By Kenneth Cross
Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson has brought the program back into national notoriety, and as Houston leaves the AAC for the Big 12, the Cougs get one last shot to win this conference and advance deep into March.
The Cougars are always one of the nation’s top defensive teams under Sampson as they allowed opponents to shoot only 37.1 percent (1st/CBB) last season while they gave up just 58.8 points (3rd/CBB) per outing.
Memphis and Cincinnati are the most likely challengers to the Cougars as they both bring back key players inside of their attacks on both ends of the floor.
The following AAC ranking is via the media days in mid-October:
1) Houston – The Cougars will post one of the best backcourt duos in the nation in Jamal Shead and Marcus Sasser. Shead is one of the game’s best distributors as he passed out 5.8 assists per game (221) last season. 
Sasser struggled with a broken foot and was shelved last season after 12 games as he was Houston’s leading scorer (17.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg) in making 43.7 percent of his three-pointers before the injury. Shooting guard Tramon Mark is another scorer/defender from the backcourt who did not return after seven games as he had shoulder surgery. Sampson brought in a pair of five-star players in Terrance Arceneaux and Jarace Walker, who are both listed as small forwards.
2) Memphis – Coach Penny Hardaway brings over Kendric Davis (19.4 ppg, 4.4 apg) as he transfers from SMU where he was the 2021-22 AAC Player of the Year. Memphis will have another fifth year guard in Alex Lomax (8.8 ppg, 1.7 apg), who is a tough defender and playmaker. UTEP transfer Keonté Kennedy and Elijah McCadden, who came over from Georgia Southern, are tough on the defensive end of the floor and are capable of knocking down multiple threes in a game. Watch big man DeAndre Williams (11.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg), who can dominate the inside as he shot 56.4 percent from the floor last season.
3) Cincinnati – The Bearcats return five of their six top scorers and will be led by David Dejulius (14.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and Jeremiah Davenport (13.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg). Coach Wes Miller will look at Mika Adams-Woods (8.6 ppg, 3.1 apg) and Mike Saunders (7.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg) as a pair of key guards who are solid off the dribble and can find 
open Bearcats for layups or short jumpers. Indiana transfer Rob Phenisee, Memphis transfer Landers Nolley, II, and Kalu Ezikpe, formerly of Old Dominion, are the transfers who will add depth as well as varying abilities that will make them starters or role players.
4) Tulane – Coach Ron Hunter enters his fourth season as the head coach of the Green Waves. Tulane moved forward last season by holding opponents to 41.9 percent from the floor while shooting 36.5 percent from three and outscoring opponents, 73.1-71.7. Hunter returns a pair of athletic guards in Jalen Cook (18.0 ppg, 3.5 apg) and Jaylen Forbes (16.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and both are tough from the three-point line where Cook averaged 39.1 makes. With so many returnees and a roster that has several players who can contribute, Tulane will once again be a challenger in the AAC although this season, opponents will be ready for the Waves’ surge.
5) Temple – Coach Aaron McKie will welcome back Khalif Battle, who was injured after just seven games as he was averaging 21.4 points. Battle declared for the NBA Draft, but withdrew and will be one of the cornerstones of McKie’s team. Damian Dunn (14.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg) came on as the Owls’ leading scorer after Battle’s injury as he was better going inside and toward the basket. Consequently, the Owls’ defense was their calling card as they held opponents to 40.1 percent (28th/CBB) from the floor.
6) UCF – Coach Johnny Dawkins has turned his roster over as he has eight transfers and a freshman to combine with three UCF players from last season. Watch for the Knights to be more offensively oriented as they shot only 42.3 percent from the field and Dawkins’ team defended at the same clip. C.J. Walker is the leading returning scorer where his 8.3 ppg. were the Knights’ fourth highest scoring percentage last season. Watch 7-0 Michael Durr, who played three years at USF before spending last season at Indiana. Durr had a much more solid game with the Bulls as he seldom was in position to make plays inside on either end of the floor with the Hoosiers (1.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg). Durr averaged 6.7 points and 6.5 boards in three years at South Florida while he started 85 of his 87 games.
7) SMU – Coach Rob Lanier comes into SMU after leading Georgia State to a 53-30 record in three years and the Panthers won the Sun Belt and made it to the NCAA Tournament last season. Lanier brought in several big men via the transfer portal as former Iowa State Cyclone Xavier Foster and Louisville transfer Samuell Williamson are two players who should figure in immediately. Zach Nutall (6.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and Zurhic Phelps (3.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg) are two Mustangs who will be key parts of the rotation. SMU was more of a three-point shooting team last season, but with the big men that Lanier has brought in, the Mustangs will expect to make plays in the paint.
8) Wichita State – Craig Porter, Jr.,(7.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) is back as a prominent leader after the Shockers lost four starters in what was a tough 2021-22 season. Watch Jalen Ricks and Isaac Abidde as coach Isaac Brown redshirted them both last season while 6-11 center Kenny Pohto (5.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg) could also be a key player who can ignite his scoring opportunities in the middle. The Shockers were like the USF Bulls in that they had a defensive mantra and struggled on offense where they shot only 40.3 percent from the field.
9) South Florida – USF will need to score consistently as last season the Bulls only averaged 57.5 points per game and shot just 37.4 percent from the floor. This was another stellar defensive attack from USF as Coach Brian Gregory is easily one of the best defensive minds in the game. Jamir Chaplin (8.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg) is the leading returning scorer as he shot 51.4 percent from the two-point area. Big man Russell Tchewa improved his game as last season went on and should benefit from the additions of double-digit transfers in former South Carolina guard Keyshawn Bryant and 5-9 point guard Tyler Harris, who transferred from Memphis.
10) Tulsa – Eric Konkol comes over from Louisiana Tech where he won 67.1 percent of his games in the seven years that he was the head coach of the Bulldogs. Sam Griffin (14.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg) is the highest scoring returnee as he will be a key in pushing forward an offense that only shot 43.4 percent from the field (220th/CBB). Anthony Pritchard is a guard who should improve and help Konkol solidify what could be a deep backcourt.
11) East Carolina – The Pirates hired former Rick Barnes assistant Michael Schwartz from Tennessee and he signed eight players to help to start build his program. Schwartz kept two key players in Greeneville in RJ Felton and Brandon Johnson. Wynston Tubbs (13.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg at BC in 2020-21) was a transfer from Boston College two years ago, but was injured and could not play last season. Improving on defense will be key for ECU as they were outscored, 71-69 on average, last season.