american athletic conference basketball tournament 2018

Bonaventure in the First Four in Dayton for a No. The Pac-12 tied the American Athletic Conference and the Atlantic 10 with only three teams in the tournament but could wind up with only one team left standing among the final 64. 1 seed Kansas - after losing to the Jayhawks in the Big 12 Tournament. Oklahoma State also missed out - despite two wins over No. The Big 12 thought the league would get nine teams in as well but wound up with seven with Baylor among the first four teams out. 1 seeds with Villanova and Xavieramong the conference's six teams. The Atlantic Coast Conference led all conferences by tying its own record with nine teams in the tournament, and the ACC needed Syracuse squeezing in as the last team to match that mark. 7 seed Arkansas, sixth-seeded Florida, No. The SEC's other teams include ninth-seeded Alabama, No. We have teams borderline that should have advanced that didn't get in. 'This league will do damage,' Calipari said. The Gamecocks reached the Final Four for the first time in school history last year. Calipari said the SEC helped itself by recruiting good players and with improved strength of schedules, something coaches and officials worked on across the league.Ĭalipari also cautioned against taking the SEC lightly a year after South Carolina was one of the biggest surprises of the tournament. Kentucky coach John Calipari said Sunday that he loved the SEC getting eight teams into the tournament, proof the league finally is past the point of a loss costing programs dearly. Kentucky, which beat Tennessee 77-72 on Sunday for the SEC Tournament title , wound up seeded fifth in the same region.

Tennessee, which split the regular-season title with Auburn, is the SEC's top-seeded team at No. Good luck student-athletes, coaches & fans during #March Madness. 'This achievement is a reflection of the commitment our universities have made to support men's basketball. 'We are proud to have an record 8 teams in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament,' Sankey wrote. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey quickly took to Twitter to remind everyone of the league's record haul. That easily topped the six teams the SEC has put into the tournament nine times, most recently in 2008. The Tigers feel like the best chance for Houston to get upset making this the most interesting game.įeatured Image courtesy of gobearcats.The conference best known for cranking out national champions in football landed a league-record eight teams in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Both teams boast elite defense pacing the AAC in points per game, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage allowed. Houston won on a buzzer beating half court heave 67-64 keeping Memphis on the bubble. The Tigers are probably itching for a rematch more than the Cougars after how the regular season finale ended. Houston vs Memphis Wichita State earning the top seed hurt both of these teams forcing them to meet in a potential semifinal match, rather than a title game. Cincinnati only needs to win two games, neither of which could be Houston or Memphis, to make another finals appearance. The main sleeper element is the path to the finals. Most of their January got postponed but since coming back in February, Cincinnati is 8-2 in conference with losses to Houston and Memphis. Their 2020 campaign started off okay with close losses to Xavier and Tennessee but quickly soured after starting 0-3 in conference. The Bearcats have made the conference finals in each of the past three tournaments.

After losing to Cincinnati in the conference finals in 20, Houston’s first title could earn them a two seed in the Big Dance. Each of Houston’s three conference losses was by single digits and now they’re on a four-game winning streak. Junior guard Quentin Grimes was named AAC Co-Player of the Year after averaging 18 points and 6 rebounds per game. They also have average the most three-pointers and offensive rebounds per game while committing the fewest turnovers.

In conference play, the Cougars average the most points per game and allow the fewest. In addition to non-conference wins against Boise State and Texas Tech, Houston leads the American Conference in a number of categories. Houston Houston Basketball Quentin Grimes () 6 Central Florida Semifinals:Ģ Houston def. 11 East Carolina Second Round:ģ Memphis def.

American athletic conference basketball tournament 2018