SAN ANTONIO — No. 9 seed UTSA will open play at the 2017 Conference USA Tournament at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday when it will face eighth-seeded WKU at Legacy Arena.
The Roadrunners (13-18) are coming off Saturday's 73-55 regular-season-ending victory against Old Dominion for their eighth C-USA win of the campaign, which tied for their most conference wins since joining the league. Jeff Beverly led the way with 24 points, while Lucas O'Brien hit five 3-pointers for the third time this season on his way to 17 points.
After being picked to finish last in the preseason, the Roadrunners finished five spots higher in the standings to tie Louisiana Tech (7th to 2nd) for the highest finish when compared to this year's preseason poll. With its 13 wins, UTSA also is one of 10 Division I teams to at least double its win total from a year ago.
The Hilltoppers (15-16) enter the C-USA Tournament following home victories against both North Texas and Rice to close the regular season and secure the No. 8 seed. WKU is led by second-team all-conference selection Justin Johnson's 14.5 points and league-leading 9.2 rebounds per game. He also leads the conference with 13 double-doubles and averaged 15.3 points and 9.6 boards per outing during C-USA play. He is joined in double-figures by Pancake Thomas (13.9 ppg) and Que Johnson (13.5 ppg) to pace the offense that is shooting 44.4 percent and averaging 69.6 points per contest.
WKU has won all three previous meetings against UTSA, including an 81-66 triumph on Jan. 28 in Bowling Green, Ky.
Wednesday's game can be heard live in the San Antonio area on Ticket 760 AM beginning with the pregame show at 11 a.m. Andy Everett will have the call.
Click here for complete game notes.
