2020–21 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season
Sports season
The 2020–21 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season is scheduled to begin with practices in October 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November 2020. Conference play will begin in December and conclude with the 2021 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas . With UConn's departure on July 1, 2020, the American is back at 11 teams. For the 2020-21 Season due to COVID-19 pandemic The scheduling format was changed to a 20-game, double round-robin conference schedules. Conference play in men’s basketball will began with three windows for games in December (Dec. 14-17, Dec. 21-23 and Dec. 28-31).[ 1]
Previous season
Cincinnati , Houston and Tulsa were declared co-champions. The 2020 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament was supposed to be held at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas .[ 2] Due to the coronavirus pandemic the tournament was cancelled on March 12, 2020 – only minutes before the first game was set to begin.[ 3]
Precious Achiuwa from Memphis was named the AAC player of the year, Tulsa's Frank Haith was named coach of the year.[ 4]
2020–21 will mark the first year of the AAC's new TV Contract. The deal includes a minimum of 65 regular-season games per season on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, with at least 25 on ESPN or ESPN2. Complete annual coverage of the conference tournament across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, including the championship game on ESPN.[ 5]
Head coaches
Coaching changes
On November 17, 2020: Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall resigned[ 6] following an investigation into allegations of verbal and physical abuse, Wichita State promoted assistant coach Isaac Brown, to interim coach. On February 26, 2021 he was named permanent head coach, agreeing to a five-year deal.[ 7]
Coaches
Note: Stats are through the beginning of the season. All stats and records are from time at current school only
Notes:
Overall and AAC records are from time at current school and are through the end of 2020–21 season. NCAA records include time at current school only.
AAC records only, prior conference records not included.
*In current job
Preseason
On October 28, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards[ 8]
Coaches Poll
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
Houston
99 (9)
2
Memphis
90 (2)
3
SMU
80
4
Cincinnati
77
5
South Florida
61
6
Tulsa
50
7
Wichita State
44
8
UCF
37
9
East Carolina
34
10
Temple
18
11
Tulane
15
Preseason All-AAC
Honor
Recipient
Preseason Player of the Year
Caleb Mills , Houston
Preseason Rookie of the Year
Moussa Cissé , Memphis
Preseason All-AAC First Team
Keith Williams, Cincinnati
Jayden Gardner , East Carolina*
Caleb Mills, Houston*
Kendric Davis , SMU
Brandon Rachal , Tulsa
Preseason All-AAC Second Team
Chris Vogt, Cincinnati
D. J. Jeffries , Memphis
Landers Nolley II , Memphis
Alexis Yetna , USF
Tyson Jolly , SMU
*Unanimous selections
Regular season
Conference matrix
This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
Cincinnati
East Carolina
Houston
Memphis
SMU
South Florida
Temple
Tulane
Tulsa
UCF
Wichita State
vs. Cincinnati
—
0–1
1–0
1–0
0–1
1–0
0–2
0–2
1–1
1–1
1–0
vs. East Carolina
1–0
—
0–1
2–0
2–0
1–0
0–0
1–1
2–0
1–0
0–0
vs. Houston
0–1
1–0
—
0–1
0–2
0–2
0–2
0–2
1–1
0–2
1–1
vs. Memphis
0–1
0–2
1–0
—
1–1
0–2
0–0
0–2
2–0
0–2
0–1
vs. SMU
1–0
0–2
2–0
1–1
—
0–0
0–2
0–0
0–1
0–1
0–0
vs. South Florida
0–1
0–1
2–0
2–0
0–0
—
1–1
1–0
1–0
1–1
2–0
vs. Temple
2–0
0–0
2–0
0–0
2–0
1–1
—
1–1
1–1
0–1
1–0
vs. Tulane
2–0
1–1
2–0
2–0
0–0
0–1
1–1
—
0–1
2–0
2–0
vs. Tulsa
1–1
0–1
1–1
0–2
1–0
0–1
1–1
1–0
—
2–0
2–0
vs. UCF
1–1
0–2
2–0
2–0
1–0
1–1
1–0
0–2
0–2
—
2–0
vs. Wichita State
0–1
0–0
1–1
1–0
0–0
0–2
0–1
0–2
0–2
0–2
—
Total
8–6
2–10
14–3
11–4
7–4
4–10
4–10
4–12
7–9
8–10
11–2
Player of the week
Throughout the regular season, the American Athletic Conference named a player and rookie of the week.
Week
Player of the week
Freshman of the week
Ref.
