The 2021-22 men's basketball season tipped off for the American Athletic Conference with all eight teams in action coming away with victories.

Tuesday, November 9
South Florida 75, Bethune-Cookman 54 - Box Score
Cincinnati 65, Evansville 43 - Box Score
East Carolina 70, South Carolina State 62 - Box Score
Wichita State 60, Jacksonville 57 - Box Score
No. 12/16 Memphis 89, Tennessee Tech 65 - Box Score
SMU 86, McNeese State 62 - Box Score
Tulane 70, Southeastern Louisiana 67 - Box Score
No. 15/14 Houston 83, Hofstra 75 (OT) - Box Score

South Florida 75, Bethune-Cookman 54 - Box Score
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Russel Tchewa posted 16 points as South Florida routed Bethune-Cookman 75-54 on Tuesday night in a season opener.

Jamir Chaplin had 13 points and eight rebounds for South Florida. Caleb Murphy added 11 points.

Joe French had 14 points for the Wildcats. Collins Joseph added 10 points and six assists. Dylan Robertson had 10 points, and Kevin Davis had 11 rebounds.

Cincinnati 65, Evansville 43 - Box Score
CINCINNATI (AP) — Jeremiah Davenport registered 11 points and eight rebounds as Cincinnati easily beat Evansville 65-43 on Tuesday night in a season opener.

David DeJulius had nine points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Cincinnati. Viktor Lakhin added seven rebounds.

Blaise Beauchamp and Evan Kuhlman each had 11 points for the Purple Aces. Noah Frederking had eight rebounds.

East Carolina 70, South Carolina State 62 - Box Score
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — J.J. Miles scored 18 points as East Carolina beat South Carolina State 70-62 on Tuesday night in a season opener.

Tristen Newton added 15 points for the Pirates. Vance Jackson recorded 12 points and 13 rebounds and Brandon Johnson added 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Cameron Jones had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs. TJ Madlock added 11 points and six rebounds, and Jemel Davis had three blocks.

Wichita State 60, Jacksonville 57 - Box Score
WICHITA, Kan. -- Tyson Etienne’s last-second three from the center court logo lifted Wichita State to a 60-57 season-opening victory over Jacksonville State at Charles Koch Arena.
 
Tied at 57 with less than 20 seconds remaining, WSU (1-0) put the ball in the hands of its star. Etienne bled the clock inside of five seconds then surprised everyone in the building by pulling up for a long three (officially measured at 31-feet-9-1/2 inches from the rim).

Dexter Dennis added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds for WSU (1-0), which shot just 38.6 percent overall but converted 12-of-14 free throws.

The Shockers outrebounded the Gamecocks 37-31 and outscored them 15-4 on second-chance opportunities. They also won the turnover battle, forcing 17 while committing just 11. Eight different Shockers combined for 10 steals.
 
JSU scored the game’s first six points and led nearly the entire first half.

No. 12/16 Memphis 89, Tennessee Tech 65 - Box Score
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Emoni Bates scored 17 points in his collegiate debut, Jalen Duren and Lester Quinones added 15 apiece and No. 12 Memphis beat Tennessee Tech 89-65 on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams.

The Tigers got 12 points from DeAndre Williams, who was 6 of 7 from the floor. Memphis (1-0) shot 55.6% for the game.

The Tigers started a season with a load of promise bolstered by one of the top recruiting classes in the country, centered on Bates and Duren. Memphis also returned a core of veterans to complement the freshmen.

Mamoudou Diarra led Tennessee Tech (0-1) with 11 points.

Memphis pulled away with a 10-0 run to open the second half. That stretched the advantage to 21 and the Tigers coasted to the win.

Tennessee Tech, which finished 5-22 last season, is picked to finish eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Memphis established its dominance early in the game. By the first media timeout, Memphis was 7 of 9 from the field and held an 11-point lead. But the Golden Eagles scrapped on defense and chopped into the Tigers’ advantage.

Memphis still maintained a 52-41 lead headed to halftime.

The Tigers led by 24 in the second half.

SMU 86, McNeese State 62 - Box Score
DALLAS (AP) — Kendric Davis had 18 points and seven rebounds as SMU rolled past McNeese State 86-62 on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams.

Davis shot 9 for 10 from the foul line.

Zach Nutall had 14 points and eight rebounds for SMU. Tristan Clark added 12 points. Marcus Weathers had 11 points.

Brendan Medley-Bacon had 15 points for the Cowboys. Collin Warren added 11 points. Myles Lewis had 10 rebounds.

Tulane 70, Southeastern Louisiana 67 - Box Score
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jalen Cook scored 28 points and Tulane held off Southeastern Louisiana 70-67 on Tuesday night in a season opener.

Cook shot 4 for 6 from beyond the arc.

Jaylen Forbes had 11 points for Tulane. Tylan Pope added 11 points and 13 rebounds. DeVon Baker had 10 points.

Ryan Burkhardt had 15 points for the Lions. Joe Kasperzyk added 15 points, and Jalyn Hinton had 10 points and eight rebounds.

No. 15/14 Houston 83, Hofstra 75 (OT) - Box Score
HOUSTON (AP) — Marcus Sasser scored 25 points, Taze Moore added 12 and No. 15 Houston rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to defeat Hofstra 83-75 in overtime Tuesday night.

Sasser scored 19 points after half as the Cougars outscored Hofstra 34-13 over the final 8 ½ minutes and overtime.

Kyler Edwards had 10 points and 11 rebounds and J’Wan Roberts chipped in eight points and 15 rebounds for Houston, which shot 45% and was 10 of 24 on 3-pointers. Houston struggled from the free-throw line, making 15 of 25. The Cougars extended their home winning streak to 26 games.

Zach Cooks scored 26 points and Aaron Estrada added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Pride. Omar Silverio had 13 points for Hofstra, which shot 39% from the field and made 12 of 43 3s.

Trailing 62-49, the Cougars went on a 20-7 run to tie it 69-all on a 3-pointer by Moore from the corner with 24 seconds left in regulation.

Estrada’s heave from behind the 3-point line with a second left missed, but Houston touched the ball going out of the bounds. The Pride’s lob inbounds was knocked away by Fabian White Jr. to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, Sasser and Jamal Shead sandwiched 3-pointers around a Cooks jumper, and Roberts hit a lay-up with two minutes to go to increase Houston’s lead to 77-71.