2019–20 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season
The 2019–20 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2019 followed by the start of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. The conference held its media day in October 2019. Conference play began in December 2019 and concluded in March 2020.
2019–20 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season | |
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League | NCAA Division I |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | November 2019 through March 2020 |
Number of teams | 12 |
TV partner(s) | ESPN, CBSSN, CBS |
Regular Season | |
Season champions | Cincinnati, Houston, Tulsa |
Tournament |
2019–20 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cincinnati | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 20 | – | 10 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 22 Houston | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 23 | – | 8 | .742 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tulsa | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 21 | – | 10 | .677 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wichita State | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 23 | – | 8 | .742 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UConn | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 19 | – | 12 | .613 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Memphis | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 21 | – | 10 | .677 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SMU | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 19 | – | 11 | .633 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UCF | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 16 | – | 14 | .533 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
South Florida | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 14 | – | 17 | .452 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Temple | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 14 | – | 17 | .452 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
East Carolina | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 11 | – | 20 | .355 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tulane | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 12 | – | 18 | .400 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As of March 11, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll NOTE: The 2020 AAC Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
Head coaches
Coaching changes
- Cincinnati hired former Northern Kentucky coach John Brannen after coach Mick Cronin departed for the same role at UCLA.[1]
- Tulane fired Mike Dunleavy after 3 seasons and replaced him with former Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter.[2]
- Temple head coach Fran Dunphy retired at the end of the 2018–19 season and was succeeded by assistant coach and Temple alum Aaron McKie.[3]
Coaches
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | AAC record | AAC titles | NCAA Tournaments* | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cincinnati | John Brannen | Northern Kentucky | 1 | 20–10 | 13–5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Connecticut | Dan Hurley | Rhode Island | 2 | 35–29 | 16–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
East Carolina | Joe Dooley | Florida Gulf Coast | 7 | 78–93 | 8–27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Houston | Kelvin Sampson | Houston Rockets (asst.) |
6 | 138–59 | 71–37 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Memphis | Penny Hardaway | East HS | 2 | 43–24 | 21–15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SMU | Tim Jankovich | SMU (asst.) |
5 | 90–46 | 38–31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
South Florida | Brian Gregory | Michigan State (advisor) |
3 | 48–53 | 18–36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Temple | Aaron McKie | Temple (asst.) |
1 | 14–17 | 6–12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tulane | Ron Hunter | Georgia State | 1 | 12–18 | 4–14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tulsa | Frank Haith | Missouri | 6 | 116–76 | 67–41 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
UCF | Johnny Dawkins | Stanford | 4 | 83–48 | 40–32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Wichita State | Gregg Marshall | Winthrop | 13 | 337–119 | 35–19 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
Notes:
- Overall and AAC records are from time at current school and are through the end of 2019–20 season. NCAA records include time at current school only.
- AAC records only, prior conference records not included.
- *In current job
Preseason
Preseason Coaches Poll
The AAC Coaches poll was released on October 14, 2019, with the Cougars predicted to finish first in the AAC.[4]
Coaches poll | ||
Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
---|---|---|
T–1 | Houston | 113 (7) |
T–1 | Memphis | 113 (4) |
3 | Cincinnati | 94 (1) |
4 | Wichita State | 88 |
5 | USF | 79 |
6 | UConn | 75 |
7 | Temple | 72 |
8 | SMU | 47 |
9 | UCF | 40 |
10 | Tulsa | 36 |
11 | East Carolina | 20 |
12 | Tulane | 15 |
Preseason All-AAC Teams
Honor | Recipient |
---|---|
Preseason Player of the Year | Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati |
Preseason All-AAC First Team[4] | |
Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati | |
Quinton Rose, Temple | |
DeJon Jarreau, Houston | |
James Wiseman, Memphis | |
Laquincy Rideau, USF | |
Preseason All-AAC Second Team | |
Alexis Yetna, USF | |
Jayden Gardner, ECU | |
Nate Pierre-Louis, Temple | |
Alterique Gilbert, UConn | |
David Collins, USF | |
Christian Vital, UConn | |
Preseason Rookie of the Year | James Wiseman, Memphis |
Regular season
Rankings
Increase in ranking | ||
Decrease in ranking | ||
Not ranked previous week |
Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Memphis | AP | 14 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 21 | 22 | 20 | RV | |||||||
C | 15 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 17T | 13 | 10 | 11 | 22 | 22 | 20 | RV | ||||||||
Wichita State | AP | RV | RV | 24 | 23 | 16 | RV | 23 | RV | ||||||||||||
C | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | 23 | 16 | 22 | 22 | RV | ||||||||||
Houston | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 21 | 25 | 20 | 22 | 25 | 21 | 22-T | 22 | ||||||
C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 20 | 25 | 19 | 22 | RV | 21 | 24 | 23 | |||||||
Cincinnati | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | ||||||||||||||||
C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||||||
SMU | AP | RV | RV | ||||||||||||||||||
C | |||||||||||||||||||||
Tulsa | AP | RV | RV | ||||||||||||||||||
C | RV | RV | RV |
Conference Matrix
This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team will play 18 conference games: one game vs. four opponents and two games against seven opponents.
