American
Overachieving: Tulsa. Frank Haith's program started the week tied atop the American standings with Houston, both with 6-1 records in league play. Tulsa followed last week's 40-point win over Memphis with a 79-75 road win over UConn on Sunday. This year, Haith's squad added seven newcomers, which is probably why it was picked to finish 10th in the American. But junior guard Brandon Rachal (14.8 points per game) leads the best defensive team in the league (23.4% clip from beyond the arc for opponents). From 10th in the league to the NCAA tournament? It's possible.
Underachieving: Memphis. After last week's 40-point loss to a Tulsa team that had previously lost to Arkansas State, Colorado State and UT Arlington -- all sub-100 teams in the NET rankings -- by 24 points combined, the wheels fell off Penny Hardaway's bandwagon. The Tigers, who have lost four of their past six, could miss the NCAA tournament after entering the season as the co-favorite in the American with Houston. Yeah, James Wiseman's departure after playing in three games before his subsequent suspension hurt the program. But they're one of the league's worst offensive teams, committing turnovers on nearly one-quarter of their possessions and making just 64% of their free throws. This is bad. And it might get worse.
Overachieving: Tulsa. Frank Haith's program started the week tied atop the American standings with Houston, both with 6-1 records in league play. Tulsa followed last week's 40-point win over Memphis with a 79-75 road win over UConn on Sunday. This year, Haith's squad added seven newcomers, which is probably why it was picked to finish 10th in the American. But junior guard Brandon Rachal (14.8 points per game) leads the best defensive team in the league (23.4% clip from beyond the arc for opponents). From 10th in the league to the NCAA tournament? It's possible.
Underachieving: Memphis. After last week's 40-point loss to a Tulsa team that had previously lost to Arkansas State, Colorado State and UT Arlington -- all sub-100 teams in the NET rankings -- by 24 points combined, the wheels fell off Penny Hardaway's bandwagon. The Tigers, who have lost four of their past six, could miss the NCAA tournament after entering the season as the co-favorite in the American with Houston. Yeah, James Wiseman's departure after playing in three games before his subsequent suspension hurt the program. But they're one of the league's worst offensive teams, committing turnovers on nearly one-quarter of their possessions and making just 64% of their free throws. This is bad. And it might get worse.
