Busting Brackets
Fansided

AAC Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2020-21 season

By Ben Andreatta

MEMPHIS, TN - FEBRUARY 22: Caleb Mills #2 of the Houston Cougars dribbles the ball against Alex Lomax #2 of the Memphis Tigers during a game at FedExForum on February 22, 2020 in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis defeated Houston 60-59. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN - FEBRUARY 22: Caleb Mills #2 of the Houston Cougars dribbles the ball against Alex Lomax #2 of the Memphis Tigers during a game at FedExForum on February 22, 2020 in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis defeated Houston 60-59. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
12 of 12
Next
HONOLULU, HI – DECEMBER 23: Caleb Mills #2 of the Houston Cougars (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
HONOLULU, HI – DECEMBER 23: Caleb Mills #2 of the Houston Cougars (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

1. Houston Cougars

Key Losses: Chris Harris

Key Returners: Everyone else?

Potential Impact Newcomer: Tramon Mark

Breakout Candidate: Mascus Sasser

Dejon Jarreau and Nate Hinton have both declared for the draft but are maintaining their eligibility. Neither of them has been seen in the first round of mock drafts, and they’re likely testing the waters and returning to school.

If both are back, Houston’s can easily be a top 15 team in the country for the start of next season. The Cougars will have great guard depth with Caleb Mills, Quentin Grimes, and Marcus Sasser all back for next season.

Houston finished the 2019-2020 season ranked 22nd in the AP poll and won a share of the AAC regular-season conference. Defensively they were one of the best teams in the country for scoring defense giving up just 62.1 points per game.

The biggest question mark for the Cougars will be the center position, Houston has great length with their guards and forwards but don’t really have a true big. Chris Harris started 20 games for Houston last season, outside of Brandon Gresham there’s a lot of unknown.

Houston can certainly get away in a lot of situations with no true big man, the Cougars had no problems pulling down rebounds last season.  They were top ten in the country in offensive boards.

Next. Early Big Ten power rankings for 2020-21. dark

There’s a lot of experience on this Cougars team and with Kelvin Sampson, at the helm, this team is capable of a deep run in March. The Cougar’s future relies heavily on the decisions of Dejon Jarreau and Nate Hinton and even if they’re only able to get one of them back, Houston will be a top 25 team.