First round, Tuesday, March 12, 2024 (ESPN+)
#9 FIU 76, #8 Jacksonville State (Box Score)
Arturo Dean had 21 points to help lead the 9-seed FIU Panthers to an upset win over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. FIU, having dropped both regular season meetings against JSU, got some revenge and keep their season alive as they advance to take on top seeded Sam Houston on Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Dean had six rebounds, six assists, and four steals for the Panthers. Javaunte Hawkins made four three pointers and finished with 14 points. Dean scored eight points in the first half and his team went into the break trailing by four. FIU pulled off the victory after a 7-0 second half run erased a three-point deficit and gave them the lead at 58-54 with 10:51 remaining in the half.
Quarterfinals, Wednesday, March 13, 2024 (ESPN+)
#1 Sam Houston 78, #9 FIU 59 (Box Score)
The Bearkats utilized a 14-2 run early in the 2nd half to push their lead over 20 minutes and it would remain there for most of the remainder of the game. The No. 1 seed would push its advantage to as high as 28 points and wouldn’t allow FIU closer than 19. Five players reached double figures for Sam Houston and they did not have a single player record 30 minutes logged in the game. Sam Houston advances to Friday’s semifinal game where they will play the winner of No. 4 Liberty and No. 5 UTEP.
#7 Middle Tennessee 70, #2 Louisiana Tech 67 (Box Score)
And we have our first major upset of the tournament! Middle Tennessee knocks out many people’s favorite in this week’s CUSA Tournament, Louisiana Tech, in the quarterfinals. Three Jared Coleman-Jones free throws early in the second half gave the Blue Raiders their first lead of the night and they would maintain that lead throughout much of the remaining game. Coleman-Jones and Daniel Batcho battled each other all night long, with MTSU’s Coleman-Jones ultimately winning that fight. He finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds while making 7 of 8 free throws. Batcho had 24 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort. Nine of 21 from three and 19 of 22 from the charity stripe aided Middle Tennessee to the win as they advance to the semifinals on Saturday.
Quarterfinals, Thursday, March 14, 2024 (ESPN+)
#5 UTEP, 66, #4 Liberty 57
Liberty went up 12 midway through the second half on a Kaden Metheny three pointer. From there, the Flames went cold and it was all UTEP. The Miners closed the game on a 24-3 run to overcome that double digit deficit and advance to the semifinals to take on top-seed Sam Houston. The Miners made 19 of 22 free throws compared to the Flames going just 4 of 10 at the charity stripe, including being unsuccessful on the front end of three straight one-and ones.
#3 Western Kentucky 89, #6 New Mexico State 69
The Hilltoppers halted a four-game skid and cruised to a comfortable victory in the last Quarterfinal matchup. Rodney Howard scored 20 points for WKU as they now face rival Middle Tennessee on Friday with a trip to the CUSA title game on the line.
