American Athletic Conference Tournament Complete Preview and Predictions
TV Schedule
AAC Conference Tournament Schedule Time (ET)
Wed., March 12
7 p.m. No. 10 South Florida vs No. 7 Rutgers ESPNU
9:30 p.m. No. 9 UCF vs No. 8 Temple ESPN2
Thurs., March 13
1 p.m. No. 6 Houston vs No. 3 SMU ESPNU
3 p.m. No. 2 Louisville vs Game 1 Winner ESPNU
7 p.m. No. 1 Cincinnati vs Game 2 Winner ESPNU
9 p.m. No. 5 Memphis vs No. 4 UConn ESPNU
Fri., March 14
7 p.m. Game 3 Winner vs Game 4 Winner ESPN2
9 p.m. Game 5 Winner vs Game 6 Winner ESPN2
Sat., March 15
6 p.m. Game 7 Winner vs Game 8 Winner ESPN
The Favorite: Louisville
The favorite is literally a toss-up between Louisville and Cincinnati. In fact, a coin was flipped to determine the No. 1 seed in the tournament, which Cincinnati won, but that just shows you how close the two teams were this season. The defending national champions are the favorites though, until someone proves otherwise in this conference.
The Dark Horse: Memphis
If anyone other than the top teams has a chance to make a deep run in this tournament, it is Memphis. The Tigers proved all season that they can compete with the top teams in the country, and they will be a tough team to knock out for anyone this week and next week in the Big Dance. Do not be surprised at all to see Memphis put together a very strong showing this week.
The Bubble
In the American there is no bubble. The top-five teams: Louisville, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Memphis and Southern Methodist are all Top 25 teams and are sure locks for the NCAA tournament next week. The other five teams in the conference have not been able to compete at the same level as the top-five teams, and have suffered because of that. For anyone of them to make the NCAA tournament, they will have to win the whole thing this week. Right now that looks like a real long shot though.
The Champion: Louisville
The Cardinals have been here before, in fact it was only last year when Louisville won everything and took home a championship. Even though they are missing some key pieces from that team last year, senior guard Russ Smith is really stepping into a leadership role for this team. Behind him and his strong supporting cast, Louisville can certainly win the American tournament, and could certainly make a big run in the NCAA tournament next week.
