Western Kentucky guard D.J. Clayton (2) and Texas San Antonio guard Ryan Bowie (14) battle for a loose ball Saturday, January 24, 2015, at E.A. Diddle Arena. Western Kentucky won 83-74. (Bac Totrong/Daily News)

Last week was a costly one for Conference USA’s NCAA tournament hopes.

As I wrote in Monday’s Daily News, many of the league’s top teams – other than white-hot Western Kentucky – stumbled last week and hurt their overall resumes.

CBS Sports bracketology Jerry Palm has WKU as a No. 12 seed in his latest tournament projections, facing fifth-seeded Georgetown in Columbus, Ohio, in the second round.

The Hilltoppers have won nine straight games, including a 7-0 start in Conference USA.

No other C-USA teams appear in Palm’s field. Old Dominion, which was previously projected as an at-large team but lost twice last week, is on the outside looking in.

Old Dominion (42) and WKU (68) are the only C-USA teams in the top 75 of the NCAA’s official RPI rankings.

In Ken Pomeroy’s rankings, no Conference USA team fares better than Old Dominion at 68th. WKU is 99th.

— Zach Greenwell