The 5 Most Overrated Teams in College Basketball

You have to love the college basketball preseason polls.

Every season the "experts" gather around and try to rank the best college programs from 1 to 25. 

However, with teams yet to play a game, it's hard to take these rankings seriously.

In fact, since 1996, only three preseason No. 1's have gone on to win the national championship. During that same time span, three unranked teams have won at all.

Furthermore, since 1993, only twice has more than two of the Final Four participants been ranked in the preseason Top Five.

Needless to say, the preseason rankings should be taken with a grain of salt. Minus 2008, when all four Final Four teams were ranked 1-4 in the preseason poll, the pollsters are usually off the mark.

After glancing over this season's preseason poll, here are five teams that are overrated.

UCLA

2012-13 preseason ranking: 13

2011-12 ranking: Unranked (19-14)

If boasting the nation's top recruiting class was enough to insure success, then, sure, the UCLA Bruins are  deserving of a spot in the top 15.

However, while Shabazz Muhammad is one heck of a player—and one heck of a name—he alone isn’t enough to carry the Bruins back to a respectable level.

Remember, these are the same Bruins who after being ranked No. 20 in the preseason and predicted to win the Pac-12 a year ago, finished 19-14 and didn't participate in either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.

A large reason was their anemic offense. The Bruins ranked No. 164 in scoring, averaging 68.6 points per game.

And after losing two starters, it doesn't get easier for the Bruins. They will now have to replace their top scorer and top distributor.

A top recruiting class is nice, but UCLA will have to earn its respect on the floor, not on paper.

Actual Ranking Range: No. 20-25 

North Carolina State

2012-13 preseason ranking: 6

2011-2012 final ranking: 20 (24-13)

Making a Cinderella-run into the Sweet 16 as a No. 11 seed last season won N.C. State many fans. But did it win them a place in the top 10? Not even close.

Sure, C.J. Leslie's decision to return for his junior year and with the recruitment of Rodney Purvis is a huge boost for the Wolfpack, but let's be realistic.

N.C. State finished the regular season 20-11 a year ago and were unranked. If you ask me, I value a 31-game sample a whole lot more than I do a three-game sample. 

Then there's the fact that the Wolfpack are scheduled to play seven teams that are ranked. That doesn't bode well for a team that went 0-8 against ranked teams last season.

Don't get me wrong, N.C. State will be good this season. But will the Wolfpack be good enough to give North Carolina and Duke a run for their money in the ACC? Probably not.  

Actual ranking range: 13-17

Michigan

2012-13 preseason ranking: 5

2011-12 final ranking: 22 (24-10)

The Michigan Wolverines were a commendable 5-5 against ranked opponents last season on their way  to locking up a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The future looked bright for the Wolverines.

That's until they were upset by Ohio in the first round. Not archrival Ohio State, but unheard of Ohio University.

Ouch.

The Wolverines are bringing back a pretty solid roster, including sophomore Trey Burke who led the team with 14.8 points per game. However, they lost key players in three-point threat Zack Novak graduating and rebounding maestro Evan Smotrycz deciding to transfer.

While the Wolverines did boast some impressive victories over No. 6 Ohio State, No. 8 Memphis and No. 9 Michigan State,  they also had some embarrassing defeats, losing to Arkansas and Iowa.

Add that they finished No. 202 in scoring and No. 311 in rebounding, and the Wolverines 2011-12 season was altogether pretty underwhelming.

Going off of what we've seen from this team, they're far too inconsistent to be gifted a top-five ranking.

It might change during the course of the season, but as of right now it's a little bit premature.

Actual ranking range: 12-15

Kentucky

2012-13 preseason ranking: 3

2011-12 final ranking: 1 (37-2)

How do you win the national championship one season, then be considered overrated the next?

Simple. Just lose your entire starting five, plus your sixth man, to the NBA.

The Kentucky Wildcats can attest to that.

By losing Marquis Teague, Anthony Davis, Doron Lamb, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones and Darius Miller, the Wildcats lost 72 of their 78 points per game last season. That's more than 92 percent of their scoring lost in one offseason.

Head coach John Calipari is foolish if he thinks one good recruiting class—No. 2 in nation—can replace that loss.

Now, the team's "veteran" leadership role will fall to sophomore Kyle Wiltjer, who averaged 5.0 points in 11.6 minutes per game.

That's not going to get it done.

This team is young and is pretty much looking at a rebuilding year.

Expect them to put up a fight and possibly make a run into the Sweet 16. But that's about all the Wildcats will do.

Actual Ranking Range: 9-13

Indiana

2012-13 preseason ranking: 1

2011-12 final ranking: 13 (27-9)

To those few Indiana Hoosier fans who are having flashbacks to 1976 when the team went 32-0 after being named preseason No. 1, you can wake up now.

The Hoosiers are not a No. 1 team. At least not yet. 

With sophomore Cody Zeller—15.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game—and senior Christian Watford—12.6 PPG and 5.8 RPG—returning, the Hoosiers' offense should be just as effective.

Throw in the No. 11 recruiting class in the nation, and they're going to be even better.

However, putting them above teams such as Ohio State, Louisville and Kansas is a bit unrealistic.

The Hoosiers finished a pedestrian 4-5 against ranked teams last season. That includes a 1-4 record in their last five games.

This season, they have eight teams on the schedule that are ranked.

If the Hoosiers want to prove that they deserve to be the No. 1 team in the nation, they will need to show that they can win games consistently against the best competition in the nation. Until they do that, they will just be another good basketball team that is not quite at the elite level.

The Hoosiers will get a chance to prove the doubters wrong when they take on No. 12 North Carolina at home on Nov. 27.

Win that, and then we can talk No. 1

Actual ranking range: 4-8