DALLAS – After winning their divisions in the regular season, Middle Tennessee and Rice will be the No. 1 seeds at the 2021 Air Force Reserve Conference USA Basketball Championships presented by Baylor, Scott & White Medical Center Frisco. The Lady Raiders won the East Division with a conference record of 12-4 and an overall mark of 14-7, while the Owls took the West Division with a 12-2 league ledger and a 16-3 overall mark. As the top seeds, Middle Tennessee and Rice will each have a first-round bye at the championship. 

2021 Conference USA Women’s Basketball Championship Schedule
Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas
 

Tuesday, March 9	4 p.m. CT Court A	(6E) Old Dominion vs. (7E) WKU	ESPN+
Tuesday, March 9	4:30 p.m. CT Court B	(6W) UAB vs. (7W) UTSA	ESPN+
Wednesday, March 10	11 a.m. CT Court A	(4E) FIU vs. (5W) Southern Miss	ESPN+
Wednesday, March 10	11:30 a.m. CT Court B	(3W) North Texas vs. Old Dominion/WKU	ESPN+
Wednesday, March 10	2 p.m. CT Court A	(4W) Louisiana Tech vs. (5E) Marshall	ESPN+
Wednesday, March 10	2:30 p.m. CT Court B	(3E) Florida Atlantic vs. UAB/UTSA	ESPN+
Thursday, March 11	11 a.m. CT Court A	(1W) Rice vs. FIU/Southern Miss	Stadium
Thursday, March 11	11:30 a.m. CT Court B	(2E) Charlotte vs. (3W) North Texas or Old Dominion/WKU	ESPN+
Thursday, March 11	2 p.m. CT Court A	(1E) Middle Tennessee vs. Louisiana Tech/Marshall	Stadium
Thursday, March 11	2:30 p.m. CT Court B	(2W) UTEP vs. (3E) Florida Atlantic or UAB/UTSA	ESPN+
Friday, March 12	5:30 p.m. CT	TBA vs. TBA	Stadium
Friday, March 12	8:30 p.m. CT	TBA vs. TBA	Stadium
Saturday, March 13	5 p.m. CT	TBA vs. TBA	CBS Sports Network

 
The other teams receiving first-round byes are No. 2 seeds Charlotte and UTEP. The 49ers posted a 9-5 mark in league action, its best showing since the 2016-17 season. UTEP also secured its highest seed since the 2015-16 campaign with a 13-5 mark in conference play.
 
The Championship begins with a pair of preliminary round games on Tuesday night, the first time since 2014 that all 14 schools will participate in the event. No. 6 Old Dominion and No. 7 WKU will face off in an East Division clash at 4 p.m. CT on Court A. In the West, No. 6 UAB and No. 7 UTSA meet at 4:30 p.m. CT on Court B.
 
Wednesday’s four-game, first-round action begins at 11 a.m. CT on Court A when the East’s No. 4 FlU squares off with the West’s No. 5 Southern Miss.

Next door on Court B, a showdown between West No. 3 North Texas and the winner of Old Dominion and WKU tips off at 11:30 a.m. CT
 
West No. 4 Louisiana Tech and East No. 5 Marshall meet at 2 p.m. CT on Court A, and the afternoon will conclude with a matchup between East No. 3 Florida Atlantic and the winner of UAB and UTSA at 2:30 p.m. CT on Court B.
 
In Thursday's quarterfinal round, West No. 1 Rice will take on the winner of the FlU-Southern Miss game at 11 a.m. CT on Court A, and East No. 2 Charlotte will face either West No. 3 North Texas or Old Dominion-WKU beginning at 11:30 a.m. CT on Court B.
 
East No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee will battle either Louisiana Tech or Marshall at 2 p.m. CT on Court A.
West No. 2 UTEP will close out Thursday night against the winner of the Florida Atlantic-UAB/UTSA contest at 2:30 p.m. CT on Court B.
 
Coverage of the preliminary and first rounds will be available through ESPN+, along with two quarterfinal matchups on Court B. Stadium will broadcast Court A’s pair of quarterfinals. The semifinal games will be shown on Stadium at 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. CT.  CBS Sports Network will also broadcast the championship game on Saturday, beginning at 5 p.m. CT.
 
For more information on the 2021 Air Force Reserve C-USA Basketball Championships presented by Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Frisco, visit www.ConferenceUSA.com/HoopsAtTheStar.