Huskies Seeded No. 1 in AAC Tournament

By Bob Phillips

UNCASVILLE—For the sixth consecutive season, the University of Connecticut Huskies find themselves in a familiar position as the top seed in The American Athletic Conference women’s basketball championship tournament. The tournament will held from March 8-11 at the Mohegan Sun Arena, with the winner garnering an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies have never lost a conference game—regular season or tournament—since joining The American in 2013.

The tournament field is based on regular-season league records with the top four seeds earning first-round byes.

• No. 1 UConn (28-2 Overall, 16-0 American) clinched its sixth-consecutive regular season title last week and closed out with a 57-47 win over USF on Monday evening. The Huskies will play on Sat., March 9 at 2 p.m. ET against the winner of No. 8 ECU and No. 9 SMU.
• No. 2 UCF (24-5, 13-3) posted its highest win total as a Division I program with 24 victories. The Knights await the winner of No. 7 Tulsa and No. 10 Wichita State on Sat., March 9 at 6 p.m. ET.
• No. 3 Cincinnati (20-9, 12-4) earned its highest championship seed since joining The American and achieved its highest conference win total with a road victory at Tulane on Monday. The Bearcats will meet the winner of No. 6 Temple and No. 11 Memphis on Sat., March 9 at 8 p.m. ET.
• No. 4 Houston (15-14, 9-7) also claimed its highest-ever seed as a member of The American. The Cougars earned the final first-round bye and are scheduled to face the winner of No. 5 USF and No. 12 Tulane on Sat., March 9 at Noon ET.
• No. 5 USF (16-14, 7-9) claimed the No. 5 seed thanks to a 63-53 victory over Temple on Jan. 5. The Bulls will open the championship on Friday, March 8, tipping off against No. 12 Tulane at Noon ET.
• No. 6 Temple (11-18, 7-9) rounds out the top half of the seeds after earning an 84-53 against Memphis to close the regular season. The Owls will play 11^th-seeded Memphis again on Friday, March 8, with tip scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
• No. 7 Tulsa (12-17, 6-10) edged ECU for the seventh-seed thanks to a victory over Temple during the regular season. The Golden Hurricane will face a rematch with No. 10 Wichita State on Fri., March 8 at 6 p.m. ET after falling to the Shockers in the final regular season contest.
• No. 8 ECU (15-14, 6-10) will meet No. 9 SMU at 2 p.m. ET on Fri., March 8. The winner will advance to meet No. 1 UConn in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
• No. 9 SMU (11-18, 5-11) secured the No. 9 seed following a win over USF in the teams’ lone meeting this season. The Mustangs will open the championship against No. 8 ECU on Fri., March 8 at 2 p.m. ET.
• No. 10 Wichita State (12-17, 5-11) is the No. 10 seed after defeating Tulsa to close the regular season on Monday. The Shockers will meet the Golden Hurricane again on Fri., March 8 at 6 p.m. ET.
• No. 11 Memphis (10-19, 5-11) earns the No. 11 seed thanks to a win over USF in the regular season. The Tigers will play in Fri., March 8’s first round game against No. 6 Temple, with tip slated for 8 p.m. ET.
• No. 12 Tulane (15-14, 5-11) opens tournament play on Fri., March 8 at noon ET and will play No. 5 USF to begin the Championship.

Individual session tickets may be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Arena box office, which is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Wed., 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs. and Fri., noon- 8 p.m. on Sat. and noon-6 p.m. on Sun. Tickets are also available  online at www.MoheganSun.com or www.Ticketmaster.com, by telephone at (800) 745-3000, or through the ticket offices of all 12 American Athletic Conference institutions.

Ticket packages, which include admission to all four days of competition (a total of 11 games) are available for $109, representing more than 30 percent off the face value of individual session tickets. In addition, discounts for groups of 10 or more people is available. For more information on those packages, contact the Connecticut Sun Group Sales Department at (860) 862-4000.

Fans unable to attend can catch the entire tournament on ESPN platforms, including ESPN3, ESPNU and ESPN2. For more information on and continuing coverage of the American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship, please visit Championship Central at www.theamerican.org/wbb.

2019 American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship

March 8-11, 2019
Mohegan Sun Arena • Uncasville, Conn.
All Times Eastern

First Round – Friday, March 8

No. 5 USF vs. No. 12 Tulane                                                   Noon (ESPN3)
No. 8 ECU vs. No. 9 SMU                                                        2 p.m. (ESPN3)
No. 7 Tulsa vs. No. 10 Wichita State                                    6 p.m. (ESPN3)
No. 6 Temple vs. No. 11 Memphis                                       8 p.m. (ESPN3)                                                      

Quarterfinals – Saturday, March 9

5/12 winner vs. No. 4 Houston                                              noon (ESPN3)
8/9 winner vs. No. 1 UConn                                                    2 p.m. (ESPN3)
7/10 winner vs. No. 2 UCF                                                       6 p.m. (ESPN3)
6/11 winner vs. No. 3 Cincinnati                                            8 p.m. (ESPN3)

Semfinals – Sunday, March 10

Saturday afternoon winners                                                  4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Saturday evening winners                                                      6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Championship – Monday, March 10
Semifinal winners                                                                      7 p.m. (ESPN2)

—with staff reports