The odds of a Houston win at the Final Four in Houston

As the 2022-23 men’s college basketball season draws closer, ESPN.com’s panel of experts is predicting the order of finish for the nation’s top conferences. Having already looked at Gonzaga and Division I’s top mid-majors, the focus now shifts to the American Athletic Conference (AAC).

The Houston Cougars will welcome back Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark after they missed significant time in 2021-22 due to injuries. The Memphis Tigers still have DeAndre Williams and Alex Lomax and have added SMU transfer Kendric Davis.

Houston and Memphis were the only AAAC teams to reach the 2022 NCAA tournament. Perhaps in 2023 it will be Cincinnati or Temple or Tulane or another team entirely that also hears its name on Selection Sunday. Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello, Joe Lunardi and John Gasaway made their predictions and offered their thoughts on all the league’s big questions.

Find more preseason analysis here.

AAC 2022-23 superlatives

Player of the Year

Medcalf: Marcus Sasser, Houston
Borzello: Marcus Sasser, Houston
Gasaway: Marcus Sasser, Houston
Lunardi: Marcus Sasser, Houston

Newcomer of the Year

Medcalf: Kendric Davis, Memphis
Borzello: Kendric Davis, Memphis
Gasaway: Kendric Davis, Memphis
Lunardi: Jarace Walker, Houston

AAC 2022-23 roundtable

After back-to-back Elite Eight appearances and a Final Four run in 2021, what is Houston’s ceiling in 2022-23? Are they Final Four-good again?

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Tramon Mark gets the hoop and the harm

Borzello: Houston’s ceiling is a national championship. We know what to expect from Kelvin Sampson-coached teams: elite defense and elite offensive rebounding. I don’t expect that to change. What this team has that the previous two editions lacked is explosiveness offensively. Marcus Sasser might be the best guard in the country. Jamal Shead emerged as a terrific playmaker down the stretch of last season. Incoming freshman Jarace Walker is a first-rounder. Another freshman, Terrance Arceneaux, is a scoring machine who will provide instant offense off the bench….