Saturday’s American Athletic Conference action produced one game that was decided in overtime, another that was won in the final two seconds, and a third that featured 23 lead changes.
The marquee matchup was in Hartford, Conn., as No. 24/rv UConn won an overtime thriller against No. 20/22 Memphis, 86-81. The matchup of two of the nation’s top backcourts belonged to the Huskies, who received a career-high 34 points from G Shabazz Napier, while G Ryan Boatright added 21. The win forged a tie between UConn and Memphis in the conference standings, though the Huskies hold a tiebreaker advantage by virtue of the series sweep.
UCF snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 75-74 win against USF. G Isaiah Sykes got the game-winning layup with 1.8 seconds left to finish with 27 points, making for the second UCF-USF game this season to be decided in the final two seconds. The two games between the two Florida-based schools were decided by a combined two points.
No. 10/11 Cincinnati and Houston treated a sold-out crowed at Fifth Third Arena to a back-and-forth affair before the Bearcats pulled away for a 73-62 win. G Sean Kilpatrick scored 28 points to help Cincinnati win at home for the 18th straight game.
Sunday’s ledger has four teams in action off of relatively short turnarounds. No. 13/8 Louisville hosts Rutgers at 6 p.m. ET (ESPN2), while No. 23/rv SMU is at Temple (2 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network). All four teams were in action Friday.