AAC basketball: Five teams that can win the 2017 title

Feb 1, 2017; Tulsa, OK, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats forward Kyle Washington (24) pulls down a rebound as Tulsa Golden Hurricane guard Sterling Taplin (4) defends during the second half at Donald Reynolds Center. Cincinnati won 57-55. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports /

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Feb 26, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; Houston Cougars forward Devin Davis (15) goes to the basket against Memphis Tigers guard K.J. Lawson (0) and Memphis Tigers guard Dedric Lawson (1) during the first half at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Memphis Tigers

The UConn Huskies are an interesting pick since they are essentially playing in their back yard but just don’t have enough. They have been too streaky and can’t seem to quite figure it out. Memphis is a team that is similar to UConn in the sense that they have really struggled lately. They have arguably more talent and better wins and just need to string a few together.

The Tigers have decent wins over South Carolina and Iowa but have some pretty brutal blowout losses as well. They got crushed 103-52 in their final game at SMU and should use that as a wake-up call for the AAC tournament. They lost to the Mustangs by only four points in the first meeting and can compete with more talented teams than what their record shows.

They’ve had a rough stretch of games against the top half of the AAC but get a first round matchup with UCF. They split the two meetings this year and should be playing with some extra purpose after they were destroyed at SMU.

If Dedric Lawson can go off he can give his team a chance to make a run. He can put up a ton of points (and rebounds) and eight of the 12 losses are when he scores less than 20 points.

They need to win the AAC to get into the NCAA Tournament and need a few more victories to boost its NIT resume. They have a pretty big asset in head coach Tubby Smith, who has made 18 NCAA Tournament appearances in his 26-year career.