2021 C-USA Women's Basketball Tournament Pairings Set

UPDATED throughout C-USA Tournament

POSTED: March 6, 2021 -- 7:30 p.m. CT

After winning their divisions in the regular season, Middle Tennessee and Rice will be the No. 1 seeds at the 2021 Conference USA Basketball Championships. The Lady Raiders won the East Division with a conference record of 12-4 and an overall mark of 14-7, while the Owls took the West Division with a 12-2 league ledger and a 16-3 overall mark. As the top seeds, Middle Tennessee and Rice will each have a first-round bye at the championship.

The other teams receiving first-round byes are No. 2 seeds Charlotte and UTEP. The 49ers posted a 9-5 mark in league action, its best showing since the 2016-17 season. UTEP also secured its highest seed since the 2015-16 campaign with a 13-5 mark in conference play.

The tournament begins with a pair of preliminary round games on Tuesday night, the first time since 2014 that all 14 schools will participate in the event. No. 6 Old Dominion and No. 7 WKU will face off in an East Division clash at 4 p.m. CT on Court A. In the West, No. 6 UAB and No. 7 UTSA meet at 4:30 p.m. CT on Court B.

Wednesday's four-game, first-round action begins at 11 a.m. CT on Court A when the East's No. 4 FIU squares off with the West's No. 5 Southern Miss. Next door on Court B, a showdown between West No. 3 North Texas and the winner of Old Dominion and WKU tips off at 11:30 a.m. CT.

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West No. 4 Louisiana Tech and East No. 5 Marshall meet at 2 p.m. CT on Court A, and the afternoon will conclude with a matchup between East No. 3 Florida Atlantic and the winner of UAB and UTSA at 2:30 p.m. CT on Court B.

In Thursday's quarterfinal round, West No. 1 Rice will take on the winner of the FIU-Southern Miss game at 11 a.m. CT on Court A, and East No. 2 Charlotte will face either West No. 3 North Texas or Old Dominion-WKU beginning at 11:30 a.m. CT on Court B.

East No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee will battle either Louisiana Tech or Marshall at 2 p.m. CT on Court A. West No. 2 UTEP will close out Thursday night against the winner of the Florida Atlantic-UAB/UTSA contest at 2:30 p.m. CT on Court B.

Coverage of the preliminary and first rounds will be available through ESPN+, along with two quarterfinal matchups on Court B. Stadium will broadcast Court A's pair of quarterfinals. The semifinal games will be shown on Stadium at 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. CT. CBS Sports Network will also broadcast the championship game on Saturday, beginning at 5 p.m. CT.

For more information on the 2021 C-USA Basketball Tournament, visit www.ConferenceUSA.com/HoopsAtTheStar.

Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas

Times listed are Central

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