# 2020–21 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season

The 2020–21 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season is scheduled to begin with practices in October 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November 2020. Conference play will begin in December and conclude with the 2021 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. With UConn's departure on July 1, 2020, the American is back at 11 teams. For the 2020-21 Season due to COVID-19 pandemic The scheduling format was changed to a 20-game, double round-robin conference schedules. Conference play in men's basketball will began with three windows for games in December (Dec. 14–17, Dec. 21-23 and Dec. 28–31).

## Previous season

Cincinnati, Houston and Tulsa were declared co-champions. The 2020 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament was supposed to be held at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the tournament was cancelled on March 12, 2020 – only minutes before the first game was set to begin.
Precious Achiuwa from Memphis was named the AAC player of the year, Tulsa's Frank Haith was named coach of the year.
2020–21 will mark the first year of the AAC's new TV Contract. The deal includes a minimum of 65 regular-season games per season on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, with at least 25 on ESPN or ESPN2. Complete annual coverage of the conference tournament across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, including the championship game on ESPN.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

On November 17, 2020: Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall resigned following an investigation into allegations of verbal and physical abuse, Wichita State promoted assistant coach Isaac Brown, to interim coach. On February 26, 2021, he was named permanent head coach, agreeing to a five-year deal.

### Coaches

Note: Stats are through the beginning of the season. All stats and records are from time at current school only
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | AAC record | AAC titles | NCAA Tournaments* | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
| Cincinnati | John Brannen | Northern Kentucky | 2 | 32–20 | 21–11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| East Carolina | Joe Dooley | Florida Gulf Coast | 7 | 94–106 | 10–35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Houston | Kelvin Sampson | Houston Rockets (asst.) | 7 | 167–64 | 85–40 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Memphis | Penny Hardaway | East HS | 3 | 63–32 | 31–19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SMU | Tim Jankovich | SMU (asst.) | 6 | 101–55 | 45–38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| South Florida | Brian Gregory | Michigan State (advisor) | 4 | 57–66 | 23–46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Temple | Aaron McKie | Temple (asst.) | 2 | 19–28 | 10–22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tulane | Ron Hunter | Georgia State | 2 | 22–31 | 8–26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tulsa | Frank Haith | Missouri | 7 | 127–87 | 74–50 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| UCF | Johnny Dawkins | Stanford | 5 | 94–60 | 48–42 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wichita State | Isaac Brown | Wichita State (asst.) | 1 | 16–6 | 11–2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* Overall and AAC records are from time at current school and are through the end of 2020–21 season. NCAA records include time at current school only.
* AAC records only, prior conference records not included.
* *In current job

## Preseason
### Preseason media poll

On October 28, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards
Coaches Poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Houston | 99 (9) |
| 2 | Memphis | 90 (2) |
| 3 | SMU | 80 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | 77 |
| 5 | South Florida | 61 |
| 6 | Tulsa | 50 |
| 7 | Wichita State | 44 |
| 8 | UCF | 37 |
| 9 | East Carolina | 34 |
| 10 | Temple | 18 |
| 11 | Tulane | 15 |

### Preseason All-AAC

| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | Caleb Mills, Houston |
| Preseason Rookie of the Year | Moussa Cissé, Memphis |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | Keith Williams, Cincinnati |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | Jayden Gardner, East Carolina* |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | Caleb Mills, Houston* |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | Kendric Davis, SMU |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | Brandon Rachal, Tulsa |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Chris Vogt, Cincinnati |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | D. J. Jeffries, Memphis |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Landers Nolley II, Memphis |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Alexis Yetna, USF |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Tyson Jolly, SMU |
| *Unanimous selections ||

## Regular season
### Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
| | Cincinnati | East Carolina | Houston | Memphis | SMU | South Florida | Temple | Tulane | Tulsa | UCF | Wichita State |
| vs. Cincinnati | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. East Carolina | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Houston | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| vs. Memphis | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| vs. SMU | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| vs. South Florida | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Temple | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. Tulane | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Tulsa | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. UCF | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 |
| vs. Wichita State | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | — |
| Total | 8–6 | 2–10 | 14–3 | 11–4 | 7–4 | 4–10 | 4–10 | 4–12 | 7–9 | 8–10 | 11–2 |

### Player of the week

Throughout the regular season, the American Athletic Conference named a player and rookie of the week.
| Week | Player of the week | Freshman of the week |
| Week 1 – Nov 30 | Marcus Sasser, Houston | Tramon Mark, Houston |
| Week 2 – Dec 7 | Kendric Davis, SMU | Tramon Mark (2), Houston |
| Week 3 – Dec 14 | David Collins, USF | Moussa Cissé, Memphis |
| Week 4 – Dec 21 | Brandon Mahan, UCF | Isaiah Adams, UCF |
| Week 5 – Dec 28 | Tyson Etienne, Wichita State | Caleb Murphy, USF |
| Week 6 – Jan 4 | Brandon Rachal, Tulsa | Caleb Murphy (2), USF |
| Week 7 – Jan 11 | Marcus Sasser (2), Houston | Ricky Council IV, Wichita State |
| Week 8 – Jan 18 | Morris Udeze, Wichita State | Damian Dunn, Temple |
| Week 9 – Jan 25 | Quentin Grimes, Houston | Moussa Cisse (2), Memphis |
| Week 10 – Feb 1 | Tyson Etienne (2), Wichita State | Tylan Pope, Tulane |
| Week 11 – Feb 8 | Jayden Gardner, East Carolina | Damian Dunn (2), Temple |
| Week 12 – Feb 15 | Kendric Davis (2), SMU | Jeremiah Williams, Temple |
| Week 13 – Feb 22 | Tyson Etienne (3), Wichita State | Isaiah Adams (2), UCF |
| Week 14 – Mar 1 | Quentin Grimes (2), Houston | Moussa Cisse (3), Memphis |
| Week 15 – Mar 8 | Dexter Dennis, Wichita State | Isaiah Adams (3), UCF |

