AAC is primed for a breakout basketball season according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Here is a tidbit on it from a CBS site:
CBSSports analyst Jon Rothstein posted a myriad of observations Thursday night in advance of the 2015-16 college basketball season, including some thoughts on the potential resurgence of the American Athletic Conference.
I believe the general consensus nationally is that the AAC will be better than it was a year ago, particularly due to rebuilds by UConn and Memphis. Remember, only two teams from the American made the NCAA Tournament last season -- SMU and Cincinnati.
But Rothstein points out something that others haven't about this conference. Beyond the top tier, the league should be much improved in the middle of the pack. Teams like Houston, USF and UCF may not necessarily be tournament teams, but they won't be the pushovers that they were a year ago.
Check out the analysis from Rothstein below, who is one of the most respected analysts in the business:
This league has received one fewer NCAA Tournament than deserved the past two seasons, but that's likely to change in 2016. The American boasts four teams -- SMU, UConn, Cincinnati and Memphis -- that could spend time in the Top 25, and Tulsa and Temple return significant players from NIT teams. The main difference is the bottom of the league has caught up to the middle. Houston looks like a legitimate sleeper by adding former Purdue guard Ronnie Johnson and former Oregon wing Damyean Dotson. South Florida has retooled with transfers Roddy Peters (Maryland) and Angel Nunez (Gonzaga). After looking like the old Big East's leftovers upon formation, the American appears to have an identity. Garnering little national respect for two seasons, this conference is now on par with the Big East and likely better than the Atlantic 10 in terms of 2016 NCAA Tournament bid consideration.
CBSSports analyst Jon Rothstein posted a myriad of observations Thursday night in advance of the 2015-16 college basketball season, including some thoughts on the potential resurgence of the American Athletic Conference.
I believe the general consensus nationally is that the AAC will be better than it was a year ago, particularly due to rebuilds by UConn and Memphis. Remember, only two teams from the American made the NCAA Tournament last season -- SMU and Cincinnati.
But Rothstein points out something that others haven't about this conference. Beyond the top tier, the league should be much improved in the middle of the pack. Teams like Houston, USF and UCF may not necessarily be tournament teams, but they won't be the pushovers that they were a year ago.
Check out the analysis from Rothstein below, who is one of the most respected analysts in the business:
This league has received one fewer NCAA Tournament than deserved the past two seasons, but that's likely to change in 2016. The American boasts four teams -- SMU, UConn, Cincinnati and Memphis -- that could spend time in the Top 25, and Tulsa and Temple return significant players from NIT teams. The main difference is the bottom of the league has caught up to the middle. Houston looks like a legitimate sleeper by adding former Purdue guard Ronnie Johnson and former Oregon wing Damyean Dotson. South Florida has retooled with transfers Roddy Peters (Maryland) and Angel Nunez (Gonzaga). After looking like the old Big East's leftovers upon formation, the American appears to have an identity. Garnering little national respect for two seasons, this conference is now on par with the Big East and likely better than the Atlantic 10 in terms of 2016 NCAA Tournament bid consideration.
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