Busting Brackets
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Cincinnati Basketball: Bearcats 2019-20 season preview

By Ben Andreatta

CINCINNATI, OH - DECEMBER 08: Cincinnati Bearcats fans get ready before the game against the Xavier Musketeers at Fifth Third Arena on December 8, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - DECEMBER 08: Cincinnati Bearcats fans get ready before the game against the Xavier Musketeers at Fifth Third Arena on December 8, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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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 *** /

Conference Outlook

Houston and Memphis tied in the preseason coaches poll for first place despite Memphis coming in at #14 in the AP preseason poll. Cincinnati was picked to finish third and even managed to get one vote to finish first in the conference.

T-1: Houston (7) 113

T-1: Memphis (4) 113

3: Cincinnati (1) 94

4: Wichita State 88

5: USF 79

6: UConn 75

7: Temple 72

8: SMU 47

9: UCF 40

10: Tulsa 36

11: ECU 20

12: Tulane 15

Penny Hardaway brings in the number one recruiting class in the nation including James Wiseman, the number one player. Wiseman was picked as the preseason newcomer of the year and will be a nightmare for teams to defend against.

Kelvin Sampson and company lost Armani Brooks and Corey Davis yet there’s still a lot of hype around the Cougars this season. Dejon Jarreau and Nate Hinton are both primed to have breakout years, the fact Houston are co-favorites to win the AAC shows the amount of respect coaches have for Sampson. Quentin Grimes has also been granted a waiver and is immediately eligible, this was not factored into the preseason coaches poll.

Wichita State will again be solid with Greg Marshall and South Florida return quite a few key guys, UConn has a lot of potentials and a young squad. The AAC is deep this season and five bids are not out of the question. Cincinnati has two games against both Houston and Memphis making it pivotal that they take care of business in their other games. There’s going to be a lot of good clashes in the AAC this season.

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