USF has gone from the AP Top 25 but the American Athletic Conference is without a ranked team. The Bulls play in the AAC Tournament on Friday against the ECU/Tulsa winner.

0
769
USF GUARD CHRIS YOUNGBLOOD - USF - SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
South Florida Bulls during a men's basketball game against the Central Michigan University Chippewas on November 15, 2023. (Chris Henry/South Florida Athletics)

Saturday the 24th-ranked South Florida Bulls played one of their worst games of the season losing on the road to Tulsa 76-70 ending the team’s nation’s leading 15 winning streak. So, today as the Monday AP rankings were released it wasn’t a surprise to see that the Bulls were not ranked.

South Florida will be heading to Ft. Worth here it looks like they might have to win the AAC tournament to assure themselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, the bracket is set for the 2024 American Men’s Basketball Championship, to be held March 13-17 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
 
South Florida (23-6, 16-2 American) is the No. 1 seed in the American Championship for the first time. The Bulls will face the winner of East Carolina and Tulsa on Friday, March 15 at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT.
 
Florida Atlantic (24-7, 14-4) claimed the No. 2 seed and will play in against the North Texas/Tulane winner on March 15 at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT.
 
Charlotte (19-11, 13-5) is the No. 3 seed will play in a quarterfinal on March 15 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT. No. 6 SMU (20-11, 11-7) will face the winner of Temple and UTSA on Thursday, March 14 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT with the winner facing Charlotte.
 
UAB (20-11, 12-6) earned the No. 4 seed with a win over SMU in the regular-season finale on March 10. The Blazers will play in a quarterfinal on March 15 at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT. No. 5 Memphis (22-9, 11-7) will face the winner of Wichita State and Rice on March 14 at 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT.
 
The first round of the Championship will take place on Wednesday, March 13 at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT with Rice and Wichita State followed by Temple and UTSA.
 
The latest tournament information can be found at Championship Central at www.TheAmerican.org/mbb.
 
2024 American Men’s Basketball Championship Schedule
Wednesday, March 13
Game 1 – No. 13 Rice vs. No. 12 Wichita State – 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT | ESPN+
Game 2 – No. 14 UTSA vs. No. 11 Temple – 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT | ESPN+
 
Thursday, March 14
Game 3 – No. 9 Tulsa vs. No. 8 East Carolina – 12:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. CT | ESPNU
Game 4 – Game 1 winner vs. No. 5 Memphis – 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT | ESPNU
Game 5 – No. 10 Tulane vs. No. 7 North Texas – 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT | ESPNU
Game 6 – Game 2 winner vs. No. 6 SMU – 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT | ESPNU
 
Friday, March 15
Game 7 – Game 3 winner vs. No. 1 South Florida – 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT | ESPN2
Game 8 – Game 4 winner vs. No. 4 UAB – 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT | ESPN2
Game 9 – Game 5 winner vs. No. 2 Florida Atlantic – 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT | ESPNU
Game 10 – Game 6 winner vs. No. 3 Charlotte – 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT | ESPNU
 
Saturday, March 16
Game 11 – Semifinal 1, Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner – 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT | ESPN2
Game 12 – Semifinal 2, Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner – 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT | ESPN2
 
Sunday, March 17
Game 13 – Championship, Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner – 3:15 p.m. ET/2:15 p.m. CT | ESPN