NCAA Basketball: Buy or Sell preseason top 25 teams of 2021-22 after a month
15. Houston Cougars
Head coach Kelvin Sampson’s ability to have quality backcourts remains impressive, replacing last season’s Final Four leaders with breakout players, Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark. Jamal Shead has taken over the lead distributor role, averaging over 5.0 apg on the season. And Texas Tech transfer Kyler Edwards has performed as expected, 12.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 36% three-point shooting.
One difference with this roster compared to the past couple of seasons for the Cougars has been a true frontcourt, led by Josh Carlton, J’Wan Roberts, and Fabian White. None are double-digit scorers but all have given the team some offensive production inside and Houston now has some real balance without having to rely on the guards to score all the points.
Excluding the overtime scare against Hofstra to open the season, Houston’s defense once again is top-tier, ranking in the top-10 in opponent’s scoring. And the offense itself is good, including a whopping 111 points in a massive blowout win over Bryant of the Northeast Conference.
This is a team that is three total points away from being unbeaten and with Memphis having its struggles, is the heavy favorite to win the AAC regular-season title. And as a team projected in the 10-20 range, the Cougars are a great value bet to return to the Final Four, as they’re set to once again get a high seed.