The NCAA 2023-24 season is in full swing and fans could not have been more excited about the season to roll out. The top teams are known to everyone, but in every season, there have been one or two teams that have been so underrated that they have missed the eyeballs of casual basketball fans.

Today, both the Memphis Tigers and the Houston Cougars qualify for being skilled performers but often miss out on the discussions when it comes to rating top teams. A more detailed analysis of the two will make clear their potential and which of them stands more chance at the championship.

What about Houston?

The Houston Cougars occupy the fourth spot in the AP Polls rankings only behind the Arizona Wildcats, the Kansas Jayhawks, and the Purdue Boilermakers. The Houstonians have won all their 11 games and have an unbeaten streak. They edged past the Texas A&M by a narrow margin of 70-66 in their last game. It would have been interesting to check if the Cougars were up for domination if the Texas guard Tyrece Radford had played.

Though Houston completely dominated the first half, the Aggies came back in the second. For the Cougars, their guard Emanuel Sharp stood out, potting 21 points. While other players struggled to find open spaces, Sharp was agile enough to create opportunities for himself.

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A lot of things on Houston’s status will be clear once they start playing more tier 1 teams like Purdue, the Marquette, and the Huskies since they are positioned in the top 4, and only contending with a strong team will test the waters. There is no doubt that Houston is a top-notch team, but the question that looms over them is if they are as commendable a team as the others who are occupying the top positions.

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Another problem plaguing Houston is that they lost their key player, Terrance Arceneaux, to an injury. Thus as the season progresses there will be more clarity on the Houston and if they can keep their spirits and maintain their game level despite the injuries. Arceneaux had shown signs of improvement and was only going to get better with matches. He had a high ceiling and could have played a role in taking Houston to the next level.

But what about the Memphis Tigers?

How are the Memphis Tigers?

The Memphis Tigers have too shone through their spectacular performances. They have an 8-2 record and have thrashed Missouri on the road, Michigan and Arkansas on a neutral venue. Apart from that, they also upended the VCU, the Texas A&M, and the Clemson. They had also outclassed Jackson State in the season opener, which is the best 0-5 team in the country as per Missouri head coach Dennis Gates.

Their forward David Jones is leading them in three departments. He has the highest points scored average, highest rebounds average, and best steal average for the Tigers. The Tigers performed beyond the expectations of their fans when they won against the Aggies on the road and ended their 9-game winning streak of Clemson.

Much of the credit for the team’s brilliant performances goes to their head coach Penny Hardaway and their newly hired assistant coach Rick Stansbury. Stansbury brought in players such as Jahvon Quinerly and David Jones. For his exceptional recruiting, the 63-year-old can be regarded as a top-five recruiter.

The team has shown good depth and has top players on their roster. The team will be more of a force to reckon with when their forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin gets healthy and is back on the court. 

Jones along with Quinerly are the stars for this team since the former has displayed his skill to create opportunities for himself. Whereas Quinerly has been playing the role of second fiddle quite well. Apart from that, the team has stepped up as a whole, especially their guard Caleb Mills, who has an astounding 73.7% free throw percentage. The team has also proved its defensive capabilities with Jones and their forward Malcolm Dandridge nabbing 6.5 and 4.3 rebounds per contest. 

The Memphis can thus prove to be top contenders, decimating their opponents with their team tactics. However, the size, toughness, and age can be an issue for this Memphis team. And the Florida Atlantic Owls can stop them in their tracks in the American Athletic Conference. 

Which is the more underrated team?

Houston is positioned at the fourth spot in the AP Polls and has an 11-0 record, whereas Memphis has an 8-2 tally. On further analysis of both the teams, as stated above, Memphis can have a tough contender in the Owls, while Houston can have bitter competition with the other top-tier teams.

However, there is not much talk about the Cougars as much as they deserve, and, purely based on their unbeaten record, they seem to be a more underrated team than Memphis.

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More of it will be clear as the season progresses and it will be amazing to see if Houston will hold on to their position in the rankings.