Busting Brackets
Fansided

AAC Basketball: Houston on top, SMU and Tulsa rise in latest power ranking

By Carter Chapley

Mar 8, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Memphis Tigers guard Lester Quinones (11) drives with the ball as Houston Cougars guard Quentin Grimes (24) defends during the second half at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 8, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Memphis Tigers guard Lester Quinones (11) drives with the ball as Houston Cougars guard Quentin Grimes (24) defends during the second half at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
AAC Basketball
AAC Basketball Chris Vogt Cincinnati Bearcats (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

6. University of Central Florida

The Knights have had a strong start to their 2020-21 campaign, impressing early with a win over Auburn and a competitive matchup with Michigan. While it appears UCF will not get another game before starting AAC play when they take on Houston, they will get one more shot at in-state rival Florida State, where they will get a chance to really put an exclamation point on their non-conference year.

The Knights have impressed most on defense, where they have been able to lock up two of the more impressive offensive teams in the nation and kept both of their games close(ish). Using some of the slowest tempo in college basketball to play to their advantage, UCF has flown above its station early on in the college basketball season.

5. Tulsa

The Golden Hurricane has played two power five conference teams in TCU and South Carolina and competed in both of them. They also added a big win over the underrated UT Arlington team out of the Sun Belt. The tag team of seniors with Elijah Joiner and Brandon Rachel has come out of the gate as strong as ever, leading the team in all major offensive categories. It’s not hard to imagine a world where Tulsa is 2-1 or even 3-0 rather than the 1-2 they currently stand at.

Tulsa has an outside chance of playing their way into being a bubble team. They’ve set themselves up well to be battle-tested headed into the New Year.

4. Cincinnati

After a devastating loss to cross-town rivals Xavier, the Bearcats are still looking to bounce back and get back into the win column. Cincinnati has high expectations for 2020-21 and should be looking for an NCAA bid this season, but they still need to prove themselves.

The guard play of Sophomore Mika Adams-Woods and Junior transfer from Michigan David DeJulius have stood out. Still, the rest of the veteran depth UC holds have yet to pay dividends. Though, having only played two games and having such a small sample size means all of this criticism needs to be taken with a grain of salt.