Cincinnati | Connecticut | East Carolina | Houston | Memphis | SMU | South Florida | Temple | Tulane | Tulsa | UCF | Wichita State | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
vs. Cincinnati | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
vs. Connecticut | 1–1 | – | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
vs. East Carolina | 2–0 | 1–0 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
vs. Houston | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
vs. Memphis | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
vs. SMU | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
vs. South Florida | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
vs. Temple | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
vs. Tulane | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
vs. Tulsa | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 |
vs. UCF | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 |
vs. Wichita State | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – |
Total | 13–5 | 10–8 | 5–13 | 13–5 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 4–14 | 13–5 | 7–11 | 11–7 |
Note: table updated through end of 2019–20 season
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 | Rookie of the week | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
Week 1 – Nov 11 | Nate Pierre-Louis – Temple | James Wiseman – Memphis | [5] |
Week 2 - Nov 18 | Brandon Rachal – Tulsa | Lester Quiñones – Memphis | [6] |
Week 3 - Nov 25 | Precious Achiuwa – Memphis | James Bouknight – UConn | [7] |
Week 4 - Dec 2 | Quinton Rose – Temple | Boogie Ellis – Memphis | [8] |
Week 5 - Dec 9 | Quentin Grimes – Houston | Tyson Etienne – Wichita State | [9] |
Week 6 - Dec 16 | Erik Stevenson – Wichita State | Caleb Mills – Houston | [10] |
Week 7 - Dec 23 | Jayden Gardner – East Carolina | Precious Achiuwa – Memphis | [11] |
Week 8 - Dec 30 | Fabian White – Houston | Grant Sherfield – Wichita State | [12] |
Week 9 - Jan 6 | Erik Stevenson (2) – Wichita State | Precious Achiuwa (2) – Memphis | [13] |
Week 10 - Jan 13 | Jayden Gardner (2) – East Carolina | Precious Achiuwa (3) – Memphis | [14] |
Week 11 - Jan 20 | Brandon Rachal (2) – Tulsa | D. J. Jefferies – Memphis | [15] |
Week 12 - Jan 27 | Martins Igbanu – Tulsa | Caleb Mills (2) – Houston | [16] |
Week 13 - Feb 3 | Elijah Joiner – Tulsa | Precious Achiuwa (4) – Memphis | [17] |
Week 14 - Feb 10 | James Bouknight – UConn | Darin Green Jr. – UCF | [18] |
Week 15 - Feb 17 | Trevon Scott – Cincinnati | James Bouknight (2) – UConn | [19] |
Week 16 - Feb 24 | Teshaun Hightower – Tulane | Precious Achiuwa (5) – Memphis | [20] |
Week 17 - March 2 | Christian Vital – UConn | Marcus Sasser – Houston | [21] |
Week 18 - March 9 | Christian Vital (2) – UConn | Precious Achiuwa (6) – Memphis | [22] |
Honors and awards
All-AAC Awards and Teams
Honor | Recipient |
---|---|
Player of the Year | Precious Achiuwa, Memphis |
Coach of the Year | Frank Haith, Tulsa |
Freshman of the Year | Precious Achiuwa, Memphis |
Defensive Player of the Year | Trevon Scott, Cincinnati |
Most Improved Player | Trevon Scott, Cincinnati |
Sixth Man of the Year | Martins Igbanu, Tulsa |
Sportsmanship Award | Trevon Scott, Cincinnati |
All-AAC First Team | |
Precious Achiuwa, Memphis* | |
Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati | |
Martins Igbanu, Tulsa | |
Trevon Scott, Cincinnati | |
Christian Vital, UConn | |
All-AAC Second Team | |
Jaime Echenique, Wichita State | |
Jayden Gardner, East Carolina | |
Nate Hinton, Houston | |
Caleb Mills, Houston | |
Quinton Rose, Temple | |
All-AAC Third Team | |
James Bouknight, UConn | |
Kendric Davis, SMU | |
Tyson Jolly, SMU | |
Isaiah Mike, SMU | |
Brandon Rachal, Tulsa | |
All-Freshman Team | |
Precious Achiuwa, Memphis* | |
James Bouknight, UConn* | |
Caleb Mills, Houston* | |
Lester Quiñones, Memphis | |
Marcus Sasser, Houston | |
* Unanimous Selection
Postseason
2020 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
First round Thursday, March 12 |
Quarterfinals Friday, March 13 |
Semifinals Saturday, March 14 |
Championship Sunday, March 15 |
|||||||||||||||
1 | Cincinnati | |||||||||||||||||
8 | UCF | |||||||||||||||||
9 | South Florida | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Wichita State | |||||||||||||||||
5 | UConn | |||||||||||||||||
12 | Tulane | |||||||||||||||||
2 | #22 Houston | |||||||||||||||||
7 | SMU | |||||||||||||||||
10 | Temple | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Tulsa | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Memphis | |||||||||||||||||
11 | East Carolina |
