Preseason Release | Schedule

FOR STARTERS
The American Athletic Conference men's basketball season opens the 2019-20 season with seven contests on opening night and 18 in the first week of the season. Last season, The American went 131-61 (.682) in non-conference action, led by Houston, which went 17-2 (.895). 

FACING THE BEST
During the non-conference portion of the season, The American will face at least 10 schools ranked in the preseason top 25, with an opportunity to play a few more in the early-season tournaments. The first matchup is a big in-state rivalry with Cincinnati traveling to Columbus to face the Buckeyes of Ohio State in its season-opener on Nov. 6. Other match-ups against the preseason top 25 include:

- RV Cincinnati at No. 18/16 Ohio State (Nov. 6)
- No. 14/15 Memphis vs. No. 15/14 Oregon (Nov. 12) in Portland
- No. 6 Florida at UConn (Nov. 17)
- RV Houston at No. 15/14 Oregon (Nov. 22)
- Temple vs. No. 7/8 Maryland (Nov. 28) in Orlando
- RV Cincinnati at No. 19/21 Xavier (Dec. 7)
- USF vs. No. 17/19 Utah State (Dec. 18) in Houston
- No. 25/RV at Wichita State (Dec. 21)
- UConn at No. 10 Villanova (Jan. 18)
- No. 10 Villanova at Temple (Feb. 16)

RECORD-SETTING 2018-19
The American set a conference record with seven postseason teams in 2019. The league tied its high-water mark with four NCAA teams and reached that number for the first time since 2016. Additionally two squads made the NIT, Memphis and semifinalist Wichita State, and USF captured the CBI title.

USF MOST IMPROVED IN NCAA
The Bulls of USF featured the best win improvement in the NCAA last season, winning 14 more games in 2018-19 (24-14) than in 2017-18 (10-22).

MEMPHIS CLAWING ITS WAY BACK
Memphis has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, according to the long running Recruiting Services Combined index, a composite score of rankings from four nationally recognized recruiting services - Rivals.com, 247Sports, ESPN and Van Coleman. 

Under second-year head coach Penny Hardaway, the Tigers will look to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. Hardaway’s first full recruiting class features five top-100 prospects, including center James Wiseman (1) and forward Precious Achiuwa (14) in the top 20.

WATCH LIST CENTRAL
Four American players from three different schools (Cincinnati, Memphis, USF) were listed on the watch lists for five national awards, including Jarron Cumberland of Cincinnati and James Wiseman of Memphis being listed on the Naismith Trophy watch list. Here are the American honorees recognized:

Naismith Trophy (Player of the Year)
Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati
James Wiseman, Memphis

Jerry West Award (SG)
Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati

Julius Erving Award (SF)
Precious Achuwa, Memphis

Karl Malone Award (PF)
Alexis Yetna, USF

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (C)
James Wiseman, Memphis