The American is a relatively new conference, passing the 10 year threshold over the offseason. But even though the conference as a whole has been established for those years, the teams in it have come and gone, and the biggest conference movement happened over the offseason. Houston, who had dominated the conference in recent years, leveled up to the Big 12. Cincinnati and UCF also got the call up to the best conference in college basketball. In return, the American invaded Conference USA. Florida Atlantic, North Texas, UAB, Charlotte, Rice and UTSA all made the move up this offseason.

While the loss of Houston was huge, the conference has an immediate replacement in Florida Atlantic. Fresh off a final four run, the Owls have been proving that none of last year was a fluke, as they’re currently 7th in the AP poll coming off a win over Arizona. Memphis, the team FAU played in the round of 64, is looking for revenge. Penny Hardaway has once again put together a very talented roster led by St. John’s transfer David Jones, and will look to take the top spot in the conference. First place seems like a two-horse race, but after that it’s chaos. SMU has seemingly separated themselves from the rest, but 4-11 in the standings is all up for grabs.

1. Florida Atlantic

Florida Atlantic had an outstanding season last year, winning 35 games capped off with a final four appearance. Despite that, there was still some uncertainty on how real the Owls were, and those concerns were even more present after an early season home loss to Bryant. Since then however, FAU has looked like one of the best teams in the country. They won the ESPN Events Invitational and most recently won a neutral game against Arizona. Johnell Davis (16.3 pts, 7.1 reb) asserted himself as one of the premier players in college basketball following a 35 point game against Arizona. Big man Vlad Golden (14.4 pts, 6.7 reb) has also seen a big improvement from last season.

2. Memphis

As good as FAU has been, Memphis’ early season play has shown that the conference race won’t be a runaway. With the lack of quality wins in the AAC, Penny Hardaway scheduled a tough non-conference schedule. The Tigers currently sit at 7-2 in the first two NET quadrants, tied for the most win nationally. One major reason for the Tigers’ success is the emergence of David Jones (21.4 pts, 6.5 reb). The St. John’s transfer was a big get in the transfer portal, and his talent was never questioned, but he hadn’t been efficient or contributed to winning in the past. Both are happening now, and he’s looking like the best player in the conference and an All-American. Alabama transfer Jahvon Quinerly (13.3 pts, 4.8 ast) has been one of the better point guards in the country, and Memphis also got a midseason addition with Kansas State forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin (10.4 pts, 5.8 reb in 2022-23).

3. SMU

Rob Lanier is in his second year as the coach of SMU, and has turned a real corner. The Mustangs has some talent last year, but never seemed to put it fully together. Lanier once again got a talented portal class to pair with some returners, and the Mustangs are 9-4, one win away from their season total last year. The backcourt of Zhuric Phelps (14.8 pts, 4.7 reb, 2.5 ast) and Butler transfer Chuck Harris (13.9 pts, 3.3 reb, 2.8 ast) is one of the better guard combos in mid major basketball. SMU’s defense is sitting at 28th in the country, much improved from their 152nd ranking last year. Oklahoma State transfer big Tyreek Smith (1.6 blk, 1.0 stl) is a main catalyst for that, and in my opinion is the early favorite for AAC Defensive Player of the Year.

4. Tulane

For fans of fast paced basketball, Tulane is a must watch. Ron Hunter’s squad plays at a top five tempo nationally, and are one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country. Kevin Cross (18.1 pts, 8.3 reb, 5.1 ast) is a big reason for that, as he’s been having the best year of his career and doing nearly everything on the court. Earlier this season, he recorded back-to-back triple doubles against Furman and Southern. Cross isn’t the only standout on Tulane, as Kolby King, Sion James and Jaylen Forbes are all averaging over 14 points per game. However, if Tulane wants to work their way up in the conference and nationally, they’ll have to be much better on defense, something they haven’t shown the capabilities of so far.

5. North Texas

Grant McCasland is no longer running the show in Denton, but Ross Hodge was a long time assistant of his, so North Texas is the same slow paced team we’ve known. Unsurprisingly, they’re a high level defensive team, with junior forward Aaron Scott and Ole Miss transfer Robert Allen being big pieces on that end. Offensively, there were some questions on what the Mean Green would do following the loss of Tylor Perry, in addition to other double digit scorers Kai Huntsberry and About Ousmane. Jason Edwards (15.5 pts) has answered some of those questions, and is showing flashes of Perry himself. Edwards is a junior college point guard who is a score first, score second type of player. With two-time transfers now being eligible, Hodge also has the services of TCU wing Rondel Walker.

6. East Carolina

East Carolina hasn’t gotten off to the best start this season, but with the talent on the roster and the way they’ve been playing lately, I’d be surprised if they don’t find themselves in the top half of the conference. Junior guard RJ Felton (16.8 pts, 6.8 reb) leads the team in scoring, and has been impactful on both sides of the ball. The forward duo of Brandon Johnson (14.2 pts, 9.2 reb) and Ezra Ausar (13.9 pts, 5.1 reb) has been one of the best in the conference. Along with Felton, the Pirates have some high major talent in the backcourt, as Bobby Pettiford, Jaden Walker and newly-eligible Cam Hayes all spent time and played at a Power Six school.

