Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball: Predicting all 32 regular-season conference champions for 2018-19

By Tristan Freeman

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: The Villanova Wildcats celebrate their overtime win over the Providence Friars during the championship game of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 10, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: The Villanova Wildcats celebrate their overtime win over the Providence Friars during the championship game of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 10, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 33
Next
ORLANDO, FL – MARCH 11: The AAC Championship trophy to be presented to the Cincinnati Bearcats after the final game of the 2018 AAC Basketball Championship against Houston Cougars at Amway Center on March 11, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
ORLANDO, FL – MARCH 11: The AAC Championship trophy to be presented to the Cincinnati Bearcats after the final game of the 2018 AAC Basketball Championship against Houston Cougars at Amway Center on March 11, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

American Athletic Conference

2017-18 regular season champion: Cincinnati

2018-19 favorite: Central Florida – Biggest threats: Houston and Memphis

Last season it was basically between Cincinnati and Wichita State (although Houston did make a run at the end) for the regular season title in the AAC. With both teams losing a few starters each, the league will be wide-open for the upcoming season.

One team that was supposed to compete along with those teams last year was UCF but injuries derailed any hopes they had. Michigan transfer Aubrey didn’t even play last year due to an injury, while juniors BJ Taylor and Tacko Fall, arguably the two best players on the team, each missed half the year as well.

Even still, the Knights still finished with a .500 record in AAC play and only allowed 61.7 ppg, good for third in the entire country. The three previously mentioned players returns, along with key contributors Dayon Griffin and Ceasar DeJesus.

Related Story. Preseason AAC Rankings for 2018-19. light

However, from a talent standpoint, Memphis probably has the highest ceiling of any AAC team. The top four scorers for the Tigers are back, including Jeremiah Martin, who averaged 18.9 ppg. And while new head coach Penny Hardaway is unproven at the college level, his recruiting skills are already at an elite level, hauling in a strong class of incoming freshmen. With depth lacking behind the four senior starters, they’ll each need to contribute right away.

Once again, look out for Houston to make a run at the top of the ACC. 20 ppg scorer Robert Gray Jr. is gone but rising senior Corey Davis Jr. returns to lead a young – yet very talented team. Former UMass players DeJon Jarreau and Brison Gresham are able to play, along with top-100 freshman prospect Nate Hinton. The Cougars have as good a backcourt in the AAC, while the frontcourt is still a work in progress.

Home/NCAA Basketball News