NTXCoog

Haven't since UConn left. Don't think you can have divisions with <12 teams

The gossip is that Navy asked to be in the West because there are more southern schools especially Texas. More Navy recruits (military, not just academy) come from the South than the Northeast. Playing in TX is a military recruiting tool. The academies see a bigger picture than most schools.

I think there's a talent gap between UNT and the top of the AAC. I don't think there's one with the bottom of the AAC which is horrible so far this year. The question is how far down in the middle tier does UNT fall

UAB, UTSA, and FAU have never finished ranked. ECU has finished top 10 in 1991. Only other time they finished ranked was 1983. SMU hasn't finished ranked since 1984 Temple finished ranked once in 1979. Memphis, USF, and Navy have finished ranked multiple times recently. USF for the 1st times in 2016 and 2017. Memphis also for the 1st times in 2014, 2017, and 2019. Not mentioned Tulsa finished ranked in 2010 and was ranked multiple times in the 2000s Also not mentioned Tulane finished ranked more recently than most of the teams mentioned ending top 10 in 1998. So USF and Memphis show it can be done even if it had never been done before

One of the biggest negatives mentioned for Memphis and USF regarding realignment is that they don't control their football stadiums. I can't imagine it being any different for UTSA

NIL money at Memphis is elite

Its even more complex than that. If a player signs up for NBA evaluation, he can work with an NCAA certified agent and retain eligibility. Non-certified cannot return. https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2021-10-13/ncaa-certified-agents-helping-college-athletes-test-nba-draft-waters

Tulsa has been a great stepping stone job going back to the 1980s Nolan Richardson left for Arkansas Tubby Smith - Georgia then Kentucky Steve Robinson - FSU Bill Self- Illinois/Kansas Buzz Peterson - Tennessee Danny Manning - Wake Forest Even the coaches that dont move on stay at Tulsa for a decent amount of time, almost 7 years on average

Your bracket is in trouble

Tulsa made the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and 2016. They might have made it in 2020 if it hadn't been cancelled as they tied for 1st in the conference. They've made the torunament 4 times since Self left. They've had good coaches and teams before and after Self. You might have heard SMU's name locally more because of Larry Brown, but I think Tulsa has been respected much more nationally

If Memphis dominates the AAC like they did CUSA, it actually makes the conference look worse. I don't think that happens though. The biggest problem is the league is being inconsistent at best out of conference. Memphis had some very good wins but also some bad losses. The middle of the pack will play horrible schedules and/or lose to bad teams, then they'll get their act together in conference and beat some of the better teams. Then there are the bottom tier teams that will pick up Q4 losses OOC but still manage to win a few against mid to upper tier teams. I think the AAC needs Memphis to keep moving up. It needs Wichita State and Tulsa to improve because those are names that basketball fans know so they could recover their reputations more quickly. Need at least one ex-CUSA team to be solid to show you're not just losing good teams but also picking up good teams. Need better OOC performance from all levels. And need the bottom of the league to improve to just bad instead if horrible.

Memphis is likely underseeded. When they are on, they can beat anyone. They've had a crazy year with injuries, COVID, and just meshing their team. They're on a roll lately. Even though UH iust beat them by 18, i don't want to play them again. Only team to beat UH by more than 2 points, and both their wins were by double digits.

Because of efficiency stats. UH is #11 in offensive efficiency and #3 in defensive efficiency. Only 4 quad 1 opportunities. Lost 3 of them by 1 or 2 points Only 1 quad 2 loss (Memphis at home). No quad 3 or 4 losses.

And to be clear, I don't think UH is the 3rd best team. Just pointing out how useless the NET is

UH is #3 in NET for that 5 seed. Shows you how much they value the NET unless they can use it as a basis for selecting the big conference school to get in