The American Announces 2018-19 Men’s Basketball Conference Schedule

September 19, 2018

The American Athletic Conference announced its 2018-19 men’s basketball conference schedule which tips off after New Year’s Day with 10 teams in action on January 2. All 108 conference games will be carried on ESPN and CBS networks this season.

In total, 81 league games are set to air on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews or ESPN3 with 27 contests on CBS or CBS Sports Network.

Further highlighting a competitive slate for The American are 26 other nonconference television matchups that already have been announced with more to be released in the coming weeks. Nonleague TV matchups already feature 15 games against NCAA Tournament participants, four against Elite 8 teams and two contests against 2018 national champion Villanova.

The American is coming off a record-breaking season. The league secured its highest seeds in the NCAA Tournament as Cincinnati and Wichita State secured No. 2 and No. 4 seeds, respectively, along with Houston as No. 6 seed. All three teams were ranked in the final USA Today’s Coaches Poll (Cincinnati – 12, Houston – 22, Wichita State – 25).

Cincinnati and head coach Mick Cronin aim for their ninth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament as they boast the fifth-longest streak in the nation. Just behind is head coach Gregg Marshall and Wichita State, which have made the tournament in seven-straight seasons.

American play tips with five different games to start the New Year. Tulane at Cincinnati and UConn at USF air on CBS Sports Network, while Temple at UCF, Tulsa at Houston and ECU at SMU play on the ESPN family of networks.

In a rematch of the 2018 American Athletic Conference championship game, Houston hosts Cincinnati Sunday, February 10, at 3 p.m. Central Time, on ESPN. The two teams will square off again in the final regular-season contest for both squads, Sunday, March 10 at 11 a.m. CT, on CBS. Both teams open newly-renovated facilities for the 2018-19 season in Cincinnati’s Fifth Third Arena and Houston’s Fertitta Center.

Wichita State welcomes Cincinnati Saturday, January 19, at 1 p.m. CT, for a matchup on CBS. The Shockers and the Bearcats will show down again in Cincinnati Sunday, February 17, on ESPN, at 11 a.m. CT.

Three new head coaches will make their debuts in The American in 2019. UConn’s Dan Hurley leads the Huskies to USF on the first day of league competition (1/2/19) on CBSSN as will ECU’s returning Joe Dooley, when the Pirates face SMU on ESPN3. Memphis’ Penny Hardaway coaches his first American game the next night, Thursday, January 3, as the Tigers host Wichita State on CBSSN.

Temple’s Fran Dunphy, the all-time winningest coach in Philadelphia Big 5 history, returns for his 13th and final season as head coach of the Owls and tips league play on ESPNews against UCF, Wednesday, January 2, against Johnny Dawkins and UCF.

The American Athletic Conference Championship returns to FedExForum in Memphis, TN, March 14-17. FedExForum Forum was site of the inaugural American championship tournament in 2014.

Noteworthy Nonconference Television Games

Day	Date	Matchup	Central Time)	Network	Event / Location
Wed.	Nov. 7	Ohio State at Cincinnati	5 p.m.	ESPN2
Fri.	Nov. 9	Wichita State vs. Providence	5 p.m.	CBSSN	Veterans Classic (Annapolis, MD)
Tue.	Nov. 20	SMU vs. Bradley	5 p.m.	CBSSN	Cancun Challenge (Cancun, Mexico)
Thu.	Nov. 22	Tulsa vs. Nevada	2 p.m.	FS1	Las Vegas Holiday Classic (Las Vegas)
Fri.	Nov. 23	Cincinnati vs. George Mason	6 p.m.	CBSSN	Emerald Coast Classic (Niceville, FL)
Thu.	Nov. 29	Alabama at UCF	6 p.m.	ESPNU
Sat.	Dec. 1	Temple at Saint Joseph’s	4:30 p.m.	NBCSN
Sat.	Dec. 1	Cincinnati at UNLV	5 p.m.	CBSSN
Sat.	Dec. 1	Baylor at Wichita State	7 p.m.	CBSSN
Sat.	Dec. 1	Oregon at Houston	8 p.m.	ESPN2
Sun.	Dec. 2	Arizona at UConn	12 p.m.	ESPN2
Wed.	Dec. 5	Oklahoma State at Tulsa	7 p.m.	CBSSN
Wed.	Dec. 5	Temple at Villanova	7:30 p.m.	FS1
Wed.	Dec. 5	TCU at SMU	9 p.m.	ESPNU
Sat.	Dec. 8	Xavier at Cincinnati	1 p.m.	ESPN2
Sat.	Dec. 8	Kansas State at Tulsa	3:30 p.m.	CBSSN
Sat.	Dec. 8	Florida State vs. UConn	5 p.m.	ESPN2	Never Forget Tribute Classic (Newark, NJ)
Wed.	Dec. 12	LSU at Houston	8 p.m.	ESPN2
Sat.	Dec. 15	Tennessee at Memphis	11 a.m.	ESPN2
Sat.	Dec. 15	SMU at Georgetown	11 a.m.	FS1
Sat.	Dec. 15	Southern Miss at Wichita State	4:30 p.m.	CBSSN
Sun.	Dec. 16 <	Saint Louis at Houston	2 p.m.	ESPNU
Wed.	Dec. 19	UCLA at Cincinnati	8 p.m.	ESPN2
Sat.	Dec. 22	Wichita State at VCU	3 p.m.	ESPN2
Sat.	Dec. 22	Villanova vs. UConn	3 p.m.	MSG	at Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)
Sat.	Jan. 19	Penn at Temple	4 p.m.	CBSSN

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