Busting Brackets
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AAC Basketball Tournament: Houston and Cincinnati favored

By Jason Burgess

HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 07: (L-R) Fabian White Jr. #35, Dejon Jarreau #13, Nate Hinton #11 and Armoni Brooks #3 of the Houston Cougars look on in the closing moments of the game at Fertitta Center on March 07, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 07: (L-R) Fabian White Jr. #35, Dejon Jarreau #13, Nate Hinton #11 and Armoni Brooks #3 of the Houston Cougars look on in the closing moments of the game at Fertitta Center on March 07, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 16: The Wichita State Shockers mascot gestures in the second half against the Marshall Thundering Herd during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena on March 16, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 16: The Wichita State Shockers mascot gestures in the second half against the Marshall Thundering Herd during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena on March 16, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Teams to watch in the American Athletic

Favorite-Houston

The Cougars are 29-2, 16-2 in league play, and a good showing could solidify a high seed for Houston. The Cougars are one of the best defensive teams in the country, surrendering just 61 points per game and the 37.4% they allow opponents to shoot is second-best in their nation and their 3-point defense of 28% is just as good, fourth-best. They have just two double-digit scorers, Brooks and Corey Davis, Jr. who leads the team with 16.6 while fellow guard Dejon Jarreau adds 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists.

Top Contenders

Cincinnati

The Bearcats may be Houston’s biggest competitor because their defense is nearly as good as Houston’s, giving up 62 points per contest and their field goal percentage defense of 40.7% is the 33rd-best in the country. Guard Keith Williams is the only other Bearcat in double figures, besides Cumberland, with 10.6 points per game, and forward Tre Scott is a key piece for the Bearcats averaging 8.9 points and 6.6 rebounds on the season. The Bearcats ended the season on a high note, winning five of seven before entering the tournament with some momentum.

Central Florida Knights

The Knights are another team that took down Houston during the season, ending the Cougars’ 33-game home winning streak. A couple of seniors, B.J. Taylor and Tacko Fall, help augment the offensive production of Dawkins. The two fourth-year players net 27.1 points and pull down 9.4 rebounds for a team that hasn’t lost to a team outside of the top five seeds in the tournament since Jan. 16 when they lost to Wichita State.

Temple

The Owls are the last team to have knocked off the top-seeded Cougars in the conference, and entering the tournament they are looking to solidify their spot in the NCAA Tournament, and try and win the AAC tournament along the way. Guards Quinton Rose and Nate Pierre-Louis, along with Alston, Jr. give the Owls a trio of guards that average 49.6 of the team’s 74.9 points per game.

Possible darkhorse-Memphis

Whenever a tournament is held on a team’s home floor, they should always be considered a threat to win it, given the momentum the team can get by playing well and feeding off the energy of the crowd. Memphis enters the tournament as the No. 5 seed after finishing the season 19-12 and 11-7 in the AAC. Penny Hardaway’s team has wins over UCF and Temple and despite being swept by Cincinnati, the total margin of victory in those games was just seven points. Led by senior Jeremiah Martin, who is averaging 19.7, 4.1, and 4.5, the Tigers are a team to keep an eye on, as they’ve already shown they can hang with the favorites in the AAC.