With less than a month to go in the regular season, the race for the American Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season title seems like it will come down to the final buzzer to crown a champion.
The University of Memphis men’s basketball team (14-10) has struggled so far in the American (6-5), losing its last two games one in a heartbreaker to Temple and a disappointing performance at ECU.
Leading scorer Austin Nichols (averages 13.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game) went down with a sprained ankle against Temple. The sophomore is expected to be sidelined two weeks with the injury.
Coach Josh Pastner doesn’t use his star player’s injury as an excuse, but knows his team will have to adjust if they expect to compete in the final seven games of the regular season.
“Our offense and defensive scheme is essentially built around Austin,” Pastner said in a press conference. “Not having the presence of that shot blocking ability you have to change a little bit of how you play obviously. Austin’s injury isn’t an excuse, we have to go get the job done.”
Though Memphis has struggled as of late, they have shown glimpses of the team they can be in dominant performances over UCF, a season sweep over Houston, and an impressive 13-point victory over Cincinnati.
Pastner takes responsibility for the loss, and has full faith in his team to get the job done.
“I have tremendous belief in this group,” Pastner said in a press conference. “I’ve said this before. Any loss falls on my shoulders, not on the players. I have to do better to help our guys do better. It’s on me, not on the young men on the floor. The loss goes strictly to me. That being said, we are going to get back and work and try to get ready, we got to just try to win the next game and keep getting better. I believe in our guys, I really think our guys can get the job done, but we have to do it, we have to produce it.”
Though the Tigers are sixth in the conference, there are plenty of opportunities to make up ground. Five of the Tigers seven final regular season games are against teams sitting above Memphis in the conference standings, including no. 25 ranked SMU, conference leader Tulsa, a rematch against Cincinnati, and two games against UConn.
Tulsa (17-6, 10-1 AAC) sits on top of the American, having lost only one game in conference play. The Golden Hurricane were on a 12-game winning streak before dropping their lone AAC loss to then ranked no. 23 SMU on Saturday.
Junior guards James Woodard and Shaquille Harrison lead the way for Tulsa. Woodard averages 14.9 points (a team-high) and 4.7 rebounds per game. Harrison, the team’s second leading scorer, is averaging 14.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.
No. 25 SMU (19-5) is only half a game behind Tulsa at 10-2 in conference play. The Mustangs began the year with huge expectations, ranked No. 22 in the preseason AP poll and picked to finish second in the conference, before losing three games in the first two weeks of the season. Since then, the Mustangs have won 17 of their last 19 games and have clawed their way back into the top 25.
Their most impressive win is their 68-57 victory over Tulsa, giving the Golden Hurricane their one-and-only loss in the AAC.
2013-14 all-conference first team selection Nic Moore leads the way for Larry Brown’s squad. The junior guard is averaging 14.9 points and 5.5 assists per game.
The Temple Owls (18-7) have climbed all the way to third place in the conference, winning six straight games. The Owls are 9-3 in the American, only losing to Tulsa, SMU and Cincinnati.
Not only have they taken care of business against the lesser teams in the conference, but they have also taken down Memphis, UConn and Cincinnati, as well as a 25-point non-conference rout over then No. 10 ranked Kansas.
The play of both Will Cummings and Quenton DeCosey has been key in the Owls success so far. Cummings, a senior guard, leads the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game, while adding 4.2 rebounds and four assists per game as well. DeCosey, a junior guard, is putting up similar numbers, averaging 13 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Cincinnati (17-7, 8-4 AAC) is two-and-a-half games back in the standings, in fourth place in the American Athletic Conference.
Early on in the season, Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin was diagnosed with arterial dissection. Cronin’s health issue forced him to take a step back from coaching, but is expected to return next season.
Though the Bearcats dropped their last game to Temple 75-59, they are also a team that has shown a lot of promise this season. They took down teams such as, UConn, then No. 19 San Diego State in overtime, and completed a season sweep over SMU.
In fifth place, UConn (13-9) sits at 6-4 in the AAC. Like SMU, the reigning national champions were expected to have a great year. The Huskies entered the season ranked no. 17 in the preseason AP poll and were selected to finish first in the conference.
The Huskies dropped three consecutive games in November and have never really been able to recover. Their biggest wins of the season have come in a 63-59 victory over a down Florida team and a 62-56 win over Cincinnati.
Senior guard Ryan Boatright continues the UConn legacy of great guard play, putting up monster numbers with 17.8 points 4.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. If he continues this strong play throughout the rest of the season, he will most likely have a high chance of winning American Athletic Conference player of the year.
Rounding out the rest of the conference standings, Tulane (13-10, 4-7) comes in at seventh, two games behind Memphis. ECU (11-13, 4-7) is in eighth with UCF (9-13, 2-9) following them at no. 9. While Houston (9-13, 1-9) comes in at 10 and South Florida (7-17) sits at the bottom with a 1-10 record in conference play.
