North Texas vs Western Kentucky – Conference USA Title Game Picks and Odds

• Top-seeded Western Kentucky is a 1.5-point underdog against North Texas in the Conference USA tournament championship game on Saturday (March 13th, 9:00 pm ET)
• Western Kentucky is looking for its first trip to the NCAA tournament under head coach Rick Stansbury, while North Texas is hoping to punch a ticket for the first time since 2010
• See below for analysis, odds, and a betting prediction

Another bid to the NCAA tournament will be earned Saturday night when the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (20-6, 11-3) square off against the North Texas Mean Green (16-9, 9-5) in the Conference USA Tournament championship game. CBS Sports Network will have full coverage of the contest, which tips off at 9:00 pm ET from inside the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

Both teams waged taxing battles on Friday to reach this point. Top-seeded Western Kentucky held off pesky UAB, 64-60, while North Texas — which is looking for its fourth win in as many days — pulled off a gritty 54-48 victory over Louisiana Tech.

Despite being the worse seed, North Texas enters Saturday night’s title game as a 1.5-point favorite over the Hilltoppers.

North Texas vs Western Kentucky Odds

Odds as of March 13 on FanDuel.

This is yet another odd conference championship game where the two participants did not meet during the regular season.

Western Kentucky was scheduled to play at North Texas on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20, but both those games were canceled because of the winter-weather situation Texas was dealing with at the time.

‘Tops Check (Nearly) Every Cinderella Box

Western Kentucky is one of the most naturally-talented mid-major teams in the entire country and would be a nightmare matchup for a single-digit seed in the NCAA tournament. They just need to get there.

The Hilltoppers had opportunities for quality non-conference wins that would have given them a shot at an at-large bid, but fell short against West Virginia, Louisville, and Houston.

Still, their potential to be a March darling was on full display in wins over Alabama (likely to be a No. 2 seed) and Memphis (currently on the bubble), which likely would have been enough had they not taken three losses in Conference USA play.

Charles Bassey is going to be a first-round draft pick; Taveion Hollingsworth is an elite college scorer; and Josh Anderson is one of the most ridiculous athletes in all of college basketball. This team has every piece necessary to be the double-digit seed that crashes the second weekend of the Big Dance.

North Texas is the only thing standing between them and that opportunity.

Can Hamlet’s Heroics Be Enough? 

Senior guard Javion Hamlet has been a stud for North Texas all season long, but he’s taken his game to a different level in the postseason.

Keep cooking @javion_hamlet #GMG | #HoopsAtTheStar pic.twitter.com/nQnSdNx5Tc

— North Texas Basketball (@MeanGreenMBB) March 12, 2021

In the Mean Green’s three C-USA tournament wins so far, Hamlet has averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 assists, and 7.3 rebounds per game. Hamlet has either made or assisted on a whopping 61 percent of all North Texas made field goals during the tournament. If they’re able to pull the upset of WKU and punch their ticket to the dance, it’s a safe bet that he’ll be the biggest reason why.

Best Betting Angle

Rick Stansbury teams have something of a reputation for falling flat in big spots, but this Western Kentucky squad seems too talented to fail here. Zachary Simmons is a fine post player for North Texas, but he’ll be going up against a lottery talent in Bassey, who has been an absolute monster this week in Frisco.

It might come down to the wire, but bank on the ‘Tops getting the job done and instantly becoming a trendy Cinderella team for next week.

The pick: Western Kentucky ML (-108)