Cincinnati, Houston and USF were winners in Wednesday night’s American Athletic Conference games.
 
The Bearcats picked up a pivotal win with a 56-47 victory at Tulsa. G Farad Cobb had 22 points, while F Octavius Ellis grabbed 13 rebounds, as Cincinnati improved to 21-9 and 12-5 in The American. G Rashad Ray had 15 points to lead Tulsa, which dropped to 21-8 and 14-3 in conference play.
 
With the win, Cincinnati moves a half-game in front of Temple for the No. 3 seed in The American Championship next weekend in Hartford. Tulsa moves back into a first-place tie with SMU, with the meeting between the two teams Sunday determining the regular-season champion.
 
Houston trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half before forcing overtime and defeating Tulane 68-63 at Devlin Fieldhouse. F Devonta Pollard and G Jherrod Stiggers each scored 17 points for the Cougars, while G Louis Dabney and F Payton Henson each had 15 for the Green Wave.
 
USF tallied its largest margin of victory this season, a 74-45 win over UCF at the Sun Dome. F Bo Zeigler had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, while G Troy Holston Jr. had 19 and 10. F Staphon Blair had 12 points to lead the Knights.