# 2017–18 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season

The 2017–18 American Athletic Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2017 followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. The conference held its media day in October 2017. Conference play begin in December 2017 and concluded on March 3, 2018.
Cincinnati won the regular season championship by two games over Houston and Wichita State. The American Athletic tournament was held at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida from March 8–11, 2018. Cincinnati also won the AAC tournament championship, defeating Houston in the championship game.
Cincinnati's Gary Clark was named the AAC player of the year while Houston's Kelvin Sampson was named coach of the year.
Cincinnati, Houston, and Wichita State all received bids to the NCAA tournament, but none made it past the Second Round as the conference went 2–3 in the Tournament.
Temple received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament, but lost in the first round.
The season marked the first season with Wichita State as a member of the AAC, having joined on July 1, 2017. As a result, the conference included 12 teams for the first time.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

South Florida head coach Orlando Antigua was fired after the first 13 games of the 2016–17 season amid academic fraud allegations. Interim head coach Murry Bartow coach was not retained by the school following the season. On March 14, 2017, the school hired Brian Gregory as the next head coach.

### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | AAC record | AAC titles | NCAA tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
| Cincinnati | Mick Cronin | Murray State | 12 | 268–140 | 72–18 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Connecticut | Kevin Ollie | Connecticut (asst.) | 6 | 127–79 | 49–41 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| East Carolina | Jeff Lebo | Auburn | 8 | 124–138 | 20–52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Houston | Kelvin Sampson | Houston Rockets (asst.) | 4 | 81–48 | 42–32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Memphis | Tubby Smith | Texas Tech | 2 | 38–26 | 19–17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SMU | Tim Jankovich | SMU (asst.) | 3 | 58–21 | 23–13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| South Florida | Brian Gregory | Michigan State (advisor) | 1 | 10–22 | 3–15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Temple | Fran Dunphy | Penn | 12 | 247–152 | 46–44 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Tulane | Mike Dunleavy | Los Angeles Clippers | 2 | 20–42 | 8–28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tulsa | Frank Haith | Missouri | 4 | 77–52 | 46–26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| UCF | Johnny Dawkins | Stanford | 2 | 43–25 | 20–16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wichita State | Gregg Marshall | Winthrop | 11 | 286–98 | 14–4 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
Notes:
* Overall and AAC records are from time at current school and are through the end of 2017–18 season. NCAA records include time at current school only.
* AAC records are only from 2013–14 season to present, prior conference records not included.

## Preseason
### Preseason Coaches Poll

AAC Media Day took place October 15, 2017, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cincinnati was picked to win the conference's regular season (seven votes) with Wichita State a close second (five votes).
| Rank | Team |
| 1. | Cincinnati (7) |
| 2. | Wichita State (5) |
| 3. | UCF |
| 4. | SMU |
| 5. | Connecticut |
| 6. | Houston |
| 7. | Temple |
| 8. | Tulsa |
| 9. | Memphis |
| 10. | Tulane |
| 11. | East Carolina |
| 12. | USF |
first place votes in parentheses

### Preseason All-AAC teams

| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | Shake Milton, SMU |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | Shake Milton, SMU |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | Jalen Adams, Connecticut |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | Rob Gray, Houston |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | Landry Shamet, Wichita State |
| Preseason All-AAC First Team | B. J. Taylor, UCF |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Gary Clark, Cincinnati |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Junior Etou, Tulsa |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Jacob Evans, Cincinnati |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Tacko Fall, UCF |
| Preseason All-AAC Second Team | Kyle Washington, Cincinnati |
| Preseason Rookie of the Year | Alterique Gilbert, Connecticut |

## 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 |
| Cincinnati | AP | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 17 | 25 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | |
| Cincinnati | C | 13 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 17 | RV | 22 | 22 | 20 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Connecticut | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Connecticut | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| East Carolina | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| East Carolina | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Houston | AP | | | | | | RV | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 25 | 21 | 21 | |
| Houston | C | | | | | | RV | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | 23 | RV | 21 | 19 | 22 |
| Memphis | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Memphis | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| SMU | AP | RV | RV | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| SMU | C | RV | | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| South Florida | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| South Florida | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Temple | AP | | | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Temple | C | | | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tulane | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tulane | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tulsa | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tulsa | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UCF | AP | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UCF | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wichita State | AP | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 16 | 22 | 19 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 16 | |
| Wichita State | C | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 25 |

### Conference matrix

| | Cincinnati | Connecticut | East Carolina | Houston | Memphis | SMU | South Florida | Temple | Tulane | Tulsa | UCF | Wichita State |
| vs. Cincinnati | — | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| vs. Connecticut | 2–0 | — | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. East Carolina | 1–0 | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Houston | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Memphis | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. SMU | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. South Florida | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Temple | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Tulane | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Tulsa | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0– | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. UCF | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 |
| vs. Wichita State | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — |
| Total | 14–2 | 6–10 | 4–12 | 12–4 | 9–7 | 6–10 | 1–15 | 8–8 | 5–11 | 10–6 | 8–8 | 13–3 |

