The 2022 AAC Tournament is set to get underway Thursday, March 10th. Last year’s AAC basketball tournament saw Houston secure their first conference tournament championship with a 91-54 blowout win over Cincinnati.
With Memphis and SMU sitting on or close to the bubble, the automatic bid for the champion will be as crucial as ever. Houston will look to defend their regular season title while the others look to secure their spot in the NCAA tournament. The following contains the AAC Tournament bracket, standings and schedule, as well as a preview of what we can expect to see.
Check out the FlurrySports Conference Tournaments Hub for wall-to-wall college basketball coverage throughout the leadup to March Madness!
AAC Basketball Standings
| Team | Conf. Record | Overall Record | Seed |
| Houston | 15-3 | 26-5 | 1 seed |
| SMU | 13-4 | 22-7 | 2 seed |
| Memphis | 13-5 | 19-9 | 3 seed |
| Temple | 10-7 | 17-11 | 4 seed |
| Tulane | 10-8 | 13-14 | 5 seed |
| UCF | 9-9 | 17-11 | 6 seed |
| Wichita State | 6-9 | 15-12 | 7 seed |
| Cincinnati | 7-11 | 17-14 | 8 seed |
| East Carolina | 6-11 | 15-14 | 9 seed |
| Tulsa | 4-14 | 10-19 | 10 seed |
| South Florida | 3-15 | 8-22 | 11 seed |
AAC Basketball Tournament Schedule
Dates: March 10-13
TV Schedule: ESPNU (First Round & Quarterfinals); ESPN2 (Quarterfinals & Semifinals); ESPN (Championship)
Venue: Dickies Arena – Fort Worth, TX
Byes: Top-5 get single
Defending Champion: Houston
AAC Tournament Bracket
First Round
- (8) Cincinnati 74, (9) East Carolina 63
- (10) Tulsa 73, (7) Wichita State 67
- (6) UCF 60, (11) South Florida 58
Quarterfinals
- (1) Houston 69, (8) Cincinnati 58
- (2) SMU 83, (10) Tulsa 58
- (3) Memphis 85, (6) UCF 69
- (5) Tulane 69, (4) Temple 60
Semifinals
- (1) Houston 86, (5) Tulane 66
- (3) Memphis 70, (2) SMU 63
Finals
- (1) Houston 71, (3) Memphis 53
Houston advances to NCAA Tournament
American Athletic Conference Breakdown
This year, the AAC will hope to see more of the same craziness that made the conference tournament so fun last season. In the 2021 AAC Tournament fifth-seeded Cincinnati won two games by a combined four points to get them to the championship game. The top five seeds of Houston, SMU, Memphis, Temple and Tulane get a bye and will need to win three games to win the title. Houston will look to defend their crown and win their second conference tournament. SMU and Cincinnati will look to win their third for the most in the conference’s short tournament history.
Of the 11 total teams in AAC basketball, only Houston, Memphis and SMU finished the regular season with a top-75 ranking in the College Basketball Net. Houston enters the AAC tournament with a No. 5 overall net ranking. Memphis enters the AAC tournament with a No. 35 overall net ranking. SMU enters the AAC tournament with a No. 49 overall net ranking.
The AAC basketball preseason poll did a pretty good job predicting the outcome of the conference. Houston received eight of 11 first-place votes to win the conference and ended up taking the regular season title. Tulane was slated to finish tied for ninth and ended up being overachievers as they finished in fifth. Wichita State was the biggest underachiever as they were predicted to finish fourth but ended up in seventh.
Team Stats | 2022 AAC Basketball Tournament
(1) Houston Cougars
Net Ranking: 5 (No. 1 in AAC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 5 (No. 1 in AAC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 117.0 (No. 13)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 91.5 (No. 13)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +4.05 (No. 93)
(2) SMU Mustangs
Net Ranking: 49 (No. 3 in AAC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 58 (No. 3 in AAC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 110.6 (No. 59)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 97.8 (No. 68)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +3.30 (No. 102)
(3) Memphis Tigers
Net Ranking: 35 (No. 2 in AAC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 28 (No. 2 in AAC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 111.2 (No. 51)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 94.9 (No. 31)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +6.36 (No. 63)
(4) Temple Owls
Net Ranking: 110 (No. 8 in AAC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 115 (No. 8 in AAC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 103.1 (No. 188)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 98.4 (No. 76)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +3.91 (No. 96)
(5) Tulane Green Wave
Net Ranking: 98 (No. 6 in AAC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 98 (No. 5 in AAC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 109.4 (No. 73)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 101.6 (No. 133)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +4.55 (No. 88)
(6) UCF Knights
Net Ranking: 95 (No. 5 in AAC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 103 (No. 6 in AAC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 107.5 (No. 99)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 100.5 (No. 117)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +3.91 (No. 97)
(7) Wichita State Shockers
Net Ranking: 81 (No. 4 in AAC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 89 (No. 4 in AAC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 104.7 (No. 150)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 95.9 (No. 45)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +5.43 (No. 80)
(8) Cincinnati Bearcats
Net Ranking: 100 (No. 7 in AAC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 104 (No. 7 in AAC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 104.8 (No. 149)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 97.8 (No. 69)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +2.77 (No. 108)
(9) East Carolina Pirates
Net Ranking: 180 (No. 9 in AAC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 176 (No. 10 in AAC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 103.4 (No. 181)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 104.0 (No. 187)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +1.33 (No. 125)
(10) Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Net Ranking: 184 (No. 10 in AAC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 169 (No. 9 in AAC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 104.1 (No. 167)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 104.1 (No. 189)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +2.93 (No. 107)
(11) South Florida Bulls
Net Ranking: 242 (No. 11 in AAC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 250 (No. 11 in AAC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 91.6 (No. 350)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 98.8 (No. 82)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +4.43 (No. 90)
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