# 2019–20 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season

The 2019–20 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2019 followed by the start of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. The conference held its media day in October 2019. Conference play began in December 2019 and concluded in March 2020.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

* Cincinnati hired former Northern Kentucky coach John Brannen after coach Mick Cronin departed for the same role at UCLA.
* Tulane fired Mike Dunleavy after 3 seasons and replaced him with former Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter.
* Temple head coach Fran Dunphy retired at the end of the 2018–19 season and was succeeded by assistant coach and Temple alum Aaron McKie.

### Coaches

| 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 | 1 | 20–10 | 13–5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Connecticut | Dan Hurley | Rhode Island | 2 | 35–29 | 16–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| East Carolina | Joe Dooley | Florida Gulf Coast | 7 | 78–93 | 8–27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Houston | Kelvin Sampson | Houston Rockets (asst.) | 6 | 138–59 | 71–37 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Memphis | Penny Hardaway | East HS | 2 | 43–24 | 21–15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SMU | Tim Jankovich | SMU (asst.) | 5 | 90–46 | 38–31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| South Florida | Brian Gregory | Michigan State (advisor) | 3 | 48–53 | 18–36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Temple | Aaron McKie | Temple (asst.) | 1 | 14–17 | 6–12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tulane | Ron Hunter | Georgia State | 1 | 12–18 | 4–14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tulsa | Frank Haith | Missouri | 6 | 116–76 | 67–41 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| UCF | Johnny Dawkins | Stanford | 4 | 83–48 | 40–32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wichita State | Gregg Marshall | Winthrop | 13 | 337–119 | 35–19 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
Notes:
* Overall and AAC records are from time at current school and are through the end of 2019–20 season. NCAA records include time at current school only.
* AAC records only, prior conference records not included.
* *In current job

## Preseason
### Preseason Coaches Poll

The AAC Coaches poll was released on October 14, 2019, with the Cougars predicted to finish first in the AAC.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| T–1 | Houston | 113 (7) |
| T–1 | Memphis | 113 (4) |
| 3 | Cincinnati | 94 (1) |
| 4 | Wichita State | 88 |
| 5 | USF | 79 |
| 6 | UConn | 75 |
| 7 | Temple | 72 |
| 8 | SMU | 47 |
| 9 | UCF | 40 |
| 10 | Tulsa | 36 |
| 11 | East Carolina | 20 |
| 12 | Tulane | 15 |

### Preseason All-AAC Teams

| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | Quinton Rose, Temple |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | DeJon Jarreau, Houston |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | James Wiseman, Memphis |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | Laquincy Rideau, USF |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Alexis Yetna, USF |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Jayden Gardner, ECU |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Nate Pierre-Louis, Temple |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Alterique Gilbert, UConn |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | David Collins, USF |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Christian Vital, UConn |
| Preseason Rookie of the Year | James Wiseman, Memphis |

## Regular season
### Rankings

Legend :
* Increase in ranking
* Decrease in ranking
* Not ranked previous week
| | | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| Memphis | AP | 14 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 21 | 22 | 20 | RV | | | | | | | |
| Memphis | C | 15 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 17T | 13 | 10 | 11 | 22 | 22 | 20 | RV | | | | | | | |
| Wichita State | AP | | | | | | | RV | RV | 24 | 23 | 16 | RV | 23 | RV | | | | | | |
| Wichita State | C | | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | 23 | 16 | 22 | 22 | RV | | | | | | |
| Houston | AP | RV | RV | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 21 | 25 | 20 | 22 | 25 | 21 | 22-T | 22 |
| Houston | C | RV | RV | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 20 | 25 | 19 | 22 | RV | 21 | 24 | 23 |
| Cincinnati | AP | RV | | | RV | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | | | | |
| Cincinnati | C | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | | | | |
| SMU | AP | | | | | RV | | | | | | | | RV | | | | | | | |
| SMU | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tulsa | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | | | | | | |
| Tulsa | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | | | | | |

### Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team will play 18 conference games: one game vs. four opponents and two games against seven opponents.
| | Cincinnati | Connecticut | East Carolina | Houston | Memphis | SMU | South Florida | Temple | Tulane | Tulsa | UCF | Wichita State |
| vs. Cincinnati | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Connecticut | 1–1 | – | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. East Carolina | 2–0 | 1–0 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Houston | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Memphis | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. SMU | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. South Florida | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Temple | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Tulane | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. Tulsa | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. UCF | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 |
| vs. Wichita State | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – |
| Total | 13–5 | 10–8 | 5–13 | 13–5 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 4–14 | 13–5 | 7–11 | 11–7 |
Note: table updated through end of 2019–20 season

