2012 Conference USA Tournament Basketball Predictions & Schedule

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The 2012 Conference USA men’s basketball tournament is set to get underway on Wednesday, March 7 with a champion being crowned on Saturday, March 10. Below, I have laid out the tournament schedule and made my predictions on how I see it shaking out.

Wednesday, March 7

Game 1 – (7) Rice vs. (10) East Carolina: Rice concluded the regular season with six wins in its final 10 games (East Carolina won just two of its last seven) and will be hungry to avenge an 82-68 loss at East Carolina on Feb. 4. Look for the Owls to move on.

Game 2 – (6) Marshall vs. (11) SMU: The Thundering Herd are finally playing the way I expected them to throughout the Conference USA season. They have won four of their last six with one of those losses coming by a single point on the road in overtime. Marshall won 73-68 at SMU on Feb. 18 and should prevail on a neutral floor as well.

Game 3 – (8) UTEP vs. (9) Houston: The Cougars closed out the regular season with three straight wins, but they’ll have trouble keeping it going against UTEP. The Miners defeated Houston by 20 at home before losing to the Cougars on the road in overtime on Jan. 28. UTEP looked to be the better team in those matchups, and I expect it to prevail here.

Game 4 – (5) UAB vs. (12) Tulane: It took a while for UAB to get going but it’s rolling now. The Blazers have won seven of their last nine with one of those being an eight-point victory over Tulane. Look for the Blazers to wipe out the Green Wave.

Thursday, March 8

Game 5 – (2) Southern Miss vs. (7) Rice: Southern Miss will enter the conference tourney hungry after losing its regular season finale to Marshall. It defeated Rice 58-56 on Feb. 25 and should win this one more comfortably.

Game 6 – (3) Tulsa vs. (6) Marshall: I like Marshall to avenge the 79-70 loss it endured at Tulsa on Feb. 4. Because the Golden Hurricane lost their final two regular season games, Marshall will enter this rematch with a lot more momentum.

Game 7 – (1) Memphis vs. (8) UTEP: Memphis is the class of Conference USA. The defending tournament champions have won five of the past six tournament titles, and they’ll be very motivated here after enduring a two-point loss to UTEP Feb. 18.

Game 8 – (4) UCF vs. (5) UAB: The Blazers lost both regular season meetings with Central Florida, but I don’t see them dropping a third. It’s tough to beat the same team three times in a season, especially when that team is no cream puff.

Friday, March 9

Game 9 – (2) Southern Miss vs. (6) Marshall: With a 79-75 loss at Marshall fresh in their minds, expect the Golden Eagles to cruise into the championship.

Game 10 – (1) Memphis vs. (5) UAB: UAB’s surprise run ends in the semis as Memphis advances for a chance at yet another conference tournament championship.

Championship – Saturday, March 10

Game 11 – (1) Memphis vs. (2) Southern Miss: Expect the two best teams in the league to compete for the title. Southern Miss showed it was every bit as good as Memphis during the regular season by playing the Tigers to a two-point game on the road and winning by three at home, but it didn’t take care of business in a few other games down the stretch. As a result, Memphis won the regular season championship. That’s all the motivation the Eagles need to win the tournament title here.

Jimmy Boyd is regarded as one of the best March Madness handicappers in the industry. Score big with a proven winner this March!

About the Author: Jimmy Boyd is known for his consistency. He's a proven winner in college and pro football, college and pro basketball and pro baseball. He finished as the No. 1 ranked MLB handicapper in 2007 by earning $1,000/game bettors $50,050. He also finished as the No. 1 ranked basketball handicapper in the 2008-09 season, profiting $1,000/game bettors 38,530. His basketball plays have banked $1,000/game bettors nearly $80,000 the last five years. Check out Jimmy's premium picks for tonight!
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