2020–21 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season

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2020–21 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
DurationNovember 2020
through March 2021
Number of teams11
TV partner(s)CBS, ESPN, ESPN+
Regular Season
Season championsWichita State
Season MVPTyson Etienne, Wichita State & Quentin Grimes, Houston
Tournament
ChampionsHouston
  Runners-upCincinnati
American Athletic Conference men's basketball seasons
2020–21 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Wichita State 11 – 2   .846 16 – 6   .727
No. 6 Houston † 14 – 3   .824 28 – 4   .875
Memphis 11 – 4   .733 20 – 8   .714
SMU 7 – 4   .636 11 – 6   .647
Cincinnati 8 – 6   .571 12 – 11   .522
UCF 8 – 10   .444 11 – 12   .478
Tulsa 7 – 9   .438 11 – 12   .478
South Florida 4 – 10   .286 9 – 13   .409
Temple 4 – 10   .286 5 – 11   .313
Tulane 4 – 12   .250 10 – 13   .435
East Carolina 2 – 10   .167 8 – 11   .421
† 2021 AAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll


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[edit]

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[edit]

Coaching changes[edit]

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[edit]

Note: Stats are through the beginning of the season. All stats and records are from time at current school only

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 2 32–20 21–11 1 0 0 0
East Carolina Joe Dooley Florida Gulf Coast 7 94–106 10–35 0 0 0 0
Houston Kelvin Sampson Houston Rockets
(asst.) 		7 167–64 85–40 2 3 1 0
Memphis Penny Hardaway East HS 3 63–32 31–19 0 0 0 0
SMU Tim Jankovich SMU
(asst.) 		6 101–55 45–38 1 1 0 0
South Florida Brian Gregory Michigan State
(advisor) 		4 57–66 23–46 0 0 0 0
Temple Aaron McKie Temple
(asst.) 		2 19–28 10–22 0 0 0 0
Tulane Ron Hunter Georgia State 2 22–31 8–26 0 0 0 0
Tulsa Frank Haith Missouri 7 127–87 74–50 1 1 0 0
UCF Johnny Dawkins Stanford 5 94–60 48–42 0 1 0 0
Wichita State Isaac Brown Wichita State (asst.) 1 16–6 11–2 1 1 0 0

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[edit]

Preseason media poll[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Conference matrix[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

American Athletic Conference tournament[edit]

Main article: 2021 American Athletic Conference men's basketball 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[edit]

Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball 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[edit]

Main article: 2021 National Invitation Tournament
Seed Bracket School First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
1 Memphis Memphis defeated (4) Dayton, 71–60 defeated (2) Boise State, 59–56 defeated (1) Colorado State, 90–67 defeated (4) Mississippi State, 77–64
3 Memphis SMU eliminated by (2) Boise State, 84–85
W–L (%): 1–1 (.500) 1–0 (1.000) 1–0 (1.000) 1–0 (1.000) Total: 4–1 (.800)

NBA draft[edit]

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2021 NBA draft.

Player Position School Round Pick Team
Quentin Grimes SG Houston 1 25 Los Angeles Clippers

References[edit]

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ McGrath, Shawn. "AAC Men's Basketball Tournament Headed to Fort Worth for 2020–2022". The UConn Blog. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "American Athletic Conference Announces Individual Awards". theamerican.org. sidearmsports.com. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  5. ^ "American Athletic Conference and ESPN Agree to 12-Year Media Rights Extension". theAmerican.org. SidearmSports. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  6. ^ "Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall resigns after misconduct probe". NBCSports.com. NBC Universal.
  7. ^ "Isaac Brown gets five-year deal to be men's basketball coach at Wichita State". espn.com. ESPN. February 26, 2021.
  8. ^ "Houston Tabbed as 2020-21 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Favorite". theAmerican.org. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  9. ^ "Houston Sweeps First Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  10. ^ "SMU's Davis, Houston's Mark Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  11. ^ "USF's Collins, Memphis' Cisse Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  12. ^ "UCF Sweeps Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  13. ^ "Wichita State's Etienne, USF's Murphy Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  14. ^ "Tulsa's Rachal, USF's Murphy Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  15. ^ "Houston's Sasser, Wichita State's Council Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  16. ^ "Wichita State's Udeze, Temple's Dunn Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  17. ^ "Houston's Grimes, Memphis' Cisse Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  18. ^ "Wichita State's Etienne, Tulane's Pope Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  19. ^ "East Carolina's Gardner, Temple's Dunn Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  20. ^ "SMU's Davis, Temple's Williams Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  21. ^ "Wichita State's Etienne, UCF's Adams Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org.
  22. ^ "Houston's Grimes, Memphis' Cisse Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org.
  23. ^ "Wichita State's Dennis, UCF's Adams Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org.
  24. ^ "Bracket Set for 2021 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship". TheAmerican.org. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
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