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Conference USA Tournament Odds: Tulane vs Southern Miss

Bookmark and Share by Aaron Torres

There’s no nice way to put it: If Tulane or Southern Miss is to play in this year’s NCAA Tournament they’ll need to win the Conference USA Tournament first. That road will start for one of those teams in Wednesday afternoon’s college basketball betting odds.

Conference USA First Round:

Tulane Green Wave (8-21 SU, 13-10-2 ATS) vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles (18-12 SU, 18-7 ATS)

Wednesday, March 10: 2:30 p.m.

Here are some NCAA Basketball Betting Trends that may impact this game:

  • Tulane: 1-4 SU in their last 5 games
  • Tulane: Total has gone OVER in 4 of their last 5 games
  • Southern Miss: 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games
    Southern Miss: Total has gone OVER in 4 of their last 5 games

The favorite in this one seemingly has to be Southern Miss. While Southern Miss doesn’t wow you offensively, they are quietly one of the best teams in college basketball defensively. On the season, they give up just 60 points a game which ranks them 14th in the NCAA’s this year. In recent weeks, the Golden Eagles have held high scoring Conference USA juggernauts UTEP and UAB under 60 points, both well behind their season averages.

Offensively, it’s definitely a bit of work whenever Southern Miss hits the court. On the season, they average just 65 points a game, which ranks them 253 in the country. They only have one guy scoring in double-figures, their best player Gary Flowers. Flowers is averaging just under 15 points and eight rebounds a game.

As for Tulane, it’s been a bleak, bleak year in the Big Easy. The Green Wave won just three conference games this season. However it is important to note that one of them came in their last game of the regular season against Houston.

The problems with Tulane are on both the offensive and defensive ends, as they are undersized and one of the worst rebounding teams in college basketball. On the season, they rank 324th in college basketball (out of 347 Division I) teams in rebounding, averaging just over 30 a game, with no one on their roster grabbing more than four a contest.

Their defense is equally as bad, as the 46 percent that they allow opponents to shoot from the field ranks 305th nationally.

At this point in the year, some teams are playing for a bigger prize, while others are just itching to get their season done. With the way that Tulane has played recently (losing seven of their last eight), they fall into the latter category. Which is why you should take Southern Miss in the betting odds.

The truth is, Southern Miss knows that they can make a run in this conference, as no team has been truly dominant. But they need to handle their business Wednesday afternoon. Expect them to do just that with a dominating victory over Tulane.

Aaron’s Pick: Southern Miss ATS > > JOIN to bet NOW!