AAC Basketball Conference Odds: It’s All Houston Cougars
Memphis, Cincinnati Given Best Chance to Pull Upset
The American Athletic Conference isn’t a one-team league. But looking at the AAC basketball conference odds it almost appears that way. The Houston Cougars are prohibitive -425 favorites. It’s not hard to see why. The Sagarin college basketball ratings have Houston 6.5 points better than Memphis. Ken Pomeroy has the Cougars 9.1 points better than Memphis.
When looking at most teams from one year to the next, you typically look at how many scorers are returning. But with the Cougars, offense isn’t everything. At Houston, you play defense or you don’t play at all.
Houston Cougars
What the Houston Cougars did last season was much more impressive than it looks at first glance. Not many teams are going to post a 32-6 record with two of its best players out for much of the NCAAB season.
But that’s just what the Cougars did. Now, they’re looking forward to seeing what they can do with a healthy Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark. Sure, Kyler Edwards, Fabian White and Josh Carlton are gone.
So is Taze Moore, but the Cougars landed a couple of big-time freshmen in Jarace Walker and Terrance Arceneaux. Both players were ranked in the top 40 nationally.
The AAC basketball conference odds have Houston -425 and it’s not easy to pull the trigger when you have such a prohibitive favorite. But if any team is justified in having such odds, it’s the Houston Cougars.
A healthy Sasser is one of the best guards in all of college basketball and Mark was off to a strong start before his injury last season. As always, the Cougars are going to bring their defense when you match-up against them. Houston allowed 58.8 points per game last year, holding teams to 37.1% from the field.
Opponents shot just 28.8% from 3-point range against the Cougars. Houston can withstand a poor shooting game, as they can shut down the opposition on any given night. As good as the Cougars were straight-up, they were an impressive 25-13 ATS, something to keep in mind for your NCAAB picks and parlays.
The Contenders
Memphis (+500): The AAC basketball conference odds give the Tigers an outside shot at catching Houston but it won’t be easy. Memphis lost five of its six leading scorers from a season ago but did get help through the transfer portal. Graduate senior Kendric Davis arrives from SMU, where he scored 19.4 points per game.
The Tigers got off to a slow start last season, sitting at 9-8 before finishing the year on a 13-3 run.
Keonte Kennedy brings 14.1 points per game with him from UTEP and Elijah McCadden arrives for a fifth season after playing at Georgia Southern. The Tigers got off to a slow start last season, sitting at 9-8 before finishing the year on a 13-3 run.
If they can carry the momentum forward from last year’s finish, they’ll be a strong team. But probably not as strong as the Cougars.
Cincinnati (+900): The AAC basketball conference odds list the Bearcats at +900, which makes them the only other team besides Memphis with a realistic chance at defeating Houston. The AAC basketball conference odds on the remaining teams are +2500 and higher. But there are some things to like about Cincinnati.
The Bearcats return their top three basketball scorers from last year. Not many teams can say that. Cincinnati also has some talent arriving in the form of Landers Nolley from Memphis and freshman Daniel Skillings, the team’s top recruit. The Bearcats have a few other newcomers who can pitch in. Everything went wrong for Cincinnati down the stretch last year.
After racing out to a 14-5 start, the Bearcats went 4-10 down the stretch and missed the postseason. The Bearcats may be on a mission to make amends for last season, but it’s unlikely to be enough against Houston and Memphis.
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