Memphis has been the class of the American Conference in men’s basketball, having advanced to the NCAA tournament in three of the past four years.
The Tigers are the defending regular-season and postseason champions in the American, and are the college basketball betting favorite on BetMGM to win this year’s regular-season championship.
Memphis’ 7-7 overall record to begin this season has been deceiving since the Tigers have played a difficult schedule. As for the American, Memphis won its first two games over North Texas and Rice, but greater challenges lay ahead.
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American Conference Basketball Odds (Regular-Season Champion) via BetMGM
Memphis +200
Tulsa +250
South Florida +450
Florida Atlantic +800
Wichita State +1000
Temple +1200
UAB +1300
North Texas +3000
Tulane +10000
Charlotte +10000
East Carolina +25000
Rice +25000
UTSA +25000
Odds as of Jan. 9
American Conference Basketball Predictions
It’s difficult to go against Memphis, although the Tigers have been rebuilt via the transfer portal. Among the transfers is leading scorer Dug McDaniels (14.4 PPG), a 5-foot-11 senior, who averaged 11.4 points last season for Kansas State.
Memphis has already lost more games than it did last year when the Tigers went 29-6.
Coach Penny Hardaway, however, has a track record of developing his teams, so as of now, the Tigers remain the favorite.
Tulsa, South Florida, and Florida Atlantic, with the second, third, and fourth best odds, respectively, should be dangerous.
Winners of 13 of its first 15 games, Tulsa’s one American loss was 72-67 at North Texas.
South Florida began 1-1 in American play, losing a wild 109-106 double overtime home decision to UAB, before winning 74-70 at North Texas. Entering the weekend, the Bulls had three of the top 18 scorers in the American, led by Izaiyah Nelson, who was eighth at 15.3 PPG.
Florida Atlantic began 2-1 in the American, with the lone loss a 69-66 defeat at Tulane.
A sleeper could be Temple. The Owls, who lost in the 2024 American Conference championship game to UAB, have the sixth-best odds to win the title and look like a potential contender.
Temple won its first three American games against Charlotte, UTSA, and East Carolina. The Owls will know more about their contender status during their next game when they visit Memphis on Jan. 14.
Tulane, tied with the ninth-best odds to win the title, should also be in the mix.
So should Wichita State, which began 1-2 in the American, but both losses were by a total of six points, including a 104-100 double overtime defeat at Charlotte.
Also, nobody should fall asleep on UAB, whose two American Conference losses have been to Wichita State and Florida Atlantic by a total of 11 points. Even North Texas has shown in the early going to be more than competitive with the expected contenders.
There appears to be more parity in the conference, where, unlike last year, there seem to be many teams more than capable of contending to win the regular season title.
