2017–18 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season

2017–18 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
DurationNovember 2017
through March 2018
Number of teams12
TV partner(s)ESPN, CBS
Regular season
Season championsCincinnati
Season MVPGary Clark, Cincinnati
Tournament
ChampionsCincinnati
  Runners-upHouston
Finals MVPGary Clark, Cincinnati
American Athletic Conference men's basketball seasons
2017–18 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 Cincinnati † 16 – 2   .889 31 – 5   .861
No. 21 Houston 14 – 4   .778 27 – 8   .771
No. 16 Wichita State 14 – 4   .778 25 – 8   .758
Tulsa 12 – 6   .667 19 – 12   .613
Memphis 10 – 8   .556 21 – 13   .618
UCF 9 – 9   .500 19 – 13   .594
Temple 8 – 10   .444 17 – 16   .515
UConn 7 – 11   .389 14 – 18   .438
SMU 6 – 12   .333 17 – 16   .515
Tulane 5 – 13   .278 14 – 17   .452
East Carolina 4 – 14   .222 10 – 20   .333
South Florida 3 – 15   .167 10 – 22   .313
† 2018 AAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll


The 2017–18 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2017 followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. The conference held its media day in October 2017. Conference play begin in December 2017 and concluded on March 3, 2018.

Cincinnati won the regular season championship by two games over Houston and Wichita State. The American Athletic tournament was held at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida from March 8–11, 2018.[1][2][3] Cincinnati also won the AAC tournament championship, defeating Houston in the championship game.

Cincinnati's Gary Clark was named the AAC player of the year while Houston's Kelvin Sampson was named coach of the year.

Cincinnati, Houston, and Wichita State all received bids to the NCAA tournament, but none made it past the Second Round as the conference went 2–3 in the Tournament.

Temple received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament, but lost in the first round.

The season marked the first season with Wichita State as a member of the AAC, having joined on July 1, 2017.[4][5] As a result, the conference included 12 teams for the first time.[6]

Head coaches

Coaching changes

South Florida head coach Orlando Antigua was fired after the first 13 games of the 2016–17 season amid academic fraud allegations.[7][8] Interim head coach Murry Bartow coach was not retained by the school following the season. On March 14, 2017, the school hired Brian Gregory as the next head coach.[9]

Coaches

Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record AAC record AAC titles NCAA tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA Championships
Cincinnati Mick Cronin Murray State 12 268–140 72–18 2 8 0 0
Connecticut Kevin Ollie Connecticut
(asst.) 		6 127–79 49–41 2 2 1 1
East Carolina Jeff Lebo Auburn 8 124–138 20–52 0 0 0 0
Houston Kelvin Sampson Houston Rockets
(asst.) 		4 81–48 42–32 0 1 0 0
Memphis Tubby Smith Texas Tech 2 38–26 19–17 0 0 0 0
SMU Tim Jankovich SMU
(asst.) 		3 58–21 23–13 1 1 0 0
South Florida Brian Gregory Michigan State
(advisor) 		1 10–22 3–15 0 0 0 0
Temple Fran Dunphy Penn 12 247–152 46–44 1 7 0 0
Tulane Mike Dunleavy Los Angeles Clippers 2 20–42 8–28 0 0 0 0
Tulsa Frank Haith Missouri 4 77–52 46–26 0 1 0 0
UCF Johnny Dawkins Stanford 2 43–25 20–16 0 0 0 0
Wichita State Gregg Marshall Winthrop 11 286–98 14–4 0 7 1 0

Notes:

  • Overall and AAC records are from time at current school and are through the end of 2017–18 season. NCAA records include time at current school only.
  • AAC records are only from 2013–14 season to present, prior conference records not included.

Preseason

Preseason Coaches Poll

AAC Media Day took place October 15, 2017, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cincinnati was picked to win the conference's regular season (seven votes) with Wichita State a close second (five votes).[10]

Rank Team
1. Cincinnati (7)
2. Wichita State (5)
3. UCF
4. SMU
5. Connecticut
6. Houston
7. Temple
8. Tulsa
9. Memphis
10. Tulane
11. East Carolina
12. USF

first place votes in parentheses

Preseason All-AAC teams

Honor Recipient
Preseason Player of the Year Shake Milton, SMU
Preseason All-AAC First Team
Shake Milton, SMU
Jalen Adams, Connecticut
Rob Gray, Houston
Landry Shamet, Wichita State
B. J. Taylor, UCF
Preseason All-AAC Second Team
Gary Clark, Cincinnati
Junior Etou, Tulsa
Jacob Evans, Cincinnati
Tacko Fall, UCF
Kyle Washington, Cincinnati
Preseason Rookie of the Year Alterique Gilbert, Connecticut

