NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Duke, Michigan vie for the top spot
13. Houston Cougars
Record: 12-0 (0-0 AAC)
Last Week: No. 15
Does Houston belong this high in the rankings? I’m not quite sure. Even though I am extremely high on the Cougars, the doubters can legitimately complain about their lack of a difficult schedule to this point in time. Per KenPom, Houston’s strength of schedule is currently rated at 334th in the nation and their best win came at home against LSU. With this said, though, Houston has been dominant in almost every single game so far this season.
In the end, though, the amount of success experienced by the Cougars this season will depend on how their offense develops. Head coach Kelvin Sampson’s team is already one of the best defensive units in the nation but scoring can be a bit of an issue from time to time. Corey Davis Jr. and Armoni Brooks are the two go-to scorers on the team but nobody has truly stepped up as the tertiary shot-maker at this point in time. In my opinion, this could end up being freshman forward Cedrick Alley Jr., who should only improve over the course of this season.
Looking ahead, Houston should be the clear favorite to win the American Athletic Conference at this point in time. Their poor SOS, though, may come back to hurt them when it comes to NCAA Tournament seeding later down the road. There are not many opportunities for elite wins in conference play for the Cougars.