Busting Brackets
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AAC Basketball Power Rankings: Conference shows depth with strength in middle

By Brian Rauf

VILLANOVA, PA - DECEMBER 05: Shizz Alston Jr. #10 of the Temple Owls high fives De'Vondre Perry #22 in the first half against the Villanova Wildcats at Finneran Pavilion on December 5, 2018 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
VILLANOVA, PA - DECEMBER 05: Shizz Alston Jr. #10 of the Temple Owls high fives De'Vondre Perry #22 in the first half against the Villanova Wildcats at Finneran Pavilion on December 5, 2018 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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CHAPEL HILL, NC – DECEMBER 03: Head coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. of the Tulane Green Wave directs his team against the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at the Dean Smith Center on December 3, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC – DECEMBER 03: Head coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. of the Tulane Green Wave directs his team against the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at the Dean Smith Center on December 3, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

12) Tulane Green Wave (4-21, 0-13 in AAC)
LW: 12

Is Tulane going to win a game in conference play? The answer is probably no, but KenPom projects them to get one – Saturday at home against ECU.

Outside of that, the Green Wave are favored to lose the rest of their games. They’re already on a 15-game losing streak and have only kept four of their 13 conference games within single digits.

They’re one of the nation’s worst shooting teams and have scored 70 points just twice in the past month, but they’re equally as bad on the defensive end. Tulane has allowed all but two conference opponents to break that 70-point plateau.

Mike Dunleavy’s squad has all but locked up last place.

11) ECU Pirates (9-16, 2-11)
LW: 11

ECU’s conference season with a surprising home victory that gave the program hope in head coach Joe Dooley’s first season back in Greenville.

Since then? A whole lot of nothing.

Their only other conference win came over Tulane, but there are signs the Pirates are making some progress. Two of their last three games (all losses) have gone into overtime and freshman Jayden Gardner (17.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg) has proven to be one of the better freshmen in the conference.

Between he, Seth LeDay, and Shawn Williams, the Pirates have a core to build around for next year. The only problem is that those three have not been getting nearly enough help.