Five games on tap today:
#20 Florida Atlantic (18-5, 8-2) at Wichita State (10-13, 2-8), 12pm (espn2)
UAB (15-8, 7-3) at Tulsa (12-10, 3-7), 2pm ESPN+
Charlotte (14-8, 8-2) at Temple (8-15, 1-0), 2pm ESPN+
North Texas (13-9, 6-4) at SMU (16-7, 7-3), 2pm ESPNU
Tulane (13-9, 4-6) at Memphis (17-5, 6-4), 2pm espn2
I still think that if Florida Atlantic wins the conference tournament that only one team from the American gets into the NCAA tournament. Memphis has a strong enough non-conference schedule to get an at-large bid but they cannot afford to lose many more games.
NCAA Tournament Bound
1. Florida Atlantic (18-5, 8-2); NET: #28 – Owls overtime loss opens the door for as many 4 other teams to win the regular season title; FAU still has a home-and-home series with Memphis, a road game at USF and home tilt with SMU
On the Bubble
None
NIT Bound
2. South Florida (17-5, 10-1); NET: #103 – Bulls have won 9 straight and 15 of their last 16, and despite their second half high wire act sit alone atop the American; with a win next Sunday at home against FAU, USF will have a clear path towards their first regular season title in program history
3. SMU (16-7, 7-3); NET: #42 – The Mustangs have now won 3 in a row, and with remaining games against USF, FAU and Memphis, and with tie-breakers over Charlotte and North Texas, SMU can play its way into the regular season conference championship picture
4. Memphis (17-6, 6-4); NET: #77 – After losing 4 in arow the Tigers have defeated two of the worst teams in the conference – Wichita State and Temple – by single digits; Memphis’ strong non-conference schedule and upcoming home-and-home series against FAU could give them an opportunity to sneak in to the tournament as an at-large selection
5. Charlotte (14-8, 8-2); NET: #95 – despite the 49ers road loss to USF, 6 of Charlotte’s remaining 8 games are against teams with a losing conference record; a road game at Memphis and home match up against the Bulls are the only games remaining against teams with a winning conference record
Post Season Possible
6. UAB (15-8, 7-3); NET: #120 – With the Blazer’s home overtime win against FAU, UAB has now won 3 of 4, including two against Top 25 teams, and remain in the hunt for a first-round bye in the conference tournament; only 3 of the Blazer’s 8 remaining games are against teams with a winning conference record, with 3 of those games at home where UAB is 5-0 in conference play
7. North Texas (13-9, 6-4); NET: #78 – the Mean Greene stopped their 3-game losing street with a road win at Tulsa, but now have a tough 3-game stretch of games at SMU, Memphis (home) and at UAB; North Texas’ 5-1 conference start could become 6-7 and land them in the second division
Second Division
8. Tulane (13-9, 4-6); NET: #117 – a home overtime win against Temple doesn’t install much confidence, but the Green Wave were able to snap a 3-game losing streak; Tulane is 1-4 on the road in conference games but is 3-2 at home with both conference loses coming by a combined 5 points
9. East Carolina (12-12, 5-6); NET: #185 – the Pirates are entering a soft stretch of their schedule and can get above .500 in conference play with upcoming games against Wichita State, Tulane and Rice (away)
10. Tulsa (12-10, 3-7); NET: #183 – outside of PJ Haggerty, the nation’s leading freshman scorer, there hasn’t been much to cheer about for the Golden Hurricane
11. Wichita State (10-13, 2-8); NET: #149 – Shockers have won 2 of 4, but their 8-game losing streak sunk their season
12. Rice (9-15, 3-8); NET: # 235 – after a modest 2-game win streak, the Owls have dropped 2 consecutive home games; Rice has had a second half lead in 4 of their 8 conference losses
13. UTSA (8-16, 2-9): NET: #286 – Road Runners have allowed 80+ points in 9 of their last 10 games
14. Temple (8-15, 1-9); NET: #251 – Owls have lost 8 in a row and now face Charlotte and FAU in consecutive games
All Conference First Team
David Jones, Mem (F) - Player of the Year
PJ Haggerty, Tulsa (F) - Freshman of the Year
Johnell Davis, FAU (G)
Kevin Cross, Tulane (F)
Jason Edwards, North Texas (G)
All Conference Second Team
RJ Felton, East Carolina (G)
Max Fiedler, Rice (F)
Hysier Miller, Temple (G)
Travis Eeve, Rice (G)
Vladislav Goldin, FAU (C)
All Conference Third Team
Colby Rogers, Wichita State (G)
Zhuric Phelps, SMU (G)
Eric Gaines, UAB (G)
Chris Youngblood, USF (G) - moved up
Igor Milicic, Jr, Charlotte (F) - moved up
#20 Florida Atlantic (18-5, 8-2) at Wichita State (10-13, 2-8), 12pm (espn2)
UAB (15-8, 7-3) at Tulsa (12-10, 3-7), 2pm ESPN+
Charlotte (14-8, 8-2) at Temple (8-15, 1-0), 2pm ESPN+
North Texas (13-9, 6-4) at SMU (16-7, 7-3), 2pm ESPNU
Tulane (13-9, 4-6) at Memphis (17-5, 6-4), 2pm espn2
I still think that if Florida Atlantic wins the conference tournament that only one team from the American gets into the NCAA tournament. Memphis has a strong enough non-conference schedule to get an at-large bid but they cannot afford to lose many more games.
