American Athletic Conference it’s a sports conference between 11 American universities, and six associations, as they are members of the teams supported by their university, who are playing in NCAA Division I for basketball, and also, they have football teams, who are a part of the Football Bowl Subdivision. The league consists of tournaments between teams from public and private universities all around in the United States.
There are eleven universities in the USA who are a regular part of the league, and ten of them compete in basketball and football, but just one of them is only dedicated to basketball. Also, there are six associate members. During the time, three full members left the conference, and one associate member too, after only two years being part of it. As we said, the two main games are basketball and football.
Source:ncaa.com
This year’s basketball games were scheduled for October, with the NCAA Division basketball season this November, followed by the tournaments that are a part of the conference in December, in Fort Worth, Texas. When it comes to the odds, and if you want to bet on your favorite team, you can click here and see how it goes, but according to the resources, the currently odds go for Houston +125, which means on every $100 you bet on them, you get $125 more on your prize. The bigger this number is, the smaller the chance for the team to win is – for example, Tulane’s odds are +10,000 which means if you put $100 on them, and they win, you will get $10,000 more on your prize. These teams also compete in different sports areas, but basketball is covered by all of them. In every other sport, at least one team is not competing, but when it comes to swimming other water activities like diving, there are only two active teams – Cincinnati and South Florida. That makes basketball the main activity in the American Athletic Conference, and people are more likely to watch it and bet on it, instead of soccer, or baseball for example.
How the current situation changed the plans?
As we know, the world is, sadly, still in a state of a pandemic, which means most of the events that require different types of gathering are canceled or postponed. The Medical Advisory Groups, together with the directors and administrators, decided to proceed with the regular activities for football, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball, for intraconference competitions, following the guidelines, and protection measurements.
All the teams and players follow strict protocols, so they can play their games safely. If needed, the plan will be adjusted to how the whole situation changes, following the recommendations of the Medical Advisory group. During a time of the global pandemic, when millions of people got somehow infected, and a lot of them lost their lives, no one wants to put their life at risk. The players will be regularly tested for coronavirus, and if something happens, all the plans will be canceled, until it’s safe to play again. The general plan for the teams is to adapt to every new rule or requirement, so they can successfully overcome the challenge, and stay safe, secure, and protected all the time.
When we talk about the COVID-19 pandemic, we all have to know that in many parts of the world, sports events are practically forbidden, so they can avoid gatherings and big crowds of people. The game is also risky about the players, and running all the time with the face covered in masks. That makes all the activities from the conference different, compared to those from previous years.
Source:news.cgtn.com
Since there is some schedule for the intraconference activities, people who watch it for different reasons, including enthusiasm, or just for fun so they can bet, should know that at every moment, the organization has the full right to postpone or cancel some match.
Knowing all of this, we can say that basketball is this year’s main activity when it comes to this conference.
The situation with the basketball in the American Athletic conference 2024-21
No one can ever predict the exact outcome of some game, but we can follow the betting odds, and experts’ predictions, and have some clear image of what is going on. For example, the Memphis Tigers are expected to be much better compared to the previous season. Some of the players in the whole conference left, and there are new professionals in their place. Every new player brings a whole new perspective to the team. The basketball experts are expecting the Memphis Tigers to make a significant difference compared to previous years. But, according to all of them, the favorites are Houston and Cincinnati, and they have the whole trust of the fans and the audience that follows the college tournaments.
The general prediction is that Houston is the favorite and that Memphis will ensure their great second place this season. For the third and fourth place, the favorites are Cincinnati and SMU, but the odds are on Witcha State’s side when it comes to the fifth place on the table.
How will basketball teams cope with the coronavirus situation?
Recently it was announced that all the games will take place in one location, so the teams don’t need to move from one city to another. This is an expected step when it comes to protection from the coronavirus. It wasn’t an easy decision, because it’s against the spirit of the university games. But hopefully, the tournament will be back as it was planned in the years to come, and all the efforts, enthusiasm, and knowledge will be appreciated.
It’s expected that this situation may seem desperate for young people who want to play their best for their university, but there is nothing we can do. We can only expect that they will overcome the disappointment, and play their best this season.
At the very end of this article, we want to say that we wish all the best to all the teams who will compete for their university, and we hope they will be respectful of the restrictions, and they won’t forget that there will be more years to shine.