7. South Florida

It’s year one of the Amir Abdul-Rahim in Tampa, and there have been plenty of ups and downs. They suffered early buy game losses to Central Michigan and Maine, but have won their last four games by double digits, including a 16 point neutral win over in-state rival Florida State. The offense is led by two double digit scorers, returner Selton Miguel (14.3 pts) and Kennesaw State transfer Chris Youngblood (13.6 pts). Freshman point guard Jayden Reid leads the team in assists, at 4.3 per game, and will be a player to keep an eye on. If the Bulls continue their hot play, they could be a real force in the American.

8. Charlotte

Charlotte is one of the slower teams in the country, so they’re not always the most exciting team to watch. However, they’ve still been getting it done, exceeding expectations in year one of interim coach Aaron Fearne’s tenure. The 49ers have three scorers in double digits. Lu’Cye Patterson is leading the team with 13.6 points per game in his second year in Charlotte. Former Virginia transfer big man Igor Milicic is averaging 11.5 points and 8.6 rebounds, and might be the 49ers’ best player on both sides of the ball. Sophomore Nik Graves is also in double figures, with 10.3 points, after just averaging 1.6 points per game last year.

9. Wichita State

Wichita State is another team that falls in the big tier of teams in the middle of the AAC, but they’ve been struggling a little more as of recently. However, most Shocker fans should be fine with the growing pains to start Paul Mills’ tenure, because he’s such a big upgrade from Isaac Brown. The Shockers currently have four players in double digits. They include Siena transfer Colby Rogers (16.8 pts) who was with the team last year but ineligible, Xavier Bell (14.7 pts), Kenny Pohto (12.0 pts) and Miami transfer Harlond Beverly (10.3 pts).

10. UAB

UAB was a team I liked preseason, including them in my top 70 nationally. However, the start of the season has been less than ideal. They’ve dropped over 70 spots in Kenpom since the start of the season, but I’m not completely counting out the Blazers. UAB still holds wins over Maryland, Drake and Forman. They’re a talented team, but might be too deep for their own good. Another thing Andy Kennedy’s squad will really need to improve upon is defense if they want to get back into the top group, as they’re currently ranked 287th.

11. Tulsa

Tulsa was one of the worst teams in college basketball last year, only winning five games the whole season. In his second year on the job, Eric Konkol completely flipped over the roster and is seeing that pay off, as Tulsa looks to be in the mix to compete in the middle of the conference, and already has eight wins. Their leading scorer is redshirt freshman and TCU transfer PJ Haggerty (16.8 pts), who has been one of the better freshmen in the country. Konkol is also getting some good play out of Louisiana Tech transfer Cobe Williams (12.3 pts, 3.6 ast), who Konkol coached there.

12. Rice

The bottom three teams in the American probably won’t be winning too many conference games, but Rice has some decent talent and offensive play, so they could pull off some upsets. Their leading scorer is Travis Evee (16.5 pts) and in the backcourt in double digits is also Mekhi Mason (12.5 pts). The Owls also have one of the best passing forwards in the country, in Max Fiedler (10.1 pts, 8.7 reb, 4.8 ast).

13. Temple

Temple is yet another AAC team in the first year of a new coach, with the hiring of Adam Fisher this offseason. Overall, the issue with this team is talent. Hysier Miller (17.4 pts, 4.6 reb, 4.5 ast) has been doing his fair share, but the Owls lack a ton of talent outside him. Freshman Zion Stanford (8.4 pts) does give them some hope for the future, but for one of the historic college basketball programs, Temple isn’t heading in a positive direction.

14. UTSA

Conference realignment is predominantly football-based, and that is shown with UTSA moving to the AAC. The Roadrunners are far and away the worst team in the league according to the metrics, and have one of the worst defenses in the country. After having a few solid years early in his UTSA tenure, it’s becoming clear that Steve Henson’s time in San Antonio is likely coming to an end.

My Predictions for the All-Conference Selections and Award Winners

First Team: RJ Felton (East Carolina), Johnell Davis (Florida Atlantic), David Jones (Memphis), Kevin Cross (Tulane), Vlad Golden (Florida Atlantic)

Second Team: Jahvon Quinerly (Memphis), Chuck Harris (SMU), Colby Rogers (Wichita State), Jason Edwards (North Texas), Sion James (Tulane)

Player of the Year: David Jones (Memphis)

Defensive Player of the Year: Tyreek Smith (SMU)

Newcomer of the Year: David Jones (Memphis)

Freshman of the Year: PJ Haggerty (Tulsa)

Coach of the Year: Rob Lanier (SMU)

Breakout Player to Watch for: Rondel Walker (North Texas)