Regular season

Rankings

Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
Main article: 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
  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
Cincinnati AP 12 12 12 11 17 25 20 21 19 14 12 9 8 6 5 11 10 8 6
C 13 13 13 9 17 RV 22 22 20 13 11 8 8 6 5 11 10 8 10 12
Connecticut AP
C
East Carolina AP
C
Houston AP RV RV RV RV RV 23 25 21 21
C RV RV RV RV 23 RV 21 19 22
Memphis AP
C
SMU AP RV RV RV RV RV RV
C RV RV RV RV
South Florida AP
C
Temple AP RV
C RV
Tulane AP
C
Tulsa AP
C
UCF AP RV
C
Wichita State AP 7 6 6 8 6 3 11 8 9 5 7 17 16 22 19 13 11 11 16
C 8 8 6 8 3 11 10 10 9 5 4 16 16 16 18 12 11 14 16 25

Conference matrix

  Cincinnati Connecticut East Carolina Houston Memphis SMU South Florida Temple Tulane Tulsa UCF Wichita State
vs. Cincinnati — 0–2 0–1 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–1 0–2 0–0 0–1 0–2 1–0
vs. Connecticut 2–0 — 0–2 0–0 2–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 2–0 1–1 2–0
vs. East Carolina 1–0 2–0 — 2–0 0–1 2–0 0–2 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–0
vs. Houston 0–1 0–0 0–2 — 1–0 0–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–1
vs. Memphis 2–0 0–2 1–0 0–1 — 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–0
vs. SMU 2–0 1–0 0–2 1–0 1–0 — 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–1
vs. South Florida 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 — 1–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–0
vs. Temple 2–0 0–1 0–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 — 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–1
vs. Tulane 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 — 2–0 0–0 1–0
vs. Tulsa 1–0 0–2 0–1 1–0 1–1 0– 0–2 1–0 0–2 — 0–1 2–0
vs. UCF 2–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 — 1–0
vs. Wichita State 1–1 0–2 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 0–2 0–1 —
Total 14–2 6–10 4–12 12–4 9–7 6–10 1–15 8–8 5–11 10–6 8–8 13–3

Player of the week

Throughout the regular season, the American Athletic Conference named a player and rookie of the week.

Week Player(s) of the week Rookie of the week
November 13, 2017[11] Shake Milton, SMU Ethan Chargois, SMU
November 20, 2017[12] Melvin Frazier, Tulane Ceasar DeJesus, UCF
November 27, 2017[13] Gary Clark, Cincinnati Fabian White Jr., Houston
December 4, 2017[14] Shake Milton (2), SMU Shawn Williams, ECU
December 11, 2017[15] Landry Shamet, Wichita State Jamal Johnson, Memphis
December 18, 2017[16] Jacob Evans, Cincinnati Ethan Chargois (2), SMU
December 26, 2017[17] Tacko Fall, UCF David Nickelberry, Memphis
January 2, 2018[18] Junior Etou, Tulsa Ceasar DeJesus (2), UCF
January 8, 2018[19] Jacob Evans (2), Cincinnati Ceasar DeJesus (3), UCF
January 15, 2018[20] Jeremiah Martin, Memphis Nate Pierre-Louis, Temple
January 22, 2018[21] Shake Milton (3), SMU

Gary Clark (2), Cincinnati

Shawn Williams (2), ECU
January 29, 2018[22] Gary Clark (3), Cincinnati Fabian White Jr. (2), Houston
February 5, 2018[23] Junior Etou (2), Tulsa Shawn Williams (3), ECU
February 12, 2018[24] Armoni Brooks, Houston J. P. Moorman II, Temple
February 19, 2018[25] Shaquille Morris, Wichita State Shawn Williams (4), ECU
February 26, 2018[26] Raynere Thornton, Memphis Caleb Daniels, Tulane
March 5, 2018[27] Rob Gray, Houston David Collins, USF

Honors and awards

All-AAC Awards and teams

Honor Recipient
Player of the Year Gary Clark, Cincinnati
Coach of the Year Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Scholar-Athlete of the Year Obi Enechionyia, Temple
Rookie of the Year Shawn Williams, East Carolina
Defensive Player of the Year Gary Clark, Cincinnati
Most Improved Player Melvin Frazier, Tulane
Sixth Man of the Year Armoni Brooks, Houston
Sportsmanship Award Gary Clark, Cincinnati
All-AAC First Team
Gary Clark, Cincinnati*
Jacob Evans, Cincinnati
Rob Gray, Houston
Landry Shamet, Wichita State
Shaquille Morris, Wichita State
All-AAC Second Team
Jalen Adams, Connecticut
Junior Etou, Tulsa
Melvin Frazier, Tulane
Jeremiah Martin, Memphis
Shake Milton, SMU
All-AAC Honorable Mention
A. J. Davis, UCF
Quinton Rose, Temple
Kyle Washington, Cincinnati
All-Rookie Team
Ethan Chargois, F, SMU
David Collins, G, USF
Nate Pierre-Louis, G, Temple
Fabian White Jr., F, Houston
Shawn Williams, G, ECU*

