The Houston Cougars proved best in the American Athletic Conference. The Cougars must prove best again in the AAC Tournament to have any shot at a 3-seed or higher in the NCAA Tournament. Can Houston beat rivals UCF and Cincinnati and claim the AAC Tournament crown? Let’s see what the 2019 AAC Conference Championship odds have to say about that!
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2019 AAC Conference Championship Odds, Printable Bracket, Predictions & Picks
ICYMI – The latest national polls were announced yesterday and #AmericanHoops has four teams in the mix.@UHCougarMBK – #11 (AP) / #10 (USA Today)@GoBearcatsMBB – #24 (AP) / #23 (USA Today)@UCF_MBB – receiving votes (AP & USA Today)@TUMBBHoops – receiving votes (AP) pic.twitter.com/MdaoeGBHID
— American MBB (@American_MBB) 12 de marzo de 2019
Odds to Win the 2019 AAC Conference Championship
- Houston +110
- Cincinnati +260
- UCF +490
- Temple +770
- Memphis +820
- Wichita State +2400
- SMU +4400
- Connecticut +4600
- Tulsa +7000
- South Florida +7500
- East Carolina +14100
- Tulane +16500
Which of the favorites deserves backing to win the 2019 AAC Conference Championship?
Surprisingly, the AAC is one of the deeper conferences this season. It’s most definitely a better conference than the Pac 12 while the Big 12 has a real top team in the Texas Tech Red Raiders. In the AAC, Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF have battled all season long. All 3 should have done enough for bids to the Big Dance. Temple, Memphis, and Wichita State are worthy of consideration from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee as well.
When it comes to the American Athletic Conference Tournament, the Houston Cougars might be a standout, though. Kelvin Sampson’s squad surprised many by going 15-0 on the moneyline in their first 15 games. The Cougars even beat a top squad like LSU 82-76 during the 15-0 game streak.
Houston’s only lost 2 games this season, 69-73 at Temple on Jan. 9, and 64-69 to UCF on March 2. To tell you what a quality squad the Cougars are, they followed up the loss to the Central Florida Knights with a 90-79 win over Southern Methodist and an impressive 85-69 road win over ranked Cincinnati as a +2.5 dog.
The Houston Cougars enter the American Athletic Conference ranked 10th in the nation, have one of the top defenses in college hoops, they allow 28.3% from three and 37.4% from the field, and should dominate the conference tournament.
Of the less than +2400 choices, which team has the best shot of upsetting the favorites?
Cincinnati’s 25-6, UCF’s 23-7, and Temple’s 23-8, but the Owls offer +770 odds to win the tournament while both Cincinnati and UCF offer underlay odds to win. That doesn’t make sense.
Temple beat Houston 73-69. They took down UCF 67-62 while they only lost by 4 to Cincinnati 68-72. The Owls have the best shot of upsetting Houston and winning the AAC Tournament.
Does Tulsa, South Florida, East Carolina, or Tulane have any chance of winning the AAC Tournament?
Not really. Tulsa’s the best team of the 4, but the Golden Hurricane would need a ton of luck to get close to the tournament championship. Decent teams like Wichita State and Memphis are likely to end Tulsa’s dream of an American Athletic Conference Tournament trophy before it began while if they get past teams like Memphis and Wichita State, they’ll have to deal with a much better team like Houston, UCF, Temple, or Cincinnati.
The AAC is deep this season. Tulsa’s the only real longshot with a chance. They don’t have much of a chance of winning the conference tournament, though.
