American Athletic Power Rankings (Dec. 28)
1. Houston Cougars (11-2)
Houston is on a three-game winning streak. The Cougars are highly efficient on both ends of the floor, ranking 6th in the nation in offensive and 12th in defensive ratings. The Cougars have six players averaging nine or more points, but they just lost leading scorer Marcus Sasser for the rest of the season due to a toe injury.
Meanwhile, sophomore and the team’s Sixth Man Tramon Mark (10.3 PPG) has been out since December 11 with a left shoulder injury, and there is no timetable for his return.
2. Cincinnati Bearcats (10-3)
The Bearcats are a guard-heavy veteran team that relies on its defense to win games. However, Cincinnati has not faced the most strenuous schedule, with their non-conference schedule recording an RPI of 124 and an SOS rating of 235. The Bearcats are 8-1 at home and 7-0 against QUAD 4 teams. They have won three straight since being blown out by arch-rivals Xavier (83-63) on Dec. 11.
3. Memphis Tigers (6-4)
The Tigers snapped a four-game losing streak their last time out with a 92-78 victory over then- No. 6 Alabama. Memphis had its previous two games canceled, including a neutral site contest versus arch-rival Tennessee.
Memphis has played the most demanding schedule in the conference, and the young Tigers have two good wins as they also defeated a solid Virginia Tech squad earlier in the year. They have a good loss to Murray State and a blowout setback to a very good Iowa State club.
4. SMU Mustangs (9-3)
The Mustangs have won six straight as they have scored at least 74 points in each of those contests. SMU, led by Kendric Davis (21.3 PPG), ranks 52nd in the country in scoring at 79.2. Davis has scored in double-figures in 10 straight games, topping the 20-point mark six times, including exploding for a season-high 33 points against New Mexico on Dec. 19.
5. UCF Knights (8-2, 1-0 American)
UCF is an experienced team –the Knights returned 95% of their scoring from a year ago — with eight strong contributors. The Knights have won four games in a row and need just three more victories to match their win total from a year ago.