2021–22 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season

The 2021–22 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2021, followed by the start of the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 9, 2021. Conference play began December 15, 2021, and concluded with the 2022 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament, held March 10–13, 2022, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

2021–22 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
DurationNovember 2021
through March 2022
Number of teams11
TV partner(s)CBS, ESPN, ESPN+
Regular season
Season championsHouston
Season MVPKendric Davis, SMU
Tournament
ChampionsHouston
  Runners-upMemphis
2021–22 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 15 Houston †15–3 .83332–6  .842
SMU13–4 .76524–9  .727
Memphis13–5 .72222–11  .667
Temple10–7 .58817–12  .586
Tulane10–8 .55614–15  .483
UCF9–9 .50018–12  .600
Wichita State6–9 .40015–13  .536
Cincinnati7–11 .38918–15  .545
East Carolina6–11 .35315–15  .500
Tulsa4–14 .22211–20  .355
South Florida3–15 .1678–23  .258
† 2022 AAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Scheduling returned to the previous format: an 18-game schedule in which every team in The American played eight of its 10 conference opponents twice and the other two opponents once—one at home and one on the road.[1]

Previous season

Wichita State won the regular season championship. The 2021 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament was held at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, which was won by Houston. Houston and Wichita State received bids to the NCAA tournament. Wichita State lost in the First Four to Drake, while Houston advanced to the Final Four before losing to eventual National Champion Baylor. The conference finished 4–2 overall. Memphis and SMU received bids to the 2021 National Invitation Tournament. SMU lost to Boise State in the first round, while Memphis won the NIT defeating Mississippi State in the Championship game. The conference went 4–1 overall in the NIT.

Quentin Grimes from Houston and Tyson Etienne from Wichita State were named the co-AAC Players of the Year. Wichita State's Isaac Brown was named Coach of the Year.[2]

Coaches

Coaching changes
Coach School Reason Replacement
John Brannen Cincinnati Cincinnati fired Brannen after 2 seasons on April 9, 2021, following an internal review of unspecified allegations related to Brannen and the program. The investigation was triggered after six players entered the NCAA transfer portal within three days of the Bearcats' final game of the season.[3] Wes Miller.[4]

Head coaches

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 Wes Miller UNC Greensboro 0 0–0 0–0 0 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

Recruiting classes
2021 Recruiting classes rankings
Team ESPN[5] Rivals[6] 247 Sports[7] Signees
Cincinnati - - - -
East Carolina - No. 46 No. 107 5
Houston - - No. 44 3
Memphis - - No. 1 6
SMU - No. 33 No. 36 4
South Florida - No. 55 No. 101 1
Temple - No. 46 No. 77 2
Tulane - - - -
Tulsa - No. 32 No. 62 3
UCF - No. 26 No. 88 3
Wichita State - No. 55 No. 66 3

Preseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.

Wooden[8][9] Naismith[10] Cousy[11] West[12] Erving[13] Malone[14] NABC[15] Abdul-Jabbar[16]
Emoni Bates, Memphis Green tickY Green tickY
Kendric Davis, SMU Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Jalen Duren, Memphis Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Tyson Etienne, Wichita State Green tickY
Marcus Sasser, Houston Green tickY Green tickY
DeAndre Williams, Memphis Green tickY

Preseason media poll

On October 13, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards.[17]

Coaches Poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Houston98 (8)
2Memphis92 (3)
3SMU77
4Wichita State76
5UCF66
6Cincinnati52
7Tulsa43
8Temple37
T-9South Florida25
T-9Tulane25
11East Carolina14

Preseason All-AAC
Honor Recipient
Preseason Player of the Year Tyson Etienne, Wichita State
Preseason Rookie of the Year Jalen Duren, Memphis
Preseason All-AAC First Team
Marcus Sasser, Houston
Jalen Duren, Memphis
Landers Nolley II, Memphis
Kendric Davis, SMU*
Tyson Etienne, Wichita State*
Preseason All-AAC Second Team
Brandon Mahan, UCF
Emoni Bates, Memphis
DeAndre Williams, Memphis
Jeremiah Davenport, Cincinnati
Jaylen Forbes, Tulane
*Unanimous selections

Regular season

Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play, There were 3 games which were postponed that weren't made up, resulting in unbalanced conference schedules[18]