Due to the coronavirus pandemic the tournament was cancelled on March 12, 2020 – only minutes before the first game was set to begin.[26]
NCAA Tournament
On March 12, the tournament, as well as all other postseason tournaments for the remainder of the academic season, was cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It was the first time the tournament had been cancelled since its creation in 1939.
NBA Draft
References
- Fay, John; Williams, Jason; Perry, Michael (April 14, 2019). "What you need to know about new University of Cincinnati basketball coach John Brannen". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- Smith, Guerry (March 24, 2019). "Georgia State's Ron Hunter hired as new Tulane coach, vows to 'turn the program around'". The Advocate. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- "Temple Coach Fran Dunphy Deserved Better". Philadelphia magazine. February 4, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- "Houston, Memphis Tabbed 2019–20 American Men's Basketball Preseason Favorites". American Athletic Conference. October 14, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
- "Pierre-Louis, Wiseman Earn Weekly Awards". American Athletic Conference. November 11, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
- "Tulsa's Rachal, Memphis' Quinones Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Awards". American Athletic Conference. November 18, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
- "Memphis' Achiuwa, UConn's Bouknight Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". American Athletic Conference. November 25, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
- "Temple's Rose, Memphis' Ellis Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Awards". American Athletic Conference. December 2, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
- "Houston's Grimes, Wichita State's Etienne Earn Weekly Honors". American Athletic Conference. December 9, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
- "Wichita State's Stevenson, Houston's Mills Earn Weekly Honors". American Athletic Conference. December 16, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
- "ECU's Gardner, Memphis' Achiuwa Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". American Athletic Conference. December 23, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
- "Houston's White, Wichita State's Sherfield Earn Weekly Awards". American Athletic Conference. December 30, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- "Wichita State's Stevenson, Memphis' Achiuwa Earn Weekly Honors". American Athletic Conference. 2020-01-06. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
- "ECU's Gardner, Memphis' Achiuwa Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". American Athletic Conference. 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
- "Tulsa's Rachal, Memphis' Jeffries Earn Weekly Honors". American Athletic Conference. 2020-01-20. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
- "Tulsa's Igbanu, Houston's Mills Earn Weekly Honors". American Athletic Conference. 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
- "Tulsa's Joiner, Memphis' Achiuwa Earn Weekly Honors". American Athletic Conference. 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
- "UConn's Bouknight, UCF's Green Jr. Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. 2020-02-10. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
- "Cincinnati's Scott, UConn's Bouknight Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. 2020-02-17. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
- "Tulane's Hightower, Memphis' Achiuwa Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Awards". theamerican.org. 2020-02-24. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- "UConn's Vital, Houston's Sasser Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. 2020-03-02. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
- "UConn's Vital, Memphis' Achiuwa Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. 2020-03-09. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
- "American Athletic Conference Announces All-Conference, All-Freshman Teams". theamerican.org. 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
- "American Athletic Conference Announces Individual Awards". theamerican.org. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
- "American Athletic Conference – 2020 MBB Championship Bracket" (PDF). theamerican.org.
- http://theamerican.org/news/2020/3/11/american-athletic-conference-statement-on-2020-air-force-reserve-mens-basketball-championship.aspx