Week 1 – Nov 30
Marcus Sasser , Houston
Tramon Mark, Houston
[ 9]
Week 2 – Dec 7
Kendric Davis , SMU
Tramon Mark (2), Houston
[ 10]
Week 3 – Dec 14
David Collins, USF
Moussa Cissé , Memphis
[ 11]
Week 4 – Dec 21
Brandon Mahan, UCF
Isaiah Adams, UCF
[ 12]
Week 5 – Dec 28
Tyson Etienne , Wichita State
Caleb Murphy, USF
[ 13]
Week 6 – Jan 4
Brandon Rachal , Tulsa
Caleb Murphy (2), USF
[ 14]
Week 7 – Jan 11
Marcus Sasser (2), Houston
Ricky Council IV, Wichita State
[ 15]
Week 8 – Jan 18
Morris Udeze, Wichita State
Damian Dunn, Temple
[ 16]
Week 9 – Jan 25
Quentin Grimes , Houston
Moussa Cisse (2), Memphis
[ 17]
Week 10 – Feb 1
Tyson Etienne (2), Wichita State
Tylan Pope, Tulane
[ 18]
Week 11 – Feb 8
Jayden Gardner , East Carolina
Damian Dunn (2), Temple
[ 19]
Week 12 – Feb 15
Kendric Davis (2), SMU
Jeremiah Williams, Temple
[ 20]
Week 13 – Feb 22
Tyson Etienne (3), Wichita State
Isaiah Adams (2), UCF
[ 21]
Week 14 – Mar 1
Quentin Grimes (2), Houston
Moussa Cisse (3), Memphis
[ 22]
Week 15 – Mar 8
Dexter Dennis, Wichita State
Isaiah Adams (3), UCF
[ 23]
All-AAC Awards and Teams
Honor
Recipient
Player of the Year
Quentin Grimes , Houston Tyson Etienne , Wichita State
Coach of the Year
Isaac Brown , Wichita State*
Freshman of the Year
Moussa Cissé , Memphis
Defensive Player of the Year
DeJon Jarreau , Houston
Most Improved Player
Justin Gorham , Houston
Sixth Man of the Year
Boogie Ellis , Memphis Darien Jackson, Tulsa
Sportsmanship Award
J. P. Moorman II, Temple
All-AAC First Team
Jayden Gardner , East Carolina
Quentin Grimes, Houston*
Landers Nolley II , Memphis
Kendric Davis , SMU*
Tyson Etienne, Wichita State*
All-AAC Second Team
Keith Williams , Cincinnati
DeJon Jarreau, Houston
Justin Gorham, Houston
Marcus Sasser , Houston
Brandon Rachal , Tulsa
All-AAC Third Team
Brandon Mahan, UCF
Darius Perry, UCF
Feron Hunt , SMU
Khalif Battle, Temple
Jaylen Forbes, Tulane
Alterique Gilbert , Wichita State
All-Freshman Team
Isaiah Adams, UCF
Tari Eason, Cincinnati
Moussa Cissé, Memphis
Caleb Murphy, South Florida
Damian Dunn, Temple
Ricky Council IV, Wichita State
*Unanimous selections
Postseason
American Athletic Conference tournament
First round Thursday, March 11
Quarterfinals Friday, March 12
Semifinals Saturday, March 13
Championship Sunday, March 14
1
Wichita State
68
8
South Florida
67
8
South Florida
73
9
Temple
71
1
Wichita State
59
5
Cincinnati
60
4
SMU
71
5
Cincinnati
74
5
Cincinnati
54
2
#7 Houston
91
2
#7 Houston
77
10
Tulane
52
7
Tulsa
70
10
Tulane
77
2
#7 Houston
76
3
Memphis
74
3
Memphis
70
6
UCF
62
6
UCF
72
11
East Carolina
62
[ 24]
NCAA tournament
The winner of the 2021 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament , will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament .
Seed
Region
School
First Four
First round
Second round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
Championship
2
Midwest
Houston
N/A
defeated (15) Cleveland State , 87–56
defeated (10) Rutgers , 63–60
defeated (11) Syracuse , 62–46
defeated (12) Oregon State , 67–61
eliminated by (1) Baylor , 59–78
11
West
Wichita State
eliminated by (11) Drake , 52–53
W–L (%):
0–1 (.000)
1–0 (1.000)
1–0 (1.000)
1–0 (1.000)
1–0 (1.000)
0–1 (.000)
0–0 (–) Total: 4–2 (.667)
National Invitation tournament
NBA draft
The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2021 NBA draft .
References
^ "American Athletic Conference Announces Plans for 2020-21 Men's and Women's Basketball Seasons" . American Athletic Conference. October 7, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2022 .
^ McGrath, Shawn. "AAC Men's Basketball Tournament Headed to Fort Worth for 2020–2022" . The UConn Blog. Retrieved August 16, 2017 .
^ "American Athletic Conference Statement on 2020 Air Force Reserve Men's Basketball Championship - American Athletic Conference" . Archived from the original on March 12, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020 .
^ "American Athletic Conference Announces Individual Awards" . theamerican.org . sidearmsports.com. Retrieved September 9, 2020 .
^ "American Athletic Conference and ESPN Agree to 12-Year Media Rights Extension" . theAmerican.org . SidearmSports. Retrieved September 9, 2020 .
^ "Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall resigns after misconduct probe" . NBCSports.com . NBC Universal.
^ "Isaac Brown gets five-year deal to be men's basketball coach at Wichita State" . espn.com . ESPN . February 26, 2021.
^ "Houston Tabbed as 2020-21 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Favorite" . theAmerican.org . Retrieved October 28, 2020 .
^ "Houston Sweeps First Men's Basketball Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved December 10, 2020 .
^ "SMU's Davis, Houston's Mark Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved December 10, 2020 .
^ "USF's Collins, Memphis' Cisse Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved December 17, 2020 .
^ "UCF Sweeps Men's Basketball Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved December 24, 2020 .
^ "Wichita State's Etienne, USF's Murphy Earn Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 5, 2021 .
^ "Tulsa's Rachal, USF's Murphy Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 5, 2021 .
^ "Houston's Sasser, Wichita State's Council Earn Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 12, 2021 .
^ "Wichita State's Udeze, Temple's Dunn Earn Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 18, 2021 .
^ "Houston's Grimes, Memphis' Cisse Earn Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 26, 2021 .
^ "Wichita State's Etienne, Tulane's Pope Earn Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved February 1, 2021 .
^ "East Carolina's Gardner, Temple's Dunn Earn Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved February 8, 2021 .
^ "SMU's Davis, Temple's Williams Earn Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved February 16, 2021 .
^ "Wichita State's Etienne, UCF's Adams Earn Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org .
^ "Houston's Grimes, Memphis' Cisse Earn Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org .
^ "Wichita State's Dennis, UCF's Adams Earn Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org .
^ "Bracket Set for 2021 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship" . TheAmerican.org . Retrieved March 7, 2021 .
Teams Championships & awards Seasons