  Cincinnati East Carolina Houston Memphis SMU South Florida Temple Tulane Tulsa UCF Wichita State
vs. Cincinnati —0–22–02–01–11–12–01–01–11–00–2
vs. East Carolina 2–0—1–01–11–00–22–01–10–22–01–0
vs. Houston 0–20–1—2–01–10–20–20–20–10–20–2
vs. Memphis 0–21–10–2—2–00–10–11–10–21–10–2
vs. SMU 1–10–11–10–2—0–21–10–20–20–11–0
vs. South Florida 1–12–02–01–02–0—1–12–02–01–11–0
vs. Temple 0–20–22–01–01–11–1—1–10–21–10–0
vs. Tulane 0–11–12–01–12–00–21–1—0–11–10–2
vs. Tulsa 1–12–01–02–02–00–22–01–0—1–12–0
vs. UCF 0–10–22–01–11–01–11–11–11–1—1–1
vs. Wichita State 2–00–12–02–00–10–10–02–00–21–1—
Total 7–116–1115–313–513–43–1510–710–84–149–96–9

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 15 Marcus Sasser, Houston Emoni Bates, Memphis [19]
Week 2 – Nov 22 Kendric Davis, SMU Jalen Duren, Memphis [20]
Week 3 – Nov 29 Khalif Battle, Temple Kenny Pohto, Wichita State [21]
Week 4 – Dec 6 Kendric Davis (2), SMU Viktor Lakhin, Cincinnati [22]
Week 5 – Dec 13 Vance Jackson, East Carolina Zhuric Phelps, SMU [23]
Week 6 – Dec 20 Kendric Davis (3), SMU Jalen Duren (2), Memphis [24]
Week 7 – Dec 27 Zach Hicks, Temple Kenny Pohto (2), Wichita State [25]
Week 8 – Jan 3 Jalen Cook, Tulane Josh Minott, Memphis [26]
Week 9 – Jan 10 Josh Carlton, Houston
Damian Dunn, Temple		 Jahlil White, Temple [27]
Week 10 – Jan 17 Kyler Edwards, Houston Jahlil White (2), Temple [28]
Week 11 – Jan 24 Kyler Edwards (2), Houston Darius Johnson, UCF [29]
Week 12 – Jan 31 Marcus Weathers, SMU
Jalen Cook (2), Tulane		 Josh Minott (2), Memphis [30]
Week 13 – Feb 7 Fabian White Jr., Houston Jalen Duren (3), Memphis [31]
Week 14 – Feb 14 Marcus Weathers (2), SMU Jalen Duren (4), Memphis [32]
Week 15 – Feb 21 Tai Strickland, Temple Darius Johnson (2), UCF [33]
Week 16 – Feb 28 Fabian White Jr. (2), Houston Jalen Duren (5), Memphis [34]
Week 17 – Mar 7 Michael Weathers, SMU Jalen Duren (6), Memphis [35]

All-AAC Awards and teams
Honor Recipient
Player of the Year Kendric Davis, SMU
Coach of the Year Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Freshman of the Year Jalen Duren, Memphis*
Defensive Player of the Year Dexter Dennis, Wichita State
Most Improved Player Kevin Cross, Tulane
Sixth Man of the Year Ricky Council IV, Wichita State
Sportsmanship Award Darien Jackson, Tulsa
All-AAC First Team
Josh Carlton, Houston
Fabian White Jr., Houston
Jalen Duren, Memphis
Kendric Davis, SMU*
Jalen Cook, Tulane
All-AAC Second Team
Tristen Newton, East Carolina
Kyler Edwards, Houston
DeAndre Williams, Memphis
Marcus Weathers, SMU
Damian Dunn, Temple
Jaylen Forbes, Tulane
All-AAC Third Team
Darin Green Jr., UCF
David DeJulius, Cincinnati
Jamal Shead, Houston
Kevin Cross, Tulane
Tyson Etienne, Wichita State
All-Freshman Team
Darius Johnson, UCF
Jalen Duren, Memphis*
Josh Minott, Memphis
Zach Hicks, Temple
Jahlil White, Temple
*Unanimous selections

Source:[36]

Postseason

American Athletic Conference tournament
Main article: 2022 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament

* – Denotes overtime period

First round
Thursday, March 10 		Quarterfinals
Friday, March 11 		Semifinals
Saturday, March 12 		Championship
Sunday, March 13
1 #18 Houston 69
8 Cincinnati 74 8 Cincinnati 56
9 East Carolina 63 1 #18 Houston 86
5 Tulane 66
4 Temple 60
5 Tulane 69
1 #18 Houston 71
3 Memphis 53
2 SMU 83
7 Wichita State 67 10 Tulsa 58
10 Tulsa 73 2 SMU 63
3 Memphis 70
3 Memphis 85
6 UCF 60 6 UCF 69
11 South Florida 58

NCAA tournament
Main article: 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Two teams from the conference were selected to participate:

Seed Region School First Four First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship
5 South Houston N/A defeated (12) UAB, 82–68 defeated (4) Illinois, 68–53 defeated (1) Arizona, 72–60 eliminated by (2) Villanova, 44–50 – –
9 West Memphis N/A defeated (8) Boise State, 64–53 eliminated by (1) Gonzaga, 78–82 – – – –
W–L (%): 0–0 (–) 2–0 (1.000) 1–1 (.500) 1–0 (1.000) 0–1 (.000) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) Total: 4–2 (.667)

National Invitation tournament
Main article: 2022 National Invitation Tournament

One team from the conference was selected to participate:

Seed Bracket School First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
1 SMU SMU defeated Nicholls, 68–58 eliminated by (4) Washington State, 63–75
W–L (%): 1–0 (1.000) 0–1 (.000) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) Total: 1–1 (.500)

NBA draft

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2022 NBA draft.

Player Position School Round Pick Team
Jalen Duren C Memphis 1 13 Charlotte Hornets
Josh Minott SF Memphis 2 45 Charlotte Hornets

References
  1. "The American Announces 2021-22 Men's Basketball Conference Schedule". theAmerican.org. American Athletic Conference. September 30, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  2. "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. March 10, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  3. Howe, Matt (April 9, 2021). "Cincinnati fires head basketball coach John Brannen". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  4. Borzello, Jeff (April 14, 2021). "Cincinnati Bearcats hire Wes Miller as new men's basketball head coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  5. "2021 men's college basketball recruiting class rankings: Michigan, Memphis finish 1-2". ESPN.com. October 6, 2021.
  6. "2021 Team Rankings". rivals.com.
  7. "2021 Recruit Rankings". 247Sports.
  8. "John R. Wooden Award Presented by Wendy's Announces 2021-22 Men's Preseason Top 50 Watch List". woodenaward.com. November 9, 2021.
  9. "John R. Wooden Award Presented by Wendy's Announces Midseason Top 25 Watch List". woodenaward.com. January 5, 2022.
  10. "2022 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Men's Watch List". naismithtrophy.com. Atlanta Tip Off Club.
  11. "2022 Cousy Award Preseason Watch List". hoophallawards.com.
  12. "2022 West Award Preseason Watch List". hoophallawards.com.
  13. "2022 Erving Award Preseason Watch List". hoophallawards.com.
  14. "2022 Malone Award Preseason Watch List". hoophallawards.com.
  15. "Preseason Watch List Announced for NABC Division I Player of the Year". nabc.com. National Association of Basketball Coaches. November 4, 2021.
  16. "2022 Abdul-Jabbar Award Preseason Watch List". hoophallawards.com.
  17. "Houston Selected as 2021-22 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Favorite". theAmerican.org. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  18. "2021-22 MBB Rescheduling Information". theamerican.org. American Athletic Conference.
  19. "Houston's Sasser, Memphis' Bates Earn First Weekly Awards of Season". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  20. "SMU's Davis, Memphis' Duren Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  21. "Temple's Battle, Wichita State's Pohto Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  22. "SMU's Davis, Cincinnati's Lakhin Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  23. "East Carolina's Jackson, SMU's Phelps Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  24. "SMU's Davis, Memphis' Duren Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  25. "Temple's Hicks, Wichita State's Pohto Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  26. "Tulane's Cook, Memphis' Minott Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  27. "Houston's Carlton, Temple's Dunn and White Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  28. "Houston's Edwards, Temple's White Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  29. "Houston's Edwards, UCF's Johnson Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  30. "SMU's Weathers, Tulane's Cook and Memphis' Minott Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  31. "Houston's White, Memphis' Duren Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  32. "SMU's Weathers, Memphis' Duren Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  33. "Temple's Strickland, UCF's Johnson Earn Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  34. "Houston's White, Memphis' Duren Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  35. "SMU's Weathers, Memphis Duren Earn Weekly Awards". theamerican.org. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  36. "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. American Athletic Conference. March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
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