The 2025 AAC Women’s Basketball Tournament is slated to tip off in DFW this week. Here’s a preview of the action.
The Favorite: UTSA
Sitting at 26-3 overall and a staggering 17-1 in conference play, UTSA hasn’t lost a game since January and their only loss in the state of Texas, where the 2025 AAC Tournament will be played, came in their opening game at Texas A&M. With no guarantees the Roadrunners will receive an at-large bid, this team should be plenty motivated to finish what they started and a tournament championship to their regular season title.
The Contenders: North Texas, South Florida
South Florida has been to the NCAA Tournament three times in the last four years and was the only AAC squad to beat UTSA in the regular season. As for North Texas, the Mean Green tied their own program record this season with 23 victories. Either might be a front runner in a typical season and each is perfectly capable of taking home the title this year.
The Dark Horse: Tulsa
Winners of the regular season championship a year ago, Tulsa finished fifth in the standings this time around but is playing their best basketball right now. The Golden Hurricane have won their last five games, including a victory over South Florida at home. If there’s a good bet outside of the upper tier of the standings, Tulsa is the pick.
The Wild Card: Rice
It was only a season ago that 10-Seed Rice ripped off four straight victories in this tournament to punch a their ticket to the Big Dance. This year’s squad has faced similar regular season struggles, but retains the core pieces like Malia Fisher, Dominque Ennis and Sussy Ngulefac who made last season’s run possible. Can lightning strike twice?
The Bracket
The opening play-in game will take place on Saturday, March 8, with first full day of action set for Sunday, March 9. Here is the slate for the first two days. The full schedule is available on the conference website. All early-round games can be streamed on ESPN+, with the championship on ESPNU.
First Round | Saturday, March 8 (Super Pit in Denton, TX)
Game 1: No. 13 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 12 Charlotte – 12 p.m. CT
Second Round | Sunday, March 9 (Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX)
Game 2: No. 9 Rice vs. No. 8 UAB – 12 p.m. CT
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. No. 5 Tulsa – 2 p.m. CT
Game 4: No. 10 Memphis vs. No. 7 East Carolina – 6 p.m. CT
Game 5: No. 11 Wichita State vs. No. 6 Tulane – 8 p.m. CT
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭🏆
— The American (@American_Conf) March 5, 2025
The field is set for The American Women's Basketball Championship🏀#AmericanWay x #AmericanHoops pic.twitter.com/bu324PzbD2
