The American Athletic Conference tournament begins on Wednesday with a clear favorite in Memphis, which is locked into the NCAA men’s tournament regardless of what happens this week but could rise to a No. 7 or even a No. 6 seed with three more league wins.
The Tigers could be challenged by North Texas or Alabama-Birmingham — uh, maybe. Memphis went 7-0 against every fellow AAC team to finish with a winning record in league play, showing the gap separating the class of the conference from the other top contenders.
Making a third tournament appearance in a row under coach Penny Hardaway shows the Tigers’ evolution into a more consistent national player. And wins in non-conference play against Missouri, Connecticut, Michigan State, Clemson and Mississippi shows that Memphis won’t be an easy out come March Madness.
American Athletic tournament schedule, bracket, scores
Wednesday, March 12
First round
Charlotte 64, Rice 61
Second round
Thursday, March 13
South Florida vs Wichita State, 12:30 p.m.
Florida Atlantic vs. Charlotte, 2:30 p.m.
Tulsa vs Temple, 7 p.m.
Texas-San Antonio vs East Carolina, 9 p.m.
Quarterfinals
Friday, March 14
Memphis vs. South Florida-Wichita State winner, 1 p.m.
Tulane vs. Florida Atlantic-Charlotte winner, 3:30 p.m.
North Texas vs. Tulsa-Temple winner, 7 p.m.
Alabama-Birmingham vs. Texas-San Antonio-East Carolina winner, 9:30 p.m. Semifinals
Sunday, March 15
Memphis-South Florida-Wichita State winner vs. Tulane-Florida Atlantic-Charlotte winner, 3 p.m.
North Texas-Tulsa-Temple winner vs. Alabama-Birmingham-Texas-San Antonio-East Carolina winner, 5:30 p.m. Championship
Sunday, March 16
Semifinal winners, 3:15 p.m.
American Athletic tournament favorite
It’s Memphis, then a large gap, and then everyone else. Maybe Alabama-Birmingham can sneak up and top the Tigers after losing twice during the regular season. North Texas stubbornly hung around in a 68-64 loss at Memphis in early January, playing the Tigers to a draw before being undone by a weak shooting performance from deep. Based on how things unfolded to this point, it would be a surprise to see anyone other than Memphis celebrating on Sunday afternoon.
American Athletic tournament top players
➤ PJ Haggerty, G, Memphis – The league’s top scorer (21.2 points per game) has been on a roll since a sloppy performance in an overtime loss to Wichita State on Feb 16, scoring at least 20 points in four of five games and making 34 of his 40 free-throw attempts.
➤ Yaxel Lendenborg, F, Alabama-Birmingham – The box score-stuffing senior is averaging 17.1 points, an AAC-best 10.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He could carry the Blazers into contention for the tournament title.
➤ Quincy Ballard, C, Wichita State – Ballard showed his potential impact in last month’s upset of Memphis, scoring 19 points, pulling down seven rebounds and making four blocks while hitting five of his six attempts from the line.
➤ Atin Wright, G, North Texas – The league’s top shooter from deep (41.7%), Wright could get a hot hand and drive UNT past Memphis. He dropped 42 points on 12 of 17 shooting in last week’s 75-64 win against Charlotte.
➤ Rowan Brumbaugh, G, Tulane – Brumbaugh (15.5 points per game) has scored in double figures in every game since Nov. 19 and closed the regular season with a double-double (11 points, 11 assists) in an 85-68 win against Alabama-Birmingham.
NCAA tournament bubble storylines for the American Athletic tournament
The only team even sniffing the bubble is North Texas, which is 60th in the NET rankings with zero Quad 1 wins heading into Friday’s quarterfinals. In other words, the only way for a team other than Memphis to reach the 68-team field is by winning the AAC tournament. That leaves the conference in the potential role of tournament spoiler should UNT, Alabama-Birmingham or another underdog upset the Tigers at some point this weekend. (Don’t bet on it.)
