FRISCO, Texas – With the regular season in the books, it’s officially postseason time for Western Kentucky as both the Lady Toppers and Hilltoppers open play in the Conference USA Tournament on Thursday inside the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
The Lady Toppers (22-7 overall, 14-4 C-USA) come into the tournament as the No. 3 seed, while the Hilltoppers (20-10, 13-5) are seeded second.
The Lady Tops will face the winner of No. 6 Charlotte and No. 11 North Texas in Thursday’s 2 p.m. quarterfinal, and the Tops will meet the No. 7 Alabama-Birmingham/No. 10 Texas-San Antonio victor in Thursday’s 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal.
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The women’s squad defeated Charlotte twice in the regular season – 60-56 on Jan. 18 in North Carolina and 71-60 on March 5 inside E.A. Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers lost 61-54 at North Texas on Jan. 2 in the two sides’ only regular-season meeting.
The men’s squad dropped a 72-62 decision at UAB on Jan. 9 in their only matchup and won 77-73 in overtime at UTSA on Feb. 15 in their only regular-season affair.
WKU’s women’s team closed the regular season with a 71-67 win over Louisiana Tech – the No. 10 seed – on March 7 and has won two straight and 12 of their last 13. The Lady Toppers are seeking their first conference tournament championship and trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2018.
WKU’s men’s team concluded their regular-season slate by defeating Florida International – the No. 5 seed – 91-85 on March 7 in Miami. The Hilltoppers have won six of their last eight. WKU is searching for its first conference tournament title and NCAA Tournament bid since 2013.
The Lady Tops have a 10-2 record all-time in the C-USA Tournament and have won three titles in five seasons as a member of the league. The Hilltoppers have advanced to at least the semifinals of its league tournament in 13 of the last 15 seasons.
WKU reached the C-USA Tournament final the past two seasons, losing to Old Dominion in 2019 and Marshall in 2018.
The Lady Toppers will play on Court B inside the Ford Center on Thursday, with their quarterfinal game being broadcast on ESPN+. The Hilltoppers will play on Court A, with their contest being streamed online by Stadium and locally on WKU PBS in Bowling Green.
If the Lady Tops advance, they’ll play in the semifinals on Friday at 8:30 p.m. against the winner of No. 2 Old Dominion and No. 7 Texas-El Paso/No. 10 Florida Atlantic. That game would air on Stadium from Court A.
If the Hilltoppers advance, they’ll play in the semifinals on Friday at 3:30 p.m. against the winner of No. 3 Louisiana Tech and No. 6 Marshall/No. 11 UTEP. That contest would be broadcast on CBS Sports Network from Court A.
