Cincinnati 54, Central Florida 52

Alyesha Lovett scored 19 points and eighth-seeded Cincinnati held on, edging Central Florida on Friday in the first game of the American Athletic Conference tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Bearcats (13-17) face No. 1 UConn in the quarterfinals today at 2 p.m.

Andrea Hines of No. 9 UCF (10-20) had a three-quarter length of the court heave hit the rim at the buzzer after the Knights used a turnover for two baskets within six seconds and then Cincinnati missed a layup with three seconds left.

Houston 73, Memphis 67

Marche' Amerson scored 24 points as 10th-seeded Houston upset No. 7 Memphis in the first round.

Houston plays second-seeded Louisville in the quarterfinals today.

Houston (6-24) was up by eight with 3 minutes left in the game, but Ariel Hearn made three consecutive 3-pointers for Memphis to trim the deficit to three at 64-61 with 2:09 remaining.

But Te'onna Campbell drilled a trey with 1:38 left and Houston made its free throws down the stretch.