NCAA Tournament Bound
1. Florida Atlantic (18-5, 8-2); NET: #28 – Owls overtime loss opens the door for as many 4 other teams to win the regular season title; FAU still has a home-and-home series with Memphis, a road game at USF and home tilt with SMU
On the Bubble
None
NIT Bound
2. South Florida (17-5, 10-1); NET: #103 – Bulls have won 9 straight and 15 of their last 16, and despite their second half high wire act sit alone atop the American; with a win next Sunday at home against FAU, USF will have a clear path towards their first regular season title in program history
3. SMU (16-7, 7-3); NET: #42 – The Mustangs have now won 3 in a row, and with remaining games against USF, FAU and Memphis, and with tie-breakers over Charlotte and North Texas, SMU can play its way into the regular season conference championship picture
4. Memphis (17-6, 6-4); NET: #77 – After losing 4 in arow the Tigers have defeated two of the worst teams in the conference – Wichita State and Temple – by single digits; Memphis’ strong non-conference schedule and upcoming home-and-home series against FAU could give them an opportunity to sneak in to the tournament as an at-large selection
5. Charlotte (14-8, 8-2); NET: #95 – despite the 49ers road loss to USF, 6 of Charlotte’s remaining 8 games are against teams with a losing conference record; a road game at Memphis and home match up against the Bulls are the only games remaining against teams with a winning conference record
Post Season Possible
6. UAB (15-8, 7-3); NET: #120 – With the Blazer’s home overtime win against FAU, UAB has now won 3 of 4, including two against Top 25 teams, and remain in the hunt for a first-round bye in the conference tournament; only 3 of the Blazer’s 8 remaining games are against teams with a winning conference record, with 3 of those games at home where UAB is 5-0 in conference play
7. North Texas (13-9, 6-4); NET: #78 – the Mean Greene stopped their 3-game losing street with a road win at Tulsa, but now have a tough 3-game stretch of games at SMU, Memphis (home) and at UAB; North Texas’ 5-1 conference start could become 6-7 and land them in the second division
Second Division
8. Tulane (13-9, 4-6); NET: #117 – a home overtime win against Temple doesn’t install much confidence, but the Green Wave were able to snap a 3-game losing streak; Tulane is 1-4 on the road in conference games but is 3-2 at home with both conference loses coming by a combined 5 points
9. East Carolina (12-12, 5-6); NET: #185 – the Pirates are entering a soft stretch of their schedule and can get above .500 in conference play with upcoming games against Wichita State, Tulane and Rice (away)
10. Tulsa (12-10, 3-7); NET: #183 – outside of PJ Haggerty, the nation’s leading freshman scorer, there hasn’t been much to cheer about for the Golden Hurricane
11. Wichita State (10-13, 2-8); NET: #149 – Shockers have won 2 of 4, but their 8-game losing streak sunk their season
12. Rice (9-15, 3-8); NET: # 235 – after a modest 2-game win streak, the Owls have dropped 2 consecutive home games; Rice has had a second half lead in 4 of their 8 conference losses
13. UTSA (8-16, 2-9): NET: #286 – Road Runners have allowed 80+ points in 9 of their last 10 games
14. Temple (8-15, 1-9); NET: #251 – Owls have lost 8 in a row and now face Charlotte and FAU in consecutive games
All Conference First Team
David Jones, Mem (F) - Player of the Year
PJ Haggerty, Tulsa (F) - Freshman of the Year
Johnell Davis, FAU (G)
Kevin Cross, Tulane (F)
Jason Edwards, North Texas (G)
All Conference Second Team
RJ Felton, East Carolina (G)
Max Fiedler, Rice (F)
Hysier Miller, Temple (G)
Travis Eeve, Rice (G)
Vladislav Goldin, FAU (C)
All Conference Third Team
Colby Rogers, Wichita State (G)
Zhuric Phelps, SMU (G)
Eric Gaines, UAB (G)
Chris Youngblood, USF (G) - moved up
Igor Milicic, Jr, Charlotte (F) - moved up
