7. Houston (10-1)
Last season ended for Houston in the national championship game, but does this team have what it takes to make another deep postseason run? The Cougars looked the part in a close win over Auburn before falling against Tennessee, but haven’t quite been as battle tested as some of these other top contenders. We know that the Cougars can really turn things on in Big 12 play, but also that they make easy work of these nonconference tilts.
That was certainly the case in Wednesday’s game against Jackson State, which became a 80-38 blowout for the Cougars. Emanuel Sharp led with 23 points while Isiah Harwell added 20 points off the bench. Saturday became another laugher, with Houston winning 99-57 against New Orleans. Four different Cougars all scored 15 points apiece, with notable efforts from freshmen Chris Cenac Jr. and Kingston Flemings.
A pair of 42-point wins over these types of teams didn’t teach us much about Houston, but we already knew what this team could accomplish this season. That freshman duo has been electric at times and we didn’t even mention Milos Uzan, who this team hopes can be an All-Big 12 player in the months ahead. While not battle tested, Houston does get another big challenge against Arkansas next weekend, taking on a Razorbacks squad that has been red hot in recent weeks.