WKU Men's Basketball (22-11) claimed its first-ever Conference USA Tournament Championship and earned its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 2013 by beating UTEP 78-71 in the CUSA Championship game on Saturday at VBC Propst Arena. The Hilltoppers, entering the tournament as the No. 3 seed, defeated the 5-seed Miners after taking down No. 6-seed New Mexico State 89-69 in the quarterfinals on Thursday and dominating No. 7-seed Middle Tennessee 85-54 in the semifinals on Friday.