AAC Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2019-20 season

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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY – FEBRUARY 25: Junior Etou #0 of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane reacts after a basket against the Cincinnati Bearcats at BB&T Arena on February 25, 2018 in Highland Heights, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Frank Haith consistently manages to outperform expectations at Tulsa. The Hurricane were picked to finish ninth a season ago and won eight times in conference play, their eighth-place projection turned into a fourth-place finish in 2018, ninth to seventh in 2017, fourth to third and an at-large selection in 2016. Every season since Haith has been at the helm in Tulsa, they’ve finished higher than his colleagues projected him to.

But count that, along with the abnormally bad seasons I expect SMU and UCF to have, as the only reasons I expect Tulsa to finish this high. Losing their starting backcourt of DaQuan Jefferies and Sterling Taplin is big for a Tulsa team that, again, only won eight games despite exceeding expectations last year. It could be a step backwards for the Hurricane, but with the return of talented Martins Igbanu and senior Lawson Korita, a depth guard that will be looked to carry a heavier production burden this season, Haith won’t be completely unassisted in trying to prove coaches and media wrong for a sixth straight season.