Unranked Teams Set to Make Waves in the 2015 NCAA Basketball Tournament

The majority of the teams in the NCAA tournament are unranked teams—precisely 43 teams.

In that slurry of 43 teams are some big-time threats to the teams who are so dignified as to earn a Top-25 ranking.

The lower-end No. 6 seeds are out of the Top 25, and we’ve seen what kind of noise teams like that can make in the tournament.

Nowadays, the traditional powers can’t just bulldoze their way into the regional semifinals. As we saw in last year’s tournament when UConn defeated Kentucky, it was a No. 7 seed slaying a No. 8 seed.

Ignore unranked teams at your own risk. Here’s a short list of unranked teams that will stir the drink in the NCAA tournament.

Dayton

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

RPI: 13

KenPom.com Ranking: 39

The Dayton Flyers, like all teams on this list, sit outside the Top 25. Dayton’s RPI rating is .6367 with a strength of schedule of 52.

Dayton’s win over Ole Miss on Dec. 30 looks better now that the Rebels nearly took down No. 1 Kentucky.

Dayton head coach Archie Miller said after the win, according to The Associated Press (via FoxSports.com), “We have some hardheaded, tough kids. There are some guys in there who really have been in some major league battles in games, and they aren't going to run for cover if something happens.''

Jordan Sibert leads the team with 16.1 points per game.

Temple

Fred Beckham/Associated Press

RPI: 22

KenPom.com Rating: 60

If Temple can beat No. 10 Kansas, then Temple can threaten just about anyone from the sniper’s perch of the unranked.

The Owls are 8-1 in their last nine games and are 3-0 in the AAC. Where Temple falters is on offense. According to KenPom.com, the Owls are just the 164th-most efficient offense in the country.

That could change. Guards Jesse Morgan and Devin Coleman were ineligible for the first semester, and that led to them "breaking the lid off the Owls offense," according to Mike Jensen of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"They can make shots, first of all," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said on CSNPhilly.com. "They're pretty good shot-makers. The next step now is getting them shots. Before you can make them, you’ve got to get them."

Those two could make a difference and make the Owls a sleeper team to watch out for.

George Washington

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

RPI: 23

KenPom.com Ranking: 50

Watch out for George Washington. This team is building quite a resume through the first half of the season.

The Colonials secured a huge win against No. 11 Wichita State and lost to Seton Hall by just four points. Of their three losses, one was to No. 3 Virginia early in the season.

According to Ken Pomeroy, the Colonials have the 35th-ranked adjusted defense. As a team, they allow just 58.9 points per game, good for 31st nationally.

Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com wrote:

"

It's about defense, and GW has a top-15 outfit off the ball in the country. It's not devoid of 'stars,' though. Kethan Savage is one of my favorite players in the league, and Patricio Garino would qualify as an unknown stud. Though Lonergan's offense isn't a beauty, I'd be surprised if this team isn't dancing for a second straight season.

"

Defensive teams have a way of sneaking up and surprising ranked teams.

Butler

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

RPI: 25

KenPom.com: 35

Butler is now emboldened by the full-time hiring of Chris Holtmann as its head coach. Maybe it gives the Bulldogs some clarity and stability after Brandon Miller took a medical leave of absence back in October.

They’re 3-3 against RPI Top 50 teams and 2-3 against the Top 25.

Butler has the ability to beat top teams, as evidenced by wins over North Carolina and Georgetown.

And we’ve all seen teams like the Indianapolis Colts, who played strong when their leader, head coach Chuck Pagano, fell ill and then put the chokehold on cancer.

Can Butler do the same thing and string together some big wins? If Kellen Dunham and his 17 points per game can keep up production for the 11-5 Bulldogs, this team could strike like a cobra.

UConn

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

RPI: 74

KenPom.com Ranking: 30

Connecticut is hard to get the mind around. It boasts nice wins over Dayton and Florida. Even its losses to Top-25 teams like No. 7 Texas (by one point) and No. 2 Duke (by 10 points) look downright acceptable.

So how do you explain a one-point loss to the Bulldogs, the Yale Bulldogs, and a four-point overtime loss to Temple (at least Temple destroyed Kansas)?

Since that loss to Temple, UConn did beat Florida and win its AAC opener against South Florida. In its 14-point win over South Florida, Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant wrote:

"

UConn got 17 points from its bench, playing 10 players, nine for 10 minutes or more. Rakim Lubin, who hadn't played at all the previous two games, was in for important minutes late in the first half. That's 41 bench points in the two games on the Florida swing, and it's a good thing for UConn going forward, with so many games bunched together.

"

That will be imperative for a team that has relied so heavily on guard Ryan Boatright.

Syracuse

Todd Kirkland/Associated Press

RPI: 52

KenPom.com Ranking: 41

How does Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim saying things like this make his team better?

