With another week in the books for AAC basketball, the race is slowly slimming down. While plenty of teams still have a chance this early in the conference schedule, it’s clear that Houston and SMU are starting to pull away. Outside of those two teams who have a combined 14-1 conference record, every other team in the conference has at least three losses.
While neither top team will likely be tested much this week, the rest of the conference will likely beat itself up. This week should see more separation amongst the teams in the middle of the table. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see each team outside of Houston and SMU with at least four losses at the end of the week. If Houston and SMU can make it out of this week unscathed, the AAC will become a race between the two for the regular season title.
AAC Basketball Weekly Headlines
Fast Start For Wichita State Basketball in 84-79 Victory over UCF
One of the biggest issues for the Shockers during their four-game losing streak was running out of gas late in games. Wichita State was able to get out to some solid leads but consistently fell short of putting teams away. That finally changed on Wednesday night, as the Shockers quickly pounced on UCF. Wichita State opened the game on a 12-2 run and led by a score of 23-7 halfway through the first half.
The Shockers would eventually let UCF back into the game and it was around a two-possession game for most of the remainder of the game. It is certainly not ideal for Wichita State to still let teams back into the game, but they were at least able to stay steady get the win. If the Shockers can just eliminate that one slump they seemingly have every game, they’ll find their consistency again.
Tulsa Blasts South Florida, 76-45
There is little question that Tulsa’s offense runs through Jeriah Horne and Sam Griffin. The duo average over 32 points per game. Against South Florida, however, the two were even better than usual. Horne and Griffin combined for 44 points, eight rebounds, and six steals. Those two alone scored just one less point than all of South Florida.
For as good as the stats look for the pair, their efficiency is even more impressive. Horne and Griffin combined to shoot 16/29 from the field (55%) and seven for 12 from deep (58%). When these guys are hot, it isn’t an overreaction to say that no AAC basketball team can beat Tulsa. If Tulsa can just get an average game from the rest of their supporting cast, they’ll be dangerous for the rest of the season.
Updated AAC Basketball Standings
| Team | Conference Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|
| Houston | 15-3 | 26-5 |
| SMU | 13-4 | 22-7 |
| Memphis | 13-5 | 19-9 |
| Temple | 10-7 | 17-11 |
| Tulane | 10-8 | 13-14 |
| UCF | 9-9 | 17-11 |
| Wichita State | 6-9 | 15-12 |
| Cincinnati | 7-11 | 17-14 |
| East Carolina | 6-11 | 15-14 |
| Tulsa | 4-14 | 10-19 |
| South Florida | 3-15 | 8-22 |
Upcoming AAC College Basketball Games to Note
With a full slate of AAC college basketball games on deck this week, there is plenty to watch. Here are the biggest matchups to watch this week.
Tulsa at Wichita State
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 1
Time: 9:00 pm EST
TV Coverage: ESPNU
Memphis at Cincinnati
Date: Thursday, Feb. 3
Time: 7:00 pm EST
TV Coverage: ESPN2
East Carolina at Tulane
Date: Saturday, Feb. 5
Time: 2:00 pm EST
TV Coverage: ESPN+
#7 Houston at Cincinnati
Date: Sunday, Feb. 6
Time: 6:00 pm EST
TV Coverage: ESPN2