### Player of the week

Throughout the regular season, the American Athletic Conference named a player and rookie of the week.
| Week | Player(s) of the week | Rookie of the week |
| November 13, 2017 | Shake Milton, SMU | Ethan Chargois, SMU |
| November 20, 2017 | Melvin Frazier, Tulane | Ceasar DeJesus, UCF |
| November 27, 2017 | Gary Clark, Cincinnati | Fabian White Jr., Houston |
| December 4, 2017 | Shake Milton (2), SMU | Shawn Williams, ECU |
| December 11, 2017 | Landry Shamet, Wichita State | Jamal Johnson, Memphis |
| December 18, 2017 | Jacob Evans, Cincinnati | Ethan Chargois (2), SMU |
| December 26, 2017 | Tacko Fall, UCF | David Nickelberry, Memphis |
| January 2, 2018 | Junior Etou, Tulsa | Ceasar DeJesus (2), UCF |
| January 8, 2018 | Jacob Evans (2), Cincinnati | Ceasar DeJesus (3), UCF |
| January 15, 2018 | Jeremiah Martin, Memphis | Nate Pierre-Louis, Temple |
| January 22, 2018 | Shake Milton (3), SMU Gary Clark (2), Cincinnati | Shawn Williams (2), ECU |
| January 29, 2018 | Gary Clark (3), Cincinnati | Fabian White Jr. (2), Houston |
| February 5, 2018 | Junior Etou (2), Tulsa | Shawn Williams (3), ECU |
| February 12, 2018 | Armoni Brooks, Houston | J. P. Moorman II, Temple |
| February 19, 2018 | Shaquille Morris, Wichita State | Shawn Williams (4), ECU |
| February 26, 2018 | Raynere Thornton, Memphis | Caleb Daniels, Tulane |
| March 5, 2018 | Rob Gray, Houston | David Collins, USF |

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

| Honor | Recipient |
| Player of the Year | Gary Clark, Cincinnati |
| Coach of the Year | Kelvin Sampson, Houston |
| Scholar-Athlete of the Year | Obi Enechionyia, Temple |
| Rookie of the Year | Shawn Williams, East Carolina |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Gary Clark, Cincinnati |
| Most Improved Player | Melvin Frazier, Tulane |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Armoni Brooks, Houston |
| Sportsmanship Award | Gary Clark, Cincinnati |
| All-AAC First Team |
| All-AAC First Team | Gary Clark, Cincinnati* |
| All-AAC First Team | Jacob Evans, Cincinnati |
| All-AAC First Team | Rob Gray, Houston |
| All-AAC First Team | Landry Shamet, Wichita State |
| All-AAC First Team | Shaquille Morris, Wichita State |
| All-AAC Second Team |
| All-AAC Second Team | Jalen Adams, Connecticut |
| All-AAC Second Team | Junior Etou, Tulsa |
| All-AAC Second Team | Melvin Frazier, Tulane |
| All-AAC Second Team | Jeremiah Martin, Memphis |
| All-AAC Second Team | Shake Milton, SMU |
| All-AAC Honorable Mention |
| All-AAC Honorable Mention | A. J. Davis, UCF |
| All-AAC Honorable Mention | Quinton Rose, Temple |
| All-AAC Honorable Mention | Kyle Washington, Cincinnati |
| All-Rookie Team |
| All-Rookie Team | Ethan Chargois, F, SMU |
| All-Rookie Team | David Collins, G, USF |
| All-Rookie Team | Nate Pierre-Louis, G, Temple |
| All-Rookie Team | Fabian White Jr., F, Houston |
| All-Rookie Team | Shawn Williams, G, ECU* |
* Unanimous Selection

## Postseason
### American Athletic Conference tournament

| First round Thursday, March 8 | First round Thursday, March 8 | First round Thursday, March 8 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 9 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 9 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 9 | Semifinals Saturday, March 10 | Semifinals Saturday, March 10 | Semifinals Saturday, March 10 | Championship Sunday, March 11 | Championship Sunday, March 11 | Championship Sunday, March 11 |
| | | | 1 | Cincinnati | 61 | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | SMU | 51 | | | | | | |
| 8 | UConn | 73 | 9 | SMU | 51 | | | | | | |
| 9 | SMU | 80 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | SMU | 80 | | | | 1 | Cincinnati | 70 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Memphis | 60 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Tulsa | 64 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Memphis | 67 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Memphis | 79 | 5 | Memphis | 67 | | | | | | |
| 12 | South Florida | 77 | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | South Florida | 77 | | | | | | | 1 | Cincinnati | 56 |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | Houston | 55 |
| | | | 2 | Wichita State | 89 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Temple | 81 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Temple | 82 | 7 | Temple | 81 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Tulane | 77 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Tulane | 77 | | | | 2 | Wichita State | 74 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Houston | 77 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Houston | 84 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | UCF | 56 | | | | | | |
| 6 | UCF | 66 | 6 | UCF | 56 | | | | | | |
| 11 | East Carolina | 52 | | | | | | | | | |

### NCAA tournament

The winner of the AAC tournament, Cincinnati, received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First round | Second round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 2 | South | Cincinnati | N/A | defeated (15) Georgia State 68–53 | eliminated by (7) Nevada 73–75 | | | | |
| 4 | East | Wichita State | N/A | eliminated by (13) Marshall 75–81 | | | | | |
| 6 | West | Houston | N/A | defeated (11) San Diego State 67–65 | eliminated by (3) Michigan 63–64 | | | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 2–1 (.667) | 0–2 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 2–3 (.400) |

### NIT

Temple received an at-large bid to the NIT.
| Seed | Bracket | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| 5 | Notre Dame | Temple | eliminated by (4) Penn State 57–63 | | | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 0–1 (.000) |

## NBA draft

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2018 NBA draft.
| Player | Position | School | Round | Pick | Team |
| Landry Shamet | PG | Wichita State | 1 | 26 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Jacob Evans | SG | Cincinnati | 1 | 28 | Golden State Warriors |
| Melvin Frazier | SF | Tulane | 2 | 35 | Orlando Magic |
| Shake Milton | PG | SMU | 2 | 54 | Dallas Mavericks |