The Conference USA men’s basketball regular season concluded on Saturday, and the seedings have been finalized for the conference tournament.
The 2026 Air National Guard CUSA Basketball Championship will be held in Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama. The tournament, which will feature 10 teams, will start March 10 and end with the championship game on March 14.
Season in review
Liberty was crowned CUSA champions after a strong campaign, with an overall record of 25-6 and 17-3 in CUSA play. They held a 17-game win streak at one point in the season. Liberty ranked first in shooting percentage in CUSA with 51.7%
The Sam Houston Bearkats came in second place, as the Bearkats were able to turn it around after a disappointing season where they finished ninth in CUSA. They went 21-10 and 13-7 in CUSA play. They finished the season with one of the best offenses in CUSA, ranking second with 83 points per game.
Western Kentucky finished in third place after a strong campaign in which they went 18-13 and 11-9 in CUSA play. WKU had one of the best home records in CUSA going 12-4. They were led by Teagan Moore, who averaged 18.4 PPG, which was second in CUSA.
Louisiana Tech came in fourth after going 18-13 and 11-9 in CUSA play. LA Tech was one of the best defensive teams in CUSA, ranking first in average points allowed to opponents this season with 64.6.
Middle Tennessee came in fifth after a decent campaign in which they had an overall record of 17-14 and 11-9 in CUSA play. They were led scoring-wise by Kamari Lands, who averaged 13.5 PPG.
Kennesaw State finished sixth at 18-13 overall and 10-10 in CUSA play. They had the top-ranked offense in CUSA, averaging 83.5 points per game this season.
Jacksonville State came in seventh place, going 15-16 overall and 10-10 in CUSA play. They ranked second defensively after opponents only averaged 68.4 points per game.
New Mexico State was eighth with an overall record of 15-15 and a 8-12 mark in CUSA play this season. They were led scoring-wise by Jemel Jones, whose 17.8 points per game was tied for third-best in CUSA. New Mexico ranked fourth in defense, allowing opponents to average 72.4 PPG this season.
FIU finished ninth after going 15-16 overall and 8-12 in CUSA play. FIU ranked third in scoring offense after averaging 80.9 points per game. They were led by Corey Stephenson, whose 17.8 points per game tied for third-best in CUSA.
Missouri State came in 10th place and earned the last spot in the CUSA tournament after going 14-17 with an 8-12 record in CUSA play. They were led by Keith Palek III, whose 17.8 points per game was also tied for third-best in CUSA.
UTEP finished 11th at 11-20 overall and 7-13 in CUSA play, while Delaware was 12th with an overall record of 10-21 and a 6-14 mark in league play. Since both teams finished outside the top 10, they were eliminated from the CUSA men’s basketball tournament.
CUSA Tournament seeding and schedule
Because New Mexico, FIU and Missouri State had the same record in CUSA play (8-12), the final seeding for the CUSA tournament bracket was determined by head-to-head record and winning percentage. Both FIU and Missouri State swept New Mexico in their season series (2-0), while splitting the games played against each other, FIU had the higher winning percentage (.484), which means FIU gets the No. 8 seed, Missouri State gets the No. 9 seed and New Mexico State gets the No. 10 seed in the tournament.
The first games will be played Tuesday: No. 8 FIU vs. No. 9 Missouri State at 5:30 p.m. and No. 7 Jax State vs No. 10 NMSU at 8 p.m.
No. 1 Liberty will play the winner of FIU and Missouri on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., followed by No. 2 Sam Houston against the winner of Jax State and New Mexico State at 8 p.m.
On Thursday, it will be No. 4 LA Tech vs. No. 5 Middle Tennessee at 5:30 p.m, then No.3 WKU vs. No. 6 Kennesaw State at 8 p.m. The semifinals will be played on Friday at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. The CUSA championship game will be played on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
A closer look at the Bearkats
Sam Houston State won 12 out of its last 15 games to close out the regular season. The Bearkats have been led by players such as Po’Boigh King (14.4 PPG), Jacob Walker (11.2 PPG), Vejko Ilic (11.2 PPG) and Kashie Natt (10.4 PPG).
The tournament run this season will be different for the Bearkats. Last year, they lost in the first round to the UTEP Miners 79-65.
Due to many players transferring in the offseason, the Bearkats came into this season with a brand-new roster and a few players returning from last year’s team. The team has seen a remarkable turnaround under head coach Chris Mudge this season, and hopes to take that momentum and win the Conference USA tournament.
The Bearkats have faced adversity in the form of injuries this season. Jaxson Ford, Cheik Ndiaye, Isaiah Manning and Justin Begg all suffered season-ending injuries, forcing the Bearkats to employ an eight-man rotation.
If Sam Houston is able to win the tournament, it will make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2010, when the Bearkats lost to the Baylor Bears in the first round as a No. 14 seed. They also made the Big Dance as a No. 15 seed in 2003, when they lost to the Florida Gators in the first round.
