The field for the first American Athletic Conference men’s basketball championship has been set and UConn came away with the No. 4 seed after losing at Louisville Saturday. Kevin Ollie’s Huskies will have a tough task in the quarterfinal round, despite being the higher seeded team. UConn (24-7) will meet the home town favorite Memphis Tigers at FedEx Forum.
Memphis (23-8) is the No. 5 seed. UConn and Memphis will play at 9 p.m. Thursday. The game will be show live by ESPNU. UConn did sweep the season series, winning 83-73 at Memphis and 86-81 in overtime at XL Center on Feb. 15.
Cincinnati and Louisville finished tied for first place but Cincinnati received the No. 1 seed via a coin flip.
Here’s the release from the AAC office, along with the pairing.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – After an 18-game conference schedule was unable to break a tie between regular-season champions Cincinnati and Louisville, a coin flip placed Cincinnati as the No. 1 seed for the first American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Cincinnati and Louisville both finished 15-3 in American Athletic Conference play to share the conference’s regular-season title. The schools split their head-to-head meetings and both were a combined 4-2 against the three teams that tied for third place in the final standings. Cincinnati and Louisville swept all other conference opponents, necessitating the coin flip for seeding purposes.
The championship takes place March 12-15 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. Five of The American’s 10 teams are ranked in the top 20 in both the Associated Press poll and USA Today coaches’ poll.
The tournament will be carried in its entirety on the ESPN Networks, with Saturday’s final scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on ESPN. Friday’s semifinals will be televised on either ESPN or ESPN2, while Thursday’s four quarterfinals will be on ESPNU. ESPNU and ESPN2 will provide coverage of Wednesday’s two first-round games.
Additionally, all games of the tournament will have national radio distribution by IMG College and will be carried on SiriusXM satellite radio (XM 92, Sirius 192). The American Digital Network will provide Above The Rim coverage throughout the week, including live coverage of postgame press conferences, pregame features and postgame interviews with coaches and players.
As the No. 1 seed, Cincinnati will play its first game of the tournament March 13 at 7 p.m. ET, when the Bearcats face the winner of Wednesday’s first-round matchup between No. 8-seeded Temple and No. 9-seeded UCF. Cincinnati scored a 70-66 win against Rutgers in the Bearcats’ regular-season finale to clinch a share of the regular-season crown.
Louisville won a share of the regular-season title with an 81-48 decision against UConn Saturday. The Cardinals begin their quest for a third straight conference tournament title when they face either No. 7-seeded Rutgers or No. 10-seeded USF Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.
SMU, UConn and Memphis finished in a three-way tie for third place in the final standings, but the Mustangs claimed the No. 3 seed in the tournament by virtue of a better head-to-head record against the other tied teams. SMU will face No. 6-seeded Houston Thursday at 1 p.m. ET in the first of four quarterfinal games.
UConn will be the No. 4 seed and will face Memphis, the No. 5 seed, in Thursday’s quarterfinal nightcap at 9 p.m. ET.
The winner of the American Athletic Conference Championship will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The American boasts two of the last three NCAA champions in its ranks (UConn in 2011 and Louisville in 2013).
2014 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
PRESENTED BY REESE’S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
FEDEXFORUM • MEMPHIS, TENN.
Wednesday, March 12 – First Round (ESPNU/ESPN2)
7 p.m. No. 10 USF (12-19) vs. No. 7 Rutgers (11-20) – ESPNU
9:30 p.m. No. 9 UCF (12-17) vs. No. 8 Temple (9-21) ESPN2
Thursday, March 13 – Quarterfinals (ESPNU)
1 p.m. No. 6 Houston (16-15) vs. No. 3 SMU (23-8)
3 p.m. USF/Rutgers winner vs. No. 2 Louisville (26-5)
7 p.m. UCF/Temple winner vs. No. 1 Cincinnati (26-5)
9 p.m. No. 5 Memphis (23-8) vs. 4 UConn (24-7)
Friday, March 14 – Semifinals (ESPN or ESPN2)
7 p.m. Thursday afternoon winners
9 p.m. Thursday evening winners
Saturday, March 15 – Final (ESPN)
6 p.m. Semifinal winners
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