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The American Athletic Conference is a league trying to pull itself together and prove worthy of, yep, four NCAA Tournament bids this year. Will it be able to do it? That's going to take seven more weeks to determine. But it's not out of the question at this point. Things will have to break just right, though.

What we do know: Cincinnati and SMU are the two best teams in the conference, and they should both be in the bracket on Selection Sunday. They played on Thursday night in Cincinnati and they did not waste their opportunity to put on a good show on behalf of their conference. The 22nd-ranked Bearcats were able to stave off a push from SMU to win 66-64, improving to 14-2 in the process and finding themselves all alone atop the American with a 4-0 record.

The Ponies took their first loss in league play and are 14-4 overall.

Three takeaways from a riveting game.

1. It was an old-school game of pure defense, and that's refreshing

See, this wasn't a hideous watch. It wasn't slow, and grinding, and filled with bad shooting. Not at all. In fact, the game had some unnecessary stalling in the final two minutes, yet the game was completed well under two hours. Why? Cincinnati committed only 10 fouls, SMU just 12. Twenty-two total fouls ... for the entire game! Very impressive. The teams combined for just 11 turnovers as well.

Cincinnati is the No. 3-ranked team in defensive efficiency in America, allowing opponents to score just 89 points per 100 possessions. Its 2-point defense ranks No. 2, with a 39.4-percent clip. SMU was merely 15-of-37 for the floor.

2. Cincinnati won because it blasted off from 3

For the second straight game, Cincinnati made at least 10 3-pointers. Wait, Cincinnati? Killing teams with the long ball? Believe it. This team is more fun than you realize. Mick Cronin's crew went 12 for 26 from deep on Thursday night, and if this is going to become something the Bearcats can rely on, then you better start strongly considering making room for UC in your Sweet 16. Troy Caupain was 5-of-8 from deep, and he finished with 16 points. Gary Clark had a team-high 18, including a couple of treys. Kevin Johnson also had three triples.

Cincy has won seven straight and next faces East Carolina on the road Sunday.

3. SMU trailed big and almost stole it

At one point Cincinnati led 27-12 and was on a 16-0 run. Most teams can fight back from that at Fifth Third Arena. So in that regard, it's a good sign for an undervalued SMU team who is proving to be good in the post-Larry Brown era.

Between Shake Milton, Semi Ojeleye, Sterling Brown and Ben Moore, SMU is the most talented team in the conference. Cincinnati is the best team, but SMU has the most ability, I think. If anything, the team (which only gets in 64 possessions per game on average) plays too slow for its own good. Those aforementioned guys can go, but Tim Jankovich knows the personnel and has his style. For the most part, SMU's benefited from it this year.

So when's the rematch in Dallas? Cincy will head to SMU's house on Feb. 12. If the Bearcats win that game as well, it's almost a definite they'll win the AAC regular-season title.