DALLAS, Texas – FIU men's hoops is slated the No. 7 seed in next week's Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship presented by TotalCare, to be played at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas, the league office announced Saturday.
 
The Panthers (14-17, 8-12 C-USA) will face No. 10 seed Louisiana Tech (14-17, 7-13 C-USA) in the first round on Wednesday, Mar. 8, at 8 p.m. CT / 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The Panthers and Bulldogs split their regular-season meetings with each team winning on their home court.
 
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams in the Conference USA Tournament. FIU is 2-5 all-time in the C-USA Tournament.
 
Florida Atlantic earned the top seed after ending the year with a 28-3 overall record and an 18-2 mark in league play.
 
The Owls, along with No. 2 North Texas (25-6, 16-4 C-USA), No. 3 UAB (23-8, 14-6 C-USA), No. 4 Middle Tennessee (18-13, 11-9 C-USA) and No. 5 Charlotte (18-13, 9-11 C-USA), received byes to the quarterfinal round on Thursday, March 9.
 
This year's championship features all 11 teams and begins with three first-round games on Wednesday, March 8, at the Ford Center at The Star.
 
The men's portion of the championship tips off with No. 8 WKU (16-15, 8-12 C-USA) versus No. 9 UTEP (14-17, 7-13 C-USA) at 5:30 p.m. CT on Court A. The Hilltoppers swept the regular-season series with the Miners.
 
Day one of the event concludes with No. 6 Rice (17-14, 8-12 C-USA) facing No. 11 UTSA (10-21, 4-16 C-USA) at 8:30 p.m. CT on Court B. The Owls and Roadrunners each stole a road win from the other in league play.
 
FAU will face the winner between WKU and UTEP at 5:30 p.m. CT Thursday on Court A, while Middle Tennessee and Charlotte will battle at 6 p.m. on Court B. UNT awaits the winner between FIU and LA Tech for an 8 p.m. contest on Court A, and UAB will take on either Rice or UTSA at 8:30 p.m. on Court B.
 
Coverage for the first round and quarterfinal games will be available through ESPN+ with the Semifinals and the Championship Final aired on CBS Sports Network.
 
For more information on the 2023 C-USA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships presented by TotalCare, visit www.ConferenceUSA.com/HoopsAtTheStar.
 
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