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2023 American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Basics

Dates

• Thursday, March 9 (first round)
• Friday, March 10 (quarterfinals)
• Saturday, March 11 (semifinals)
• Sunday, March 12 (championship)

Format

Traditional bracket

Site

For the third season in a row, the American Athletic Tournament is set for Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, which was also scheduled to host the canceled 2020 edition.

Downloadable Bracket

Schedule

All times are p.m. Eastern unless noted. Games marked with an asterisk (*) are the second of a doubleheader, so the tip time is approximate.

First Round (Thurs., March 9)

Game 1: (9) East Carolina 73, (8) South Florida (14-18, 7-11) 58
Game 2: (10) SMU (10-22, 5-13) 70, (7) UCF 76
Game 3: (11) Tulsa (5-25, 1-17) 63, (6) Wichita State 81

Quarterfinals (Fri., March 10)

Game 4: (9) East Carolina (16-16, 6-12) 46, (1) Houston 60
Game 5: (5) Temple (16-16, 10-8) 54, (4) Cincinnati 84
Game 6: (7) UCF (18-14, 8-10) 76, (2) Memphis 81
Game 7: (6) Wichita State (17-15, 9-9) 76, (3) Tulane 82

Semifinals (Sat., March 11)

Game 8: (4) Cincinnati (21-12, 11-7) 48, (1) Houston 69
Game 9: (3) Tulane (20-11, 12-6) 54, (2) Memphis 94

Championship (Sun., March 12)

Game 10: (2) MEMPHIS (26-8, 13-5) 75, (1) Houston (31-3, 17-1) 65

Mayhem Potential

Data originally posted by Bob Vetrone Jr. on Twitter in 2020 with my own additions for the seasons beyond.

The top two seeds have combined to win seven of the eight American Athletic Tournaments held so far. The exception was 2016’s fifth-seeded UConn team. However, Houston’s 2022 victory was the first for the No. 1 seed since 2018.

• 1 seed (4): 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022
• 2 seed (3): 2014, 2019, 2021
• 5 seed (1): 2016

NCAA Bid Totals Since 2014

• 4 bids (3): 2014 (9-3 record, 10 teams, UConn national champion), 2016 (1-4 record, 11 teams), 2019 (3-4 record, 12 teams)
• 3 bids (1): 2018 (2-3 record, 12 teams)
• 2 bids (4): 2015 (1-2 record, 11 teams), 2017 (1-2 record, 11 teams), 2021 (4-2 record, 11 teams), 2022 (4-2 record, 11 teams)

Both Houston and Memphis won games in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, with the fifth seeded Cougars making it all the way to the Elite Eight. Kelvin Sampson’s team has higher hopes this time around, particularly with a hometown Final Four on the schedule. Penny Hardaway’s Tigers are also capable of winning an NCAA game yet again.

Last Conference Tournament Championships

Houston: 2022 (1 seed)
Cincinnati: 2019 (2 seed)
SMU: 2017 (1 seed)
Wichita State: 2017 (2 seed, MVC)
Tulsa: 2014 (2 seed, C-USA)
Memphis: 2013 (1 seed, C-USA)
Temple: 2010 (1 seed, Atlantic 10)
UCF: 2005 (2 seed, Atlantic Sun)
East Carolina: 1993 (7 seed, CAA)
South Florida: 1990 (2 seed, Sun Belt)

While just four teams have won the American Athletic tournament title over its short lifespan (and two of them have moved to other conferences), Tulane is the only league member that’s never won a tournament championship.