UTEP Miners will battle the No. 3 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on CBS Sports Network.
The winner will receive Conference USA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. UTEP is seeking its first conference tourney title since 2005 and its first trip to the Big Dance since 2010. WKU is seeking its first NCAA Tourney bid since 2013.
We’ll take a look at the two teams below and make a pick for the championship.
UTEP: 18-15 (7-9 CUSA), 187 NET, 176 KenPom
UTEP has a chance to complete its surprise run through the CUSA tourney by cutting down the nets and punching its ticket to the Big Dance. The Miners were a middling ballclub for most of the regular season, but did start to catch fire towards the end with a three-game win streak. They took down No. 4 Liberty 66-57 in the conference quarterfinals on Thursday before stunning No. 1 Sam Houston State in a 65=65 semifinal victory on Friday.
UTEP’s bread and butter has been on the defensive side of the floor with its offense being one of the least efficient attacks in the country. In fact, the Miners have been the masters of sleight of hand as they lead the country in turnover rate at 26.1%. They have six players averaging at least one steal a game and Otis Frazier III leads them all with 2.2 per outing.
Western Kentucky: 21-11 (8-8 CUSA), 151 NET, 135 KenPom
Western Kentucky is in the CUSA title game and managed to shake off a terrible end to the regular season. The Hilltoppers were in the mix for CUSA regular season championship before dropping four straight games to end the campaign. They’ve bounced back in a big way in Huntsville, however, blowing out No. 6 New Mexico State 89-69 in the quarters before slamming Middle Tennessee 85-54 in the semis.
WKU is the fastest team in the country as it leads the nation in adjusted team with an average of 14.6 seconds per possession on offense. Even playing at this breakneck speed, the Toppers still managed to lead CUSA in eFG% at 54.6%. They were susceptible to steals with a high 11.1% steal rate on offense and that’s something they’ll have to weary of in this championship showdown.
How to watch the CUSA Tournament Championship Game
When: Saturday, March 16, 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Von Braun Center (Huntsville, Alabama)
TV: CBS Sports Network
Livestream: WatchESPN.com, ESPN App
Odds for CUSA Tournament Championship Game from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: WKU -3.5
Moneyline: WKU -166, UTEP +140
Total: 145
The Pick: UTEP +3.5
While the Hilltoppers are the fastest team in the country, that can come with some downsides. WKU had lost four straight before arriving in Huntsville, where they’ve thrown the switch and blown out Middle Tennessee and New Mexico State.
But it will be a bit tougher to run the Miners off the floor, winners of five straight and a team that forces more turnovers than anyone. This might be a mistake-filled festival of basketball, and we’d lean under if not for all the easy runouts for layups we might see off giveaways. But we think the Miners keep it close in what could be a dramatic finish.