Houston vs. Memphis score: Tigers stun Cougars to win AAC Tournament, secure bid to NCAA Tournament

The Tigers removed all doubt about which side of the bubble they would end up on by winning the AAC

No. 1 seed Houston, the winner of the American Athletic Conference's regular-season race, fell flat on Sunday to No. 2 seed Memphis in a 75-65 stunner that awarded the Tigers the AAC Tournament championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Houston swept the regular-season series with Memphis and otherwise dominated in the AAC Tournament with 14-point and 21-point wins over East Carolina and Cincinnati, respectively, before stumbling against the Tigers.

Memphis nearly fell to UCF in its opener, but managed to ride a wave of momentum over Tulane and Houston in consecutive days to clinch its first conference tournament championship in a decade. It led for all but 54 seconds vs. the Cougars and ballooned its lead to as many as 20 before cruising to a win.

Houston (31-3) was without the services of star Marcus Sasser, who is recovering from a groin strain he suffered against the Bearcats. Sasser leads the Cougars in scoring and is having an All-American-caliber season. A timeline for his return remains unclear. 

The win for Memphis might be a win for the American since it clinches a spot for the Tigers in the NCAA Tournament and removes any doubt of it possibly falling on the wrong side of the bubble. Houston seems to have done well enough for itself to be able to survive the loss and still secure a No. 1 seed, though it may be close with Purdue and Texas in the mix.

Below is the full rundown of scores from the AAC Tournament.

2023 AAC Tournament schedule, scores

Location: Dickies Arena -- Fort Worth, Texas
Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)   | Follow live: CBS Sports App  

All times Eastern; some start times approximated

First round -- Thursday, March 9
Game 1:  No. 9 East Carolina 73, No. 8 South Florida 58 | Recap
Game 2: No. 7 UCF 76, No. 10 SMU 70 | Recap
Game 3: No. 6 Wichita State 81, No. 11 Tulsa 62 | Recap

Quarterfinals -- Friday, March 10
Game 4: No. 1 Houston 60, No. 9 East Carolina 46 | Recap
Game 5: No. 4 Cincinnati 84, No. 5 Temple 54 | Recap
Game 6: No. 2 Memphis 81, No. 7 UCF 76 | Recap
Game 7: No. 3 Tulane 82, No. 6 Wichita State 76 | Recap

Semifinals -- Saturday, March 11
Game 8: No. 1 Houston 69, No. 4 Cincinnati 48 | Recap
Game 9: No. 2 Memphis 94, No. 3 Tulane 54 | Recap

AAC Tournament Championship Game -- Sunday, March 12
Game 10: No. 2 Memphis 75, No. 1 Houston 65 | GameTracker

Follow below for updates, analysis and highlights throughout the AAC Tournament title game on Sunday. 

[Mar 11, 2023 at 8:03 pm ET · David Cobb]

Semifinals: Houston and Memphis advance

No. 1 seed Houston and No. 2 seed Memphis are set to tangle in the AAC Tournament title game on Sunday after both advanced with drama-free semifinal victories on Saturday. The Cougars beat Cincinnati 69-48 but may have suffered a key loss as AAC Player of the Year Marcus Sasser went down with a groin injury. Sasser is questionable for the title game, the program announced.

After losing twice to Tulane during the regular season, the Tigers throttled the Green Wave in semifinal action behind another huge game from Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams, who combined for 47 points. Coach Penny Hardaway built the Memphis roster around his veteran stars this season, and it has paid off.

[Mar 11, 2023 at 12:04 am ET · David Cobb]

Quarterfinals: Tulane 82, Wichita State 76

No. 3 seed Tulane rolled into the semifinals of the AAC Tournament with an 82-76 win over No. 6 seed Wichita State on Friday. Kevin Cross scored 24 to lead the Green Wave, and Jaylen Forbes added 19. The Green Wave will advance to play No. 2 seed Memphis in the semifinals after beating the Tigers twice during the regular season.

[Mar 10, 2023 at 9:28 pm ET · David Cobb]

Quarterfinals: Memphis 81, UCF 76

No. 2 seed Memphis got a combined 68 points from senior leaders Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams and escaped No. 7 seed UCF with an 81-76 win in the quarterfinals of the AAC Tournament. The Tigers will advance to play either Tulane or Wichita State in the semifinals on Saturday.

C.J. Kelly led UCF with 28 points, but the Knights couldn't overcome a 20-4 deficit in points off turnovers. It was a great performance from Memphis' veteran stars as coach Penny Hardaway's squad continues to stand out as the top challenger in the conference to No. 1 seed Houston.

[Mar 10, 2023 at 5:46 pm ET · David Cobb]

Quarterfinals: Cincinnati 84, Temple 54

No. 4 seed Cincinnati fell behind 16-6 to Temple early in their quarterfinal matchup but dominated from there. Dan Skillings Jr., Mika Adams-Woods and Landers Nolley III each reached 20 points for the Bearcats, who will play No. 1 seed Houston in the semifinals on Saturday.

Cincinnati hit 11 of 28 attempts from 3-point range and committed just seven turnovers. The Bearcats also enjoyed a 40-20 edge in paint points. Disappointing showing for Temple, which was the only AAC team to beat Houston this season.

[Mar 10, 2023 at 3:16 pm ET · Ben Kercheval]

Quarterfinals: Houston 60, East Carolina 49

No. 1 seed Houston began its postseason journey with a 60-49 victory over No. 9 seed East Carolina in the quarterfinals of the AAC Tournament on Friday. The Cougars led just 23-21 at halftime but began the second half on a 16-5 run to build separation. Marcus Sasser led the Cougars with 30 points.

Houston will play either Cincinnati or Temple in the semifinals as the Cougars seek to claim a spot in Sunday's title game. The program has won two straight conference tournament titles and is heavily favored to make it three straight before departing for the Big 12.

[Mar 9, 2023 at 9:03 pm ET · David Cobb]

First round: Wichita State 81, Tulsa 63

No. 6 seed Wichita State handled its business with a wire-to-wire win over No. 11 seed Tulsa, advancing to play No. 3 seed Tulane in Friday's quarterfinals. The Shockers got between 10 and 13 points from five different players and outscored Tulsa 48-24 in the paint. The looming matchup with the Green Wave could favor the Shockers, which won 83-76 at Tulane on Feb. 26.

[Mar 9, 2023 at 5:12 pm ET · David Cobb]

First round: UCF 76, SMU 70

What an impressive rally for No. 7 seed UCF, which trailed No. 10 seed SMU by 13 in the first half. The Golden Knights finished strong, advancing to play No. 2 seed Memphis in the quarterfinals on Friday. C.J. Kelly scored 21 to lead UCF, which benefitted from a 15-8 edge in points off turnovers. Rough end to the year for SMU in its first season under Rob Lanier.

[Mar 9, 2023 at 2:52 pm ET · David Cobb]

First round: East Carolina 73, USF 58

No. 9 seed East Carolina trailed by 10 points in the first half but more or less dominated from there as the Pirates roared back for a 73-58 win over No. 8 seed South Florida. Tyler Harris led the Bulls with 26 points, but this will be the end of the line for USF, which ends the season with a 14-18 record.

ECU now gets the pleasure of playing No. 1 seed Houston on Friday in the quarterfinals. The Cougars beat ECU 76-57 in their only meeting of the regular season back on Feb. 25.