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Non-conference schedule studs and duds: American Athletic Conference
Since most of this coming season's non-conference schedules have finally been released, it's a good time to assess whose slates are the most daunting and who didn't challenge themselves enough. Yahoo Sports will go league-by-league the next two weeks. Up next: The AAC.
Toughest non-league schedule: UConn
In the two-plus years since the fragmentation of the Big East forced UConn to the American Athletic Conference, the Huskies have employed a interesting scheduling strategy. They have loaded their non-league slate with elite opponents to compensate for playing in a conference whose lower tier is notoriously weak.
This year's schedule epitomizes that strategy as UConn could play as many as seven preseason top 40 teams in non-conference play. The Huskies will host perennial NCAA tournament teams Georgetown and Ohio State, visit Big 12 power Texas and face Big Ten favorite Maryland on a neutral floor in New York. They'll also participate in next season's most challenging holiday tournament, the Battle 4 Atlantis, which also features Gonzaga, Syracuse, Michigan, Texas, Texas A&M, Washington and Charlotte.
Is this challenging a schedule wise for a UConn team that failed to make the NCAA tournament last season and graduated leading scorer Ryan Boatright? A lot will depend on the impact made by Seton Hall transfer Sterling Gibbs and returning wings Daniel Hamilton and Rodney Purvis. If Gibbs can emerge as a go-to threat, Hamilton can enjoy a breakout sophomore season and Purvis can score more efficiently, the Huskies have a chance to be formidable.
Easiest non-league schedule: Houston
For a program with a rich tradition, a well known head coach and a decently talented roster, Houston has assembled a surprisingly soft non-conference schedule next season. The Cougars do host talent-laden LSU and visit Atlantic 10 contender Rhode Island, however, most of the rest of the slate appears to have been designed to provide the team a chance to pile up wins against bottom-tier competition.
Houston's home schedule is riddled with games against teams who annually finish outside the RPI top 200 — Nicholls State, Prairie View A&M, Florida A&M, Texas Rio Grande and the like. The only times the Cougars venture away from home are for the Rhode Island game and a neutral-court tournament in Las Vegas at which they will play Grand Canyon and either Marshall or rebuilding Wyoming.
That snoozer of a schedule likely reflects coach Kelvin Sampson's desire to build momentum this season after an injury-riddled 13-19 finish in his debut campaign a year ago. Houston returns four starters and welcomes potential impact transfers Damyean Dotson (Oregon), Ronnie Johnson (Purdue) and Xavier Dupree (Paris Junior College).
Team that mismanaged its schedule: None
To be honest, I like the approach most of the AAC's brand-name programs have taken to building their schedules this season.
League title contenders UConn, Cincinnati and SMU have assembled formidable schedules packed with chances for marquee wins. Rapidly improving Tulsa had a more difficult time finding quality opponents willing to agree to home-and-home series, but the Golden Hurricane still will face a trio of power-conference opponents and preseason top 15 Wichita State. And Memphis wisely scaled back the difficulty of its schedule in a year when it enters with more question marks than usual and when Josh Pastner's job may be on the line.
If there's a team that took the biggest risks, it's Temple, which hosts Villanova, visits Wisconsin, faces North Carolina on a neutral court and plays in a challenging tournament that also features Utah, Butler, Miami and Minnesota. Nonetheless, the Owls have some key pieces from a 26-win team returning and have shown in the past that they're capable of taking advantage of a schedule like this, most recently when they toppled Kansas a year ago.
Three AAC non-conference games to watch:
1. Gonzaga at SMU, Feb. 13: The most hotly anticipated non-league matchup SMU plays next season won't come until the eve of Valentine's Day. That's when the Mustangs host a Gonzaga team that boasts maybe the nation's premier frontcourt trio. SMU will counter with a backcourt headlined by AAC player of the year candidate Nic Moore and a frontcourt headlined by post presence Markus Kennedy and Duke transfer Semi Ojeleye.
2. Iowa State at Cincinnati, Dec. 22: The contrast of styles will be fascinating when fast-paced, free-flowing Iowa State visits a defensive-oriented Cincinnati program known for making games as physical as possible. Iowa State could begin next season ranked in the top five despite the departure of head coach Fred Hoiberg, but Cincinnati will be no pushover thanks to the return of seven of its top eight players from an NCAA tournament team.
3. UConn at Battle 4 Atlantis, Nov. 25-27: College basketball's most compelling preseason tournament will provide the first litmus test for how much better UConn will be this season after last year's uncharacteristic flop. The Huskies open with Big Ten contender Michigan and could meet longtime Big East rival Syracuse in the semifinals. Gonzaga, Texas, Texas A&M and Washington are the teams on the other side of the bracket.
Game that should have been scheduled but wasn't: Tulsa-Missouri
Many Missouri fans blame Tulsa coach Frank Haith for leaving the program so threadbare that the Tigers stumbled to a 9-23 finish in Kim Anderson's debut season. Haith countered last February that he could have won at least 20 games were he still Missouri's coach, a comment that made headlines nationally and could not have sat well with Anderson or his staff. The heated emotions on both sides would make a Tulsa-Missouri clash compelling even if the Tigers are likely headed for another rebuilding year.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
