American Athletic Tourney Preview: Memphis Leads the Pack, But Who Will Snag an NCAA Bid?

The American Athletic Conference tournament kicks off on Wednesday with Memphis standing out as the dominant team. Regardless of how things go this week, Memphis has secured their spot in the NCAA men's tournament. However, they have the potential to improve their seeding to as high as No. 7 or possibly even No. 6 should they manage to secure three additional conference victories.

The Tigers might face competition from North Texas or Alabama-Birmingham — perhaps. Memphis achieved an impressive 7-0 record against all other AAC teams, finishing with a winning streak within their conference games, highlighting the clear divide between themselves as the cream of the crop and the rest of the top competitors.

Securing a spot for the third consecutive tournament under Coach Penny Hardaway highlights the team’s progression as a reliably competitive force nationally. Additionally, their victories over Missouri, UConn, Michigan State, Clemson, and Ole Miss during non-conference games indicate that Memphis will be a tough opponent when March Madness rolls around.

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Schedule, Bracket, and Scores for the American Athletic Conference Tournament

Wednesday, March 12

First round

Charlotte 64, Rice 61

Second round

Thursday, March 13

Wichita State 73, South Florida 68

Florida Atlantic 64, Charlotte 59

Tulsa 75, Temple 71

East Carolina 70, Texas-San Antonio 65

Quarterfinals

Friday, March 14

Memphis vs. Wichita State, 1 p.m.

Tulane vs. Florida Atlantic, 3:30 p.m.

North Texas vs. Tulsa, 7 p.m.

University of Alabama at Birmingham versus East Carolina, 9:30 p.m. Semifinals

Sunday, March 15

Memphis-Wichita State winner vs. Tulane-Florida Atlantic winner, 3 p.m.

The victor between North Texas and Tulsa will face the winner of the Alabama-Birmingham versus East Carolina match at 5:30 p.m. Championship

Sunday, March 16

Semifinal winners, 3:15 p.m.

American Athletic tournament favorite

It’s Memphis , followed by a significant gap, and then the rest. Perhaps Alabama-Birmingham Can quietly surpass the Tigers following two losses during the regular season. North Texas Persistently stayed competitive during an 68-64 defeat against Memphis in early January, matching them closely until poor long-range shooting cost them the game. Given these circumstances so far, it would be unexpected for anyone besides Memphis to celebrate on Sunday afternoon.

Top performers in the American Athletic Conference tournament

➤ PJ Haggerty, G, Memphis The leading scorer in the league with 21.2 points per game has been performing exceptionally well after a subpar showing during an overtime defeat against Wichita State on February 16th. In the subsequent five games, he scored at least 20 points in four of them and successfully made 34 out of his last 40 free throws.

➤ 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, Center, Wichita State — Last month, during the surprise victory over Memphis, Ballard demonstrated his significant influence by scoring 19 points, grabbing seven rebounds, blocking four shots, and converting five out of his six free throws successfully.

➤ Atin Wright, M.D., from North Texas – As the league’s leading long-range shooter with a percentage of 41.7%, Wright has the potential to heat up and propel UNT over Memphis. In last week’s 75-64 victory against Charlotte, he scored an impressive 42 points, making 12 out of 17 shots.

➤ Rowan Brumbaugh, G, Tulane — Brumbaugh (averaging 15.5 points per game) has achieved double-digit scores in all games since November 19th and concluded the regular season with a double-double (scoring 11 points and providing 11 assists) during an 85-68 victory over Alabama-Birmingham.

NCAA tournament bubble scenarios for the American Athletic conferencetournament

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 perhaps another underdog will pull off an upset against the Tigers sometime this weekend. (Good luck with that.)

The article initially appeared on USA TODAY: The American Athletic Conference tournament schedule, bracket, and scores reveal that Memphis is the team to watch out for; however, several others still harbor hopes of securing an NCAA bid.