### 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 | Rookie of the week |
| Week 1 – Nov 11 | Nate Pierre-Louis – Temple | James Wiseman – Memphis |
| Week 2 - Nov 18 | Brandon Rachal – Tulsa | Lester Quiñones – Memphis |
| Week 3 - Nov 25 | Precious Achiuwa – Memphis | James Bouknight – UConn |
| Week 4 - Dec 2 | Quinton Rose – Temple | Boogie Ellis – Memphis |
| Week 5 - Dec 9 | Quentin Grimes – Houston | Tyson Etienne – Wichita State |
| Week 6 - Dec 16 | Erik Stevenson – Wichita State | Caleb Mills – Houston |
| Week 7 - Dec 23 | Jayden Gardner – East Carolina | Precious Achiuwa – Memphis |
| Week 8 - Dec 30 | Fabian White Jr. – Houston | Grant Sherfield – Wichita State |
| Week 9 - Jan 6 | Erik Stevenson (2) – Wichita State | Precious Achiuwa (2) – Memphis |
| Week 10 - Jan 13 | Jayden Gardner (2) – East Carolina | Precious Achiuwa (3) – Memphis |
| Week 11 - Jan 20 | Brandon Rachal (2) – Tulsa | D. J. Jeffries – Memphis |
| Week 12 - Jan 27 | Martins Igbanu – Tulsa | Caleb Mills (2) – Houston |
| Week 13 - Feb 3 | Elijah Joiner – Tulsa | Precious Achiuwa (4) – Memphis |
| Week 14 - Feb 10 | James Bouknight – UConn | Darin Green Jr. – UCF |
| Week 15 - Feb 17 | Trevon Scott – Cincinnati | James Bouknight (2) – UConn |
| Week 16 - Feb 24 | Teshaun Hightower – Tulane | Precious Achiuwa (5) – Memphis |
| Week 17 - March 2 | Christian Vital – UConn | Marcus Sasser – Houston |
| Week 18 - March 9 | Christian Vital (2) – UConn | Precious Achiuwa (6) – Memphis |

## Honors and awards
### All-AAC Awards and Teams

| Honor | Recipient |
| Player of the Year | Precious Achiuwa, Memphis |
| Coach of the Year | Frank Haith, Tulsa |
| Freshman of the Year | Precious Achiuwa, Memphis |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Trevon Scott, Cincinnati |
| Most Improved Player | Trevon Scott, Cincinnati |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Martins Igbanu, Tulsa |
| Sportsmanship Award | Trevon Scott, Cincinnati |
| All-AAC First Team |
| All-AAC First Team | Precious Achiuwa, Memphis* |
| All-AAC First Team | Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati |
| All-AAC First Team | Martins Igbanu, Tulsa |
| All-AAC First Team | Trevon Scott, Cincinnati |
| All-AAC First Team | Christian Vital, UConn |
| All-AAC Second Team |
| All-AAC Second Team | Jaime Echenique, Wichita State |
| All-AAC Second Team | Jayden Gardner, East Carolina |
| All-AAC Second Team | Nate Hinton, Houston |
| All-AAC Second Team | Caleb Mills, Houston |
| All-AAC Second Team | Quinton Rose, Temple |
| All-AAC Third Team |
| All-AAC Third Team | James Bouknight, UConn |
| All-AAC Third Team | Kendric Davis, SMU |
| All-AAC Third Team | Tyson Jolly, SMU |
| All-AAC Third Team | Isiaha Mike, SMU |
| All-AAC Third Team | Brandon Rachal, Tulsa |
| All-Freshman Team |
| All-Freshman Team | Precious Achiuwa, Memphis* |
| All-Freshman Team | James Bouknight, UConn* |
| All-Freshman Team | Caleb Mills, Houston* |
| All-Freshman Team | Lester Quiñones, Memphis |
| All-Freshman Team | Marcus Sasser, Houston |
* Unanimous Selection

## Postseason
### American Athletic Conference tournament

Due to the coronavirus pandemic the tournament was cancelled on March 12, 2020 – only minutes before the first game was set to begin.
| First round Thursday, March 12 | First round Thursday, March 12 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 13 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 13 |
| | | 1 | Cincinnati |
| 8 | UCF | | |
| 9 | South Florida | | |
| | | 4 | Wichita State |
| 5 | UConn | | |
| 12 | Tulane | | |
| | | 2 | #22 Houston |
| 7 | SMU | | |
| 10 | Temple | | |
| | | 3 | Tulsa |
| 6 | Memphis | | |
| 11 | East Carolina | | |

### NCAA Tournament

On March 12, the tournament, as well as all other postseason tournaments for the remainder of the academic season, was cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It was the first time the tournament had been cancelled since its creation in 1939.

## NBA draft

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2020 NBA draft.
| Player | Position | School | Round | Pick | Team |
| James Wiseman | C | Memphis | 1 | 2 | Golden State Warriors |
| Precious Achiuwa | PF | Memphis | 1 | 20 | Miami Heat |