Houston Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Cougars
By Joey Loose
Schedule Outlook
As previously mentioned, the AAC is not exactly the strongest conference in the world. Things will change greatly for the Cougars when they join the Big 12, but that doesn’t affect them this season. The Cougars have to deal with a conference schedule featuring a flurry of weak games, with teams like East Carolina, South Florida, and Tulane really struggling in recent years.
Fortunately, they’ll make up for that with a decently strong nonconference slate. After winnable games against Hofstra and Rice, they get an early test at home against Virginia. They’ll head to Las Vegas soon after for this year’s Maui Invitational, where they’ll play Butler, then either Texas A&M or Wisconsin, before a third game as well. There’s talent in this field, but this is a tournament the Cougars could absolutely win. At the very least they’ll be favored to make the title game.
The Cougars have seven more nonconference games, with a slew of weak home games and two intriguing contests along the way. On December 11th, they’ll head to Alabama for a Saturday night showdown with a Crimson Tide program expected to be just as fantastic as last season. One week later, they’ll face off with Oklahoma State in Fort Worth in an intriguing game, even if the Cowboys lost Carson Cunningham.
Conference games with Cincinnati, SMU, and Wichita State will certainly be intriguing, but the two dates with Memphis are clearly the ones you’ll want to circle your calendars for. They’ll host the Tigers on Saturday, February 12th and finish the regular season on the road at Memphis on March 6th. The AAC Tournament starts just four days later in Dickies Arena, the same place where Houston will play Oklahoma State in late December.