BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The way Western Kentucky buried Alabama-Birmingham in the first game of the Conference USA quarterfinals Thursday, you can’t call it an upset.
Yes, the Blazers were the regular-season champs by a wide margin and the Hilltoppers were the eighth seed. Yes, the Blazers were playing in their home city, if not their home court.
But the way the Hilltoppers won 88-77, it wasn’t an upset.
It was a military coup, an overthrow of the C-USA order. The score doesn’t give it justice.
The Hilltoppers (18-15) played the bully role, drop-kicking the Blazers (26-6) to the National Invitational Tournament.