AMERICAN
Should be in
Florida Atlantic Owls
A four-point road win against North Texas is just what the Owls needed heading into the regular-season finale at home against Memphis. Before beating the Mean Green, Dusty May's team had dropped three of its previous four away games (with the win coming in overtime at Wichita State). Projected No. 10 seed FAU turned this trend around at UNT thanks to 29 timely points from Johnell Davis. The junior made his name during the Owls' 2023 Final Four run, but if anything, Davis is underrated. His performance has reached another level in 2024. (updated March 6)
Work to do
South Florida Bulls
Because 23-5 South Florida has run away with the regular-season American title, mock brackets show the Bulls as an automatic qualifier. But can USF earn an at-large bid if it loses in the conference tournament? This is where the talk customarily turns to South Florida's low NET ranking. Who knows, maybe the committee members will look past that ranking as they did with Rutgers and its quite similar look in the NET in 2022. The committee is sovereign in such matters and the rest of us aren't in that room. What we do know, however, is that Amir Abdur-Rahim's group is finishing up the season with a date at Tulsa. (updated March 6)
Memphis Tigers
The Tigers are back in Bubble Watch after a wild 106-87 win at home over UAB. Penny Hardaway's team trailed by as many as 22 before outscoring the Blazers 60-26 in the second half. David Jones, Nae'Qwan Tomlin and Jahvon Quinerly combined for 85 points all by themselves. Memphis is 22-8 and about to visit Florida Atlantic in pursuit of a season sweep of the Owls. (updated March 3)