So, what's new in the AAC?
Ron Hunter and the Tulane Green Wave won a bronze medal at the World University Games during the team’s offseason program. Hunter, who you may remember from the viral moment when he fell off his stool after his son nailed a late dagger to help Georgia State upset Baylor in the NCAA tournament, has been integral in turning around the Green Wave.
Penny Hardaway remains at the helm of the Memphis Tigers, having led his team to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.
The Tigers figure to be without star recruit Mikey Williams, who is facing multiple felony charges in a California shooting incident. Still, Memphis is very capable of winning the AAC and earning a berth to the NCAA tournament based on its transfer talent and experience.
Florida Atlantic has joined the American after a magical Final Four run last season. The Owls and head coach Dusty May return all major pieces from the best team in school history and figure to be an immediate contender in the conference.
There are now 14 teams in the AAC. Eight of the 14 teams have head coaches in their first or second year.
The departures of Houston, Cincinnati and UCF opened the door for newcomers. Six new teams have joined the AAC this year.
North Texas, UAB, Rice, Charlotte, UTSA and the aforementioned Florida Atlantic will have an opportunity to make noise in their inaugural season in a new league.
AAC Regular Season NCAAB Conference Title Odds
| Team Name | Odds (Via FanDuel) |
| Florida Atlantic | +125 |
| Memphis | +145 |
| UAB | +1800 |
| Tulane | +1800 |
| Wichita State | +1800 |
| North Texas | +2000 |
| USF | +4000 |
| Charlotte | +4000 |
| SMU | +5000 |
| East Carolina | +5000 |
| Temple | +5000 |
| Rice | +9500 |
| UTSA | +25000 |
| Tulsa | +25000 |
The Contenders
Memphis & FAU
The AP Poll and the AAC Preseason Coaches Poll would have you believing that FAU is the clear favorite to win this year’s American Conference, but I believe Memphis is actually the better team.
In my opinion, the Tigers are the best bet to win the conference this season, especially based on their price at multiple books.
Over the course of an 18-game conference schedule, I would be truly shocked if this was not a two-horse race for the title between Memphis and FAU. The Tigers and the Owls will obviously be in the mix for not only an automatic bid, but a high seed in the NCAA tournament.
Ironically, Memphis and FAU met in the Round of 64 this past March. In a nail-biting affair, FAU made a few tough, contested shots to defeat a more physical Memphis team and spur its Cinderella Final Four run.
The Owls overcame a slight talent mismatch with what I perceive as a slight in-game coaching advantage. May is a rising star in the coaching ranks, fully capable of overcoming Penny Hardaway’s recruiting prowess with a more tactical approach.
Nonetheless, I believe the media and fan perception of FAU has drawn its price down significantly.
In my eyes, Memphis and Florida Atlantic are much more equal than some prices indicate, making Memphis a much more attractive investment to take the AAC title.
Wait Until the AAC Tournament
The North Texas Mean Green (+200), UAB Blazers (+1800) and Tulane Green Wave (+1800).
All three of the above squads help round out the top five of my perceived standings for the 2023-2024 AAC.
North Texas and UAB are newcomers to the conference, yet I don’t imagine the talent of their rosters will struggle at all despite this slight step-up in class.
North Texas Mean Green
North Texas did lose its head coach Grant McCasland to Texas Tech in the offseason after he posted an impressive five-year run with the Mean Green.
Ross Hodge was subsequently promoted as an internal hire after serving as an assistant head coach for five of those years under McCasland.
I would expect the continuity in the coaching staff to alleviate any concerns for North Texas.
A larger obstacle for the Mean Green will be overcoming the loss of their leader and backcourt star, Tylor Perry, who transferred to Kansas State in the offseason.
UAB Blazers
UAB retained a familiar face to college basketball fans in its head coach Andy Kennedy. If you ever find yourself watching old Marshall Henderson highlights from his days at Ole Miss, you may recall seeing Kennedy on the sidelines trying to rein in Henderson’s antics.
Kennedy is an experienced coach and is fully capable of making UAB a consistent contender in the AAC for as long as he remains with the Blazers.
Unfortunately, UAB’s roster will look entirely different in 2023-24 than it did last season. Jordan “Jelly” Walker graduated and will leave a large vacancy for UAB to fill offensively. Walker was the ultimate bailout late in the shot clock when UAB struggled offensively.
Kennedy will likely need to change the identity of his team this season by relying on a more physically taxing, defensive-oriented brand that may better suit his incoming class of transfers.
Tulane Green Wave
Tulane and its previously mentioned head coach also figure to be slightly above-average in the AAC this season.
That expectation should not be taken lightly, especially considering when Hunter accepted the job at Tulane, the Green Wave had just posted an 0-18 record in the AAC in the 2018-2019 campaign.
Hunter has built this program back to relevance quickly, just as he did at Georgia State. And given the team played seven games in China together this past summer, it's already begun the process of building a rapport.
AAC Betting Picks Recap
It’s worth reiterating: without Memphis and FAU, the AAC would be truly wide open.
However, the dominance I expect the Tigers and Owls to have on their conference foes is immense. My sentiment is that any conference future wager placed on any team besides Memphis and FAU would simply prove to be a donation to your preferred sportsbook.
Instead of placing a regular season conference future on one of the “flyers” of the AAC, consider waiting until the AAC Tournament. A larger sample size of an 18-game conference schedule will weed out teams like North Texas, UAB and Tulane that are simply not as complete as Memphis and FAU.
The sprint of a conference tournament format offers more value and opportunity for your favorite AAC flyer to make a run and cash your ticket.
