AAC BASKETBALL RANKINGS

For the first time this season, a team other than SMU sits atop our American Athletic Conference basketball rankings. 1. Temple (15-8, 9-3): With SMU having dropped three its last five, Temple moves up from No. 2 in la st week’s poll. The Owls have won seven of their la st eight, which includes an 89-80 home victory over SMU, and put themselves in good position to earn the No. 1 seed in next month’s AAC tournament. Temple swept it s regular-season series against Connecticut and Cincinnati, having knocked off the Huskies 63-58 on Thursday at home. 2. SMU (20-3, 9-3): It will be interesting to see how far No. 16 SMU falls in The Associated Press Top 25 on Monday after an 82-77 home loss to Tulsa on Wednesday. The guess here is that the Mustangs will drop to the No. 22-25 range. Four of SMU’s final seven games will come against teams ranked 33rd or better at Kenpom.com, starting with a nonconference meeting Saturday against Gonzaga at home. 3. Tulsa (16-8, 8-4): The Golden Hurricane climbs two spots this week on the strength of its road win Wednesday at No. 16 SMU, which had been undefeated at home. Tulsa has won eight of 10 since star ting 0-2 in league play and faces Connecticut on the road Saturday. The Hurricane beat the Huskies 60-51 at home la st month. 4. Cincinnati (18-7, 8-4): The Bearcats drop one spot after falling 63-59 on the road to a Memphis team that’s below .500 in league play. Still, Cincinnati remains in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the AAC tourney. It just needs Temple to slip up, having lost both of its games against the Owls this season. 5. Connecticut (17-7, 7-4): The Huskies had won three straight before falling 63-58 at Temple on Thursday night. It doesn’t get much easier for UConn over its next three games, which will come against Tulsa (at home), SMU (at home) and Cincinnati (on the road). 6. Houston (17-7, 7-5): The Cougars picked up a nice comeback win over Memphis on Wednesday, beating the Tigers 98-90 at home after trailing by 13 in the first half. Houston ranks 20th nationally in offensive efficiency and has won four of it s la st five. 7. Memphis (14-10, 5-6): Having given up 75 or more point s in six of their la st seven games, the Tigers need to get back on track defensively during a threegame stretch in which they’ll face Tulane (on Saturday), UCF (next Wednesday) and South Florida (next Saturday). 8. UCF (11-11, 5-6): The Knights took Temple to the wire la st Saturday, falling 62-60 at home. UCF ranks 310th nationally in turnover percentage (20.7). 9. Tulane (9-16, 2-10): The Green Wave jumps two spots after winning 100-92 in triple-over time at East Carolina on Wednesday. 10. East Carolina (10-14, 2-9): The Pirates have played five overtime periods over their la st three games, losing in double over time to Houston and triple overtime to Tulane. 11. South Florida (5-20, 2-10): The Bulls were beaten by 31 points at Cincinnati and by 34 at home against SMU in their last two games. Ouch.