"We've got to get somebody else going," he said on Syracuse.com. "It's painful to watch our forwards play on offense. And our point guard. And our backup point guard."

This was after a win!

Granted it was an ugly win, but a 46-45 win over Georgia Tech on the road was Cuse’s fifth in a row. He must have some of the most mentally strong young men in the country. Who can take that kind of verbal bludgeoning over and over?

Maybe that’s what makes them dangerous.

Syracuse ranked 23rd nationally in points allowed with 57.5 points a game, 19th in blocks with 5.7 per game and 17th overall in steals with nine per game.

The ACC is extremely top-heavy with the big four (Duke, Louisville, Virginia and Notre Dame) a combined 57-2, so the Orange could be playing Sisyphus in the ACC all season.

With Boeheim’s experience and the way he always plays Duke tough, Syracuse is a threat—outside though it may be—of wounding some teams from the frayed ends of the unranked.

Providence

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

RPI: 16

KenPom.com Ranking: 48

There was a question, or maybe several, dealing with how the Friars could replicate their success from last year’s tournament.

The biggest question was how the Friars would replace the incredible offensive production of departed senior Bryce Cotton, who rained 21.8 points per game and 6.9 assists per game.

Enter LaDontae Henton. How does 21.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game taste? One part salty and two parts sweet.

Now with Top-25 wins over one-loss Notre Dame and one on the road at Butler, maybe this team could win the Big East Tournament like it did a year ago now that it has a deeper bench.

Brendan McGair of The Pawtucket Times wrote, “All told, 11 PC players were listed on the Butler scoring sheet. That may appear to be a rather large sum, but [head coach Ed] Cooley understands that the onus falls on him to corral this wild tangle of minutes. So far, he has yet to shorten the rotation.”

With a deeper bench and one of the most prolific scorers in the country, Providence is a team that can win a game or two in the NCAA tournament.

San Diego State

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

RPI: 34

KenPom.com Ranking: 36

When it comes to defense, San Diego State is one of the best in the country.

The Aztecs rank fifth in points allowed (53.5) and third in adjusted defense, according to KenPom.com.

When the Cincinnati Bearcats prepared to host the Aztecs, head coach Mick Cronin told The Cincinnati Enquirer, "They've got three shot-blockers on the floor at all times. They've got great athletes and veterans as well. They've got guys that have done it. They've been around. They know what they're doing. It's extremely hard to score the basketball inside against them."

Defense is about scheme and effort, and since San Diego State’s players buy into that intensity, they will be capable of beating any team in a single-elimination format.

The Aztecs have some impressive wins on their schedule, like a 53-49 win over No. 25 Utah (now No. 8) in the second game of the season. A two-point loss to Arizona in the Maui Invitational was fine and good, but a recent loss to unranked Fresno was a bit unsettling.

Defense travels well, and so long as that remains strong, the Aztecs are capable of beating anybody.

Northern Iowa

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

RPI: 15

KenPom.com: 26

What’s the deal with Northern Iowa? Its rankings in RPI and over at the analytical capital of college basketball, KenPom.com, make it one of the more dangerous teams in the country.

Sports Illustrated's Michael Beller wrote:

"

After knocking off Iowa on a neutral court last weekend, UNI, it’s clear, may have its best outfit since the days of Ali Farokhmanesh. The Panthers now own wins over three teams from Power 5 conferences, and nearly took down VCU in Richmond, falling 93-87 in double overtime.

"

The Panthers’ biggest hurdle comes from No. 15 Wichita State. Those games—Jan. 31 and Feb. 28—are circle-your-calendar dates if you’re a fan of Missouri Valley Conference hoops and sleepers in particular.

Michigan State

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

RPI: 32

KenPom.com Ranking: 13

Michigan State has had one of the more frustrating starts to its season. It has excusable losses to Duke, Kansas, Maryland and then-unranked Notre Dame, but the loss to Texas Southern at home was a twist of the knife that maybe only Batman can understand.

Speculating here: It’s no stretch to assume most, if not all, college coaches want to avoid Tom Izzo and Michigan State if at all possible, especially with players like Denzel Valentine on the floor.

Bleacher Report’s Adam Biggers wrote, "The Lansing native’s ability to play anywhere on the floor and do anything has long been celebrated, both by Izzo, the media and the fans. Simply put, he’s one of the most creative players to ever hit the floor of the Breslin Center in East Lansing."

Despite being 0-3 against Top-25 teams, the Spartans (11-5) are ranked 11th in adjusted defense on KenPom.com and remain maybe the biggest unranked threat in college basketball today.

RPI numbers came from ESPN.com, and KenPom.com was used for overall, offensive and defensive rankings.