Conference USA Tournament 2016: Bracket, Schedule and Championship Odds

There is no bubble talk in this league. The Conference USA tournament will be all or nothing for each team regardless of its play during the regular season.

According to KenPom.com, Conference USA ranks 21st out of 32 leagues, a far fall from when it was one of the best in the nation and just outside the power conferences.

However, that doesn't prevent excitement in the postseason. A year ago, UAB went on a dramatic run to win the conference tournament and then turned that into an opening-round win over Iowa State in the NCAA tournament. There is no question there are teams with that ability this time around as well, but it will all come down to who is playing the best right now.

With the season on the line for everyone involved, the week in Birmingham, Alabama, could feature quite a bit of drama. 

Schedule

Date	Game No.	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
March 8	1	No. 12 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 13 UTSA	5 p.m.	ASN
March 9	2	No. 8 Western Kentucky vs. No. 9 North Texas	1 p.m.	ASN
March 9	3	No. 5 Old Dominion vs. No. 12 Florida Atlantic	3:30 p.m.	ASN
March 9	4	No. 7 Charlotte vs. No. 10 Rice	7 p.m.	ASN
March 9	5	No. 6 UTEP vs. No. 11 FIU	9:30 p.m.	ASN
March 10	6	No. 1 UAB vs. Game 2 winner	1 p.m.	ASN
March 10	7	No. 4 Louisiana Tech vs. Game 3 winner	3:30 p.m.	ASN
March 10	8	No. 2 Middle Tennessee vs. Game 4 winner	7 p.m.	ASN
March 10	9	No. 3 Marshall vs. Game 5 winner	9:30 p.m.	ASN
March 11	10	Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner	4 p.m.	CBS Sports
March 11	11	Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner	6:30 p.m.	CBS Sports
March 12	12	Championship Game	2:30 p.m.	Fox Sports 1

Bracket

Odds

Team	Odds
UAB	-120
Middle Tennessee State	+550
Old Dominion	+550
Marshall	+650
Louisiana Tech	+700
Charlotte	+2500
UTEP	+2500
Western Kentucky	+2500
Field	+3300

Preview

Jason Hirschfeld/Associated Press

Florida Atlantic defeated Texas San Antonio in the opening game of the tournament, but the real action begins Wednesday when the majority of teams kick off their postseason.

Although the eight teams in action possess some dangerous scorers like Old Dominion's Trey Freeman and Rice's Marcus Evans, it would take a lot for any of these squads to make a run all the way to a title. In reality, this conference has shown the benefits of team play over individuality.

Middle Tennessee has kept this mindset throughout the 2015-16 season. Giddy Potts has had a great year—and he should be able to return from his concussion this week, per Aldo Giovanni Amato of the Daily News Journal—but the Blue Raiders know they can succeed without one player taking over.

"It really is the identity," head coach Kermit Davis said, per Amato. "I think our guys feel confident. It doesn’t guarantee anything, but, hopefully, it’ll carry over into this stretch in Birmingham."

The No. 2 seed plays great defense and limits opponents to just one opportunity on each possession. With Potts, Reggie Upshaw and others making plays on offense, this is a well-built team that can be successful.

The same situation can be found with top seed UAB. Nic Gulas of WIAT noted a number of players were honored in the postseason All-Conference USA teams:

Despite this recognition, none of these players puts up big numbers on a regular basis. Robert Brown and Chris Cokley are tied for the team lead with just 13.2 points per game, while pass-first point guard Nick Norton averages 5.2 assists per game. 

As Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports noted, a lot of credit has to go to head coach Jerod Haase for helping the players care more about the team than themselves:

That 26-5 record is even more impressive when you consider the Blazers began the year 3-3. Since a rough start, they have gone on a tear with 23 wins in the past 25 games.

Unfortunately, this still won't be enough to get a bid to the NCAA tournament if they don't win this week. According to ESPN.com, UAB has the No. 300 strength of schedule in college basketball without a single game against an RPI top-50 team. The rest of Conference USA didn't help much, but neither did losses to Auburn and Illinois during nonconference play.

This keeps the pressure on to win as the de facto home team in Birmingham.

Marshall is another team that could surprise people with its lightning-fast pace and a dominant big man in James Kelly. He and Jon Elmore create an excellent inside-out tandem that could beat anyone in the league when things are going well.

However, this event will be UAB's to lose. If the Blazers perform to their ability, they will be headed to their second straight NCAA tournament. 

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