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The quarterfinals of the AAC are set to get underway on Friday, March 11th. This looks like a two or three NCAA bid league, and it was all chalk with one exception on opening day.
As a reminder, the American Athletic Conference tournament is being held at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 1 Houston: 1:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Point Spread: Houston -12
Point Total: 133.5
Cincinnati battled to a big first-round victory over ECU. Unfortunately, they are rewarded with a date with the No. 1 seeded Houston Cougars. The Cougars finished the season ranked No. 18 and they went 15-3 in conference play. In the times these teams matched up in the regular season, Houston came away with a 22 and an 18 point victory.
The pick: Houston -12
No. 5 Tulane vs. No. 4 Temple: 3:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Point Spread: Tulane -1
Point Total: 136.5
The Green Wave and the Owls match up for the third time this year with the winner heading to the semifinals of the conference tournament. In the regular season, each team won their home game against the other. Tulane won the first matchup 92-83 in overtime. Temple responded with a 75-70 win as the season came to a close. This one is a pick’em and Temple is coming in off a win whereas Tulane lost their regular-season game.
The pick: Temple +1
No. 10 Tulsa vs. No. 2 SMU: 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Point Spread: SMU -7.5
Point Total: 139
Tulsa was able to upset Wichita State in the first round of the conference tourney. That gave the Golden Hurricane their fifth conference win of the entire season. The Mustangs picked up their fifth conference win of the season on January 20th. Tulsa is certainly going to leave it all on the line, but SMU beat them 74-69 and 75-61 in their two regular-season matchups.
The pick: SMU -7.5
No. 6 UCF vs. No. 3 Memphis: 9:00 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Point Spread: Memphis -8
Point Total: 144.5
UCF won a hard-fought battle against South Florida, but they were able to hold off the Bulls just enough. It doesn’t look like they will be heading for a national championship this year though as they now have to match up with Memphis. The Tigers had the third-best conference record in the American, and they had big wins over Alabama when they were ranked No. 6 and they beat Houston twice. UCF and Memphis split their regular-season series, but the Tigers get the edge in this one.
The pick: Under 144.5
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