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The 2017 American Athletic Conference Tournament is set to run from Thursday, March 9 through Sunday, March 12 at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. This is just the fourth ever AAC Tournament, but don’t let its newness fool you. These schools can definitely play, as SMU is ranked 12th in the country and Cincinnati is ranked 15th.
Even though there are 11 teams in the AAC Tournament field, it will most likely be a two-team race between SMU and Cincinnati. The Mustangs won the regular season title and earned the #1 seed by posting a gaudy 17-1 record in conference play.
The Bearcats were right on their heels, finishing in second place and getting the #2 seed with a 16-2 AAC record. SMU and Cincinnati split their two regular season meetings, with each team winning at home and losing on the road.
Now that we know a little bit about the conference’s top dogs, let’s breakdown the bracket and schedule of the 2017 AAC Tournament.
2017 AAC Tournament Bracket
AAC2017 AAC Tournament Schedule
Thursday, March 9 (First Round)
Game 1 – #8 Temple vs. #9 East Carolina at 3:30 P.M. ET on ESPNU
Game 2 – #7 Tulsa vs. #10 Tulane at 6:00 P.M. ET on ESPNews
Game 3 – #6 UConn vs. #11 USF at 8:00 P.M. ET on ESPNews
Friday, March 10 (Quarterfinals)
Game 4 – #1 SMU vs. Game 1 Winner at 12:00 P.M. ET on ESPN2
Game 5 – #4 UCF vs. #5 Memphis at 2:00 P.M. ET on ESPN2
Game 6 – #2 Cincinnati vs. Game 2 Winner at 7:00 P.M. ET on ESPNU
Game 7 – #3 Houston vs. Game 3 Winner at 9:00 P.M. ET on ESPNU
Saturday, March 11 (Semifinals)
Game 8 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner at 3:00 P.M. ET on ESPN2
Game 9 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner at 5:00 P.M. ET on ESPN2
Sunday, March 12 (Championship)
Game 10 – Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner at 3:15 P.M. ET on ESPN
