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. 

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