### All-AAC Awards and Teams

| Honor | Recipient |
| Player of the Year | Quentin Grimes, Houston Tyson Etienne, Wichita State |
| Coach of the Year | Isaac Brown, Wichita State* |
| Freshman of the Year | Moussa Cissé, Memphis |
| Defensive Player of the Year | DeJon Jarreau, Houston |
| Most Improved Player | Justin Gorham, Houston |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Boogie Ellis, Memphis Darien Jackson, Tulsa |
| Sportsmanship Award | J. P. Moorman II, Temple |
| All-AAC First Team |
| All-AAC First Team | Jayden Gardner, East Carolina |
| All-AAC First Team | Quentin Grimes, Houston* |
| All-AAC First Team | Landers Nolley II, Memphis |
| All-AAC First Team | Kendric Davis, SMU* |
| All-AAC First Team | Tyson Etienne, Wichita State* |
| All-AAC Second Team |
| All-AAC Second Team | Keith Williams, Cincinnati |
| All-AAC Second Team | DeJon Jarreau, Houston |
| All-AAC Second Team | Justin Gorham, Houston |
| All-AAC Second Team | Marcus Sasser, Houston |
| All-AAC Second Team | Brandon Rachal, Tulsa |
| All-AAC Third Team |
| All-AAC Third Team | Brandon Mahan, UCF |
| All-AAC Third Team | Darius Perry, UCF |
| All-AAC Third Team | Feron Hunt, SMU |
| All-AAC Third Team | Khalif Battle, Temple |
| All-AAC Third Team | Jaylen Forbes, Tulane |
| All-AAC Third Team | Alterique Gilbert, Wichita State |
| All-Freshman Team |
| All-Freshman Team | Isaiah Adams, UCF |
| All-Freshman Team | Tari Eason, Cincinnati |
| All-Freshman Team | Moussa Cissé, Memphis |
| All-Freshman Team | Caleb Murphy, South Florida |
| All-Freshman Team | Damian Dunn, Temple |
| All-Freshman Team | Ricky Council IV, Wichita State |
| *Unanimous selections ||

## Postseason
### American Athletic Conference tournament

| First round Thursday, March 11 | First round Thursday, March 11 | First round Thursday, March 11 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 12 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 12 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 12 | Semifinals Saturday, March 13 | Semifinals Saturday, March 13 | Semifinals Saturday, March 13 | Championship Sunday, March 14 | Championship Sunday, March 14 | Championship Sunday, March 14 |
| | | | 1 | Wichita State | 68 | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | South Florida | 67 | | | | | | |
| 8 | South Florida | 73 | 8 | South Florida | 67 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Temple | 71 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Temple | 71 | | | | 1 | Wichita State | 59 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Cincinnati | 60 | | | |
| | | | 4 | SMU | 71 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Cincinnati | 74 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 5 | Cincinnati | 54 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | #7 Houston | 91 |
| | | | 2 | #7 Houston | 77 | | | | | | |
| | | | 10 | Tulane | 52 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Tulsa | 70 | 10 | Tulane | 52 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Tulane | 77 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Tulane | 77 | | | | 2 | #7 Houston | 76 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Memphis | 74 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Memphis | 70 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | UCF | 62 | | | | | | |
| 6 | UCF | 72 | 6 | UCF | 62 | | | | | | |
| 11 | East Carolina | 62 | | | | | | | | | |

### NCAA tournament

The winner of the 2021 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament, will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First round | Second round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 2 | Midwest | Houston | N/A | defeated (15) Cleveland State, 87–56 | defeated (10) Rutgers, 63–60 | defeated (11) Syracuse, 62–46 | defeated (12) Oregon State, 67–61 | eliminated by (1) Baylor, 59–78 | |
| 11 | West | Wichita State | eliminated by (11) Drake, 52–53 | | | | | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 0–1 (.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) Total: 4–2 (.667) |

### National Invitation tournament

| Seed | Bracket | School | First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| 1 | Memphis | Memphis | defeated (4) Dayton, 71–60 | defeated (2) Boise State, 59–56 | defeated (1) Colorado State, 90–67 | defeated (4) Mississippi State, 77–64 |
| 3 | Memphis | SMU | eliminated by (2) Boise State, 84–85 | | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 1–1 (.500) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) Total: 4–1 (.800) |

## NBA draft

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2021 NBA draft.
| Player | Position | School | Round | Pick | Team |
| Quentin Grimes | SG | Houston | 1 | 25 | Los Angeles Clippers |