Breaking down the American Athletic Conference basketball tournament schedule

The American Athletic Conference Championship stretches from March 11-14, with all games played at Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The tournament will include 11 teams, who will play single-elimination games with no reseeding.

All games will be broadcast on ESPN platforms, with the Final on ESPN as the last game to be considered by the NCAA men’s basketball committee before the Selection Show sets the field of 68.

The Wichita State Shockers are the No. 1 seed, but the No. 2 seed Houston Cougars are the heavy favorites, currently No. 9 in the AP poll. The Coogs are the only team assured of a spot in the NCAA Tournament, as Wichita and Memphis will need to do some work to get consideration. Everyone else needs to take home the trophy if they want to keep playing after March 14th.

Here is the bracket for the 2021 American Athletic Conference Tournament:

Thursday, March 11 Opening Round

Game 1: No. 8 USF 73-71 over No. 9 Temple
Game 2: No. 10 Tulane 77-70 over No. 7 Tulsa
Game 3: No. 6 UCF 72-62 over No. 11 East Carolina

Friday, March 12 Quarterfinals

Game 4: No. 1 Wichita State 68-67 over No. 8 USF
Game 5: No. 5 Cincinnati 74-71 over No. 4 SMU
Game 6: No. 2 Houston 77-52 over No. 10 Tulane
Game 7: No. 3 Memphis 70-62 over No. 6 UCF

Semifinals - Saturday, March 13

Game 8: No. 5 Cincinnati 60-59 over No. 1 Wichita State
Game 9: No. 2 Houston 76-74 over No. 3 Memphis

Final - Sunday, March 14

Game 10: No. 2 Houston 91-54 over No. 3 Memphis

The Cougars likely locked up at least a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament with the win, and will look to make a deep run with senior Quentin Grimes at the point. The Coogs have the No. 1 defense in Division I in terms of eFG%, and will be favored to get out of the first weekend.