* Unanimous Selection

Postseason

American Athletic Conference tournament

Main article: 2018 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament

[28]

First round
Thursday, March 8 		Quarterfinals
Friday, March 9 		Semifinals
Saturday, March 10 		Championship
Sunday, March 11
            
1 Cincinnati 61
9 SMU 51
8 UConn 73
9 SMU 80
1 Cincinnati 70
5 Memphis 60
4 Tulsa 64
5 Memphis 67
5 Memphis 79
12 South Florida 77
1 Cincinnati 56
3 Houston 55
2 Wichita State 89
7 Temple 81
7 Temple 82
10 Tulane 77
2 Wichita State 74
3 Houston 77
3 Houston 84
6 UCF 56
6 UCF 66
11 East Carolina 52

NCAA tournament

Main article: 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The winner of the AAC tournament, Cincinnati, received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Seed Region School First Four First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship
2 South Cincinnati N/A defeated (15) Georgia State 68–53 eliminated by (7) Nevada 73–75
4 East Wichita State N/A eliminated by (13) Marshall 75–81
6 West Houston N/A defeated (11) San Diego State 67–65 eliminated by (3) Michigan 63–64
W–L (%): 0–0 (–) 2–1 (.667) 0–2 (.000) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) Total: 2–3 (.400)

NIT

Main article: 2018 National Invitation Tournament

Temple received an at-large bid to the NIT.

Seed Bracket School First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
5 Notre Dame Temple eliminated by (4) Penn State 57–63
W–L (%): 0–1 (.000) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) Total: 0–1 (.000)

NBA draft

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2018 NBA draft.

Player Position School Round Pick Team
Landry Shamet PG Wichita State 1 26 Philadelphia 76ers
Jacob Evans SG Cincinnati 1 28 Golden State Warriors
Melvin Frazier SF Tulane 2 35 Orlando Magic
Shake Milton PG SMU 2 54 Dallas Mavericks

References

  1. ^ "American Men's Basketball Semifinals, Championship to be Broadcast on CBS in 2018". theamerican.org. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  2. ^ "Hartford's XL Center Set to Host 2017 American Men's Basketball Championship". theamerican.org. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  3. ^ Funschelle, Aliyah. "The Sunflower : CBS Sports to broadcast 2018 AAC men's basketball semifinals and championship". thesunflower.com. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  4. ^ "AAC votes to add Wichita St. for '17-18 season". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  5. ^ "Wichita State joining American Athletic Conference from Missouri Valley". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  6. ^ "What Wichita State's conference move means for the AAC, Missouri Valley". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  7. ^ "Struggling South Florida fires coach Antigua". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  8. ^ "South Florida fires Orlando Antigua amid academic fraud investigation". UPI. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  9. ^ "South Florida hires Brian Gregory as head coach". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  10. ^ "Cincinnati Selected as 2017–18 American Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite" (Press release). American Athletic. October 16, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  11. ^ "SMU's Milton, Chargois Collect Initial Weekly Honors". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  12. ^ "Frazier, DeJesus Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  13. ^ "Clark, White Jr. Earn Weekly Honors". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  14. ^ "Milton, Williams Collect Weekly Honors". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  15. ^ "Shamet, Johnson Take Home Weekly Honors". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  16. ^ "Cincinnati's Evans, SMU's Chargois Earn Weekly Honors". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  17. ^ "UCF's Fall, Memphis' Nickelberry Earn Weekly Awards". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  18. ^ "Tulsa's Etou, UCF's DeJesus Collect Weekly Honors". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  19. ^ "Cincinnati's Evans, UCF's DeJesus Collect Weekly Honors". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  20. ^ "Memphis' Martin, Temple's Pierre-Louis Earn Weekly Accolades". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  21. ^ "SMU's Milton Cincinnati's Clark, ECU's Williams Earn Weekly Accolades". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  22. ^ "Cincinnati's Clark, Houston's White Jr. Earn Weekly Honors". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  23. ^ "Etou, Williams Snare Weekly Honors". Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  24. ^ "Houston's Brooks, Temple's Moorman II Earn Weekly Accolades". Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  25. ^ "Wichita State's Morris, ECU's Williams Collect Weekly Honors". Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  26. ^ "American Athletic Conference - Memphis' Thornton, Tulane's Daniels Collect Weekly Awards". theamerican.org. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  27. ^ "Houston's Gray, USF's Collins Collect Final Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  28. ^ "2018 Aaron's American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship" (PDF). American Athletic Conference. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2022.