Conference USA Tournament 2015: Bracket, Schedule and Championship Odds

Conference USA appears to have transformed into a one-bid league, but all that does is make the conference tournament that much more dramatic.

While Old Dominion has an outside shot of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, any loss during this week would likely hurt its profile too much to recover. As a result, every team in Birmingham comes in with the same goal: win a championship.

Here is a guide for everything you need to know about this year's Conference USA tournament, an event with seemingly endless possibilities.

Date	Game	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
March 11	1	UTSA vs. FIU	1 p.m.	ASN
March 11	2	Middle Tennessee vs. Charlotte	3:30 p.m.	ASN
March 11	3	Western Kentucky vs. Marshall	7 p.m.	ASN
March 11	4	North Texas vs. Rice	9:30 p.m.	ASN
March 12	5	UTEP vs. Game 1 winner	1 p.m.	ASN
March 12	6	Old Dominion vs. Game 2 winner	3:30 p.m.	ASN
March 12	7	UAB vs. Game 3 winner	7 p.m.	ASN
March 12	8	Louisiana Tech vs. Game 4 winner	9:30 p.m.	ASN
March 13	9	Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner	4 p.m.	CBS Sports
March 13	10	Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner	6:30 p.m.	CBS Sports
March 14	11	Championship Game	3:30 p.m.	Fox Sports 1

Bracket

You can view an updated bracket each day, courtesy of ConferenceUSA.com.

Championship Odds

Seed	Team	Odds
1	Louisiana Tech	2-1
2	UTEP	9-4
3	Old Dominion	3-1
4	UAB	5-1
5	Western Kentucky	12-1
6	Middle Tennessee	12-1
7	UT San Antonio	25-1
8	North Texas	66-1
9	Rice	66-1
10	Florida International	100-1
11	Charlotte	150-1
12	Marshall	150-1

Teams to Watch

Old Dominion

USA TODAY Sports

Looking at this conference from the outside, Old Dominion clearly has the best profile of wins and losses. Beating LSU and VCU still looks good, while the recent run of six victories in a row shows the squad continues to head in the right direction.

Leading scorer Trey Freeman discussed the difference in the team's recent play, via Ed Miller of The Virginian-Pilot:

"

We've figured out what we have to lay our hat on: energy and defense. Some games, we'll come out flat, and we'll win some, but that's not going to be consistent enough to do what we want in this tournament. If we show up, play hard and fight every night, then of course that betters our chances.

"

Combining the improved defense with the rebounding of Richard Ross and Denzell Taylor, plus the elite scoring ability of Freeman, this is a team that can beat anyone in the conference.

The problem is the Monarchs have also had some disappointing showings throughout the year, especially away from home. According to ESPN, they have three losses to teams outside the top 150 in the RPI, while all six defeats came either in road or neutral games.

Playing this tournament in Alabama could be a recipe for an early exit if Old Dominion isn't 100 percent focused.

Louisiana Tech

USA TODAY Sports

This is one of the most fun teams in college basketball to watch, with some talented offensive players and a defense that loves to pressure opponents.

Raheem Appleby and Alex Hamilton each average over 15 points per game, but the real catalyst for the team is Kenneth "Speedy" Smith. The point guard is among the best in the nation with 7.5 assists per game, while also being an elite defender with 1.8 steals per game.

Mike Jarvis recently called the senior one of the top players in the nation at his position:

Louisiana Tech makes opponents work for every basket while efficiently working for points on the offensive end.

The problem is when things aren't going well, they are really going poorly. The Bulldogs had just three losses in conference play, but they were by a combined 46 points.

This is a team that can make an impact in the NCAA tournament if it makes it that far, but don't rule out an early upset.

UTEP

USA TODAY Sports

In a conference full of quality players, Vince Hunter might be the most talented of the bunch. The 6'8" forward has had an excellent sophomore year, which could be his last at this level before going to the NBA.

Chris Spatola of CBS Sports had some high praise for the young player earlier in the year:

Of course, this isn't a one-man team. The Miners have three other players averaging at least 10 points per game to help overcome a general lack of depth.

With the team heating up as the season goes on (nine wins in the final 11 games) and a coach in Tim Floyd who knows how to run a defense, UTEP is capable of living up to its seed and at least getting to the conference finals.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.