PHILADELPHIA – For the second consecutive year, Cincinnati has been tabbed as the favorite to win the 2017-18 American Athletic Conference men's basketball regular-season title, in voting of the conference's head coaches. The Bearcats got the nod by a single point over conference-newcomer Wichita State. Temple was picked to finish seventh of the league's 12 teams.
SMU junior guard Shake Milton was chosen as the American Athletic Conference Preseason Players of the Year. In his sophomore year, Milton averaged 13.0 points and 4.5 assists per game, knocking down 42.3-percent of his three-point attempts.
After redshirting following a season-ending injury in 2016-17, UConn's Alterique Gilbert repeated as The American's Preseason Rookie of the Year.