Under-the-Radar College Basketball Teams Most Likely to Crack Top 25
If you've watched five minutes of college basketball already this season and heard a few whistles blow, you know that the key phrase this season is "freedom of movement." It's about moving screens—refs aren't supposed to allow them this year—or a smackdown on hand-checking.
We're going to take that a step further and apply it to the weekly Top 25 ballots. There's going to be plenty of movement this year, especially among teams breaking in.
We're not even a week into the season and we've already seen usual poll mainstays Wisconsin, UCLA, Georgia and North Carolina State lose games, among others.
It's what makes this fun. Letting more teams get "touches" into the weekly polls from coaches or media.
And there are some teams on the outside that will have some shots to get in pretty soon.
We'll see some old, familiar names on a quick up-rise to start the 2015-16 season. We'll also see some "who are they?" presences. In full disclosure, we tried to keep the fashionable names from this week's "others receiving votes" list, like Florida State (with a big-time freshman), Texas A&M (an experienced team poised to make some SEC noise) or West Virginia off the list.
Instead we sought others that have been really overlooked, and also have the talent and schedule to make some moves.
Read ahead to check out 10 teams which will be cracking a poll nearest you.
Kansas State Wildcats
1 of 10
It's not often that a win against an Ivy League school prompts a whole lot of praise.
That's typically like being Cosmo Kramer and finding your "katra" while dominating at the dojo against young kids.
But Kansas State out-hustled Columbia from start to finish and hardly looked like the team that melted down early last season.
All five Wildcat starters scored in double digits Monday, led by senior guard Justin Edwards.
Kellis Robinett of the Wichita Eagle pointed out in his postgame wrap-up that Edwards "was electric inside the lane and behind the three-point line on his way to a game-high 19 points. He made five of six shots, including two three-pointers, on top of seven assists and six rebounds."
Columbia was picked to finish second in the Ivy. Senior guard Maodo Lo had a fantastic summer but didn't fare nearly as well in the "other Manhattan." He had 12 points while missing 10 of his 13 shots.
Freshman Wesley Iwundu was just named the Big 12's Co-Player of Week. Good stuff from the junior forward.
Head coach Bruce Weber seemed like he was on his way out last year after defections and suspensions.
Counting a season-opening blowout win against Maryland Eastern Shore, K-State is simply taking care of business.
Next week (Nov. 23-24) will be a big telling point. It will get a couple of games in Kansas City, Missouri, starting with Missouri and then either Northwestern or North Carolina.
The Wildcats could use some good news this winter after an unexpectedly rough football season.
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article45152949.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article45152949.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article45152949.html#storylink=cpy
Pittsburgh Panthers
2 of 10
We're not ready to chalk up a one-half loss as a problem for Gonzaga. Rather, we'll take a closer look at Pittsburgh, which took a two-point (37-35) lead but couldn't have a chance to finish it off.
That's what can happen sometimes when trying to play basketball games in a faraway place in unusually humid conditions.
Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon took the outcome (or lack of one) in stride: "It was tough, coming this far. But we came for the experience, we came for the Marines and we're certain we accomplished that goal. We came for a win, too, and I guess we got half a win."
The Panthers controlled most of the opening 20 minutes, fell behind with five left before halftime then took the lead back on Ryan Luther's putback off a missed three-pointer, and an accompanying free throw. It hardly looked like a team trying to bounce back from its first sub-20-win season since 2000-2001.
The Panthers have returned four starters from last year’s team that finished 19-15 overall and 8-10 in the ACC. That includes the top returning scoring frontcourt in the ACC, juniors Jamel Artis (13.6 PPG) and Michael Young (13.4 PPG).
Pittsburgh will get a series of seemingly innocent home games (Saint Joseph's of Indiana, Detroit, Cornell and Kent State) before a show-me home game against Purdue on Dec. 1 as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Dixon's best teams are known for physical defense. They'll have to be followed this year for how they play by the new rules, because that will determine their success.
George Washington Colonials
3 of 10
From the "Look What Just Happened" Dept., we introduce you to the George Washington Colonials.
Patricio Garino (pictured above) sparked a 10-0 run Monday that led to the country's first court-storming after a 73-68 win against No. 6 Virginia.
We've generally had GW as an A-10 afterthought. But this could be the time to make a big jump, and not just because Mike Lonergan's product is clearly improved.
As Yahoo's Jeff Eisenberg pointed out, Rhode Island just lost E.C. Matthews to a season-ending knee injury, and Dayton is still trying to figure out its situation with standout Dyshawn Pierre.
Lonergan is arguably an underrated coach as he won a D-III national title and has also reached an NCAA tournament at Vermont before heading to GW in 2011, and leading the Colonials to the Dance in 2014 with a 24-9 record.
This could easily be his best team. It showed against the Cavaliers, who have their work cut out in terms of discipline at both ends of the floor and replacing Justin Anderson.
GW shot 45.1 percent and attempted 28 free throws. And remember, this is a team that defeated Wichita State last year in Hawaii.
Lonergan was nothing short of thrilled to have UVA in his own house. It had been 15 years since a top-10 team visited.
Last year, GW lost to the Cavaliers by 17 on the road. Garino missed seven shots last year (making just two) but was 7-of-8 from the field this time.
The big question is how GW moves on. The win is GW's first over an opponent ranked sixth or higher since defeating No. 1 Massachusetts, 86-76, on Feb. 24, 1996.
Upcoming games with South Florida, Army and Gardner-Webb are certainly within reach before heading to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn (Nov. 27) to face Tennessee, then either Nebraska or Cincinnati.
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Colorado Buffaloes
4 of 10
The easy thing would be to just reward teams that have started 1-0 or 2-0, or perhaps pulled an upset. There's plenty of room for that, but let's look well outside the box and talk (or type) about 1-1 Colorado.
The Buffaloes began the year with a 68-62 loss against potential Final Four team Iowa State, then followed up by rallying at Auburn on Tuesday from a 15-point deficit.
CU appeared to simply bite off more than it could chew to start the season. But escaping Auburn was a really big sign for a program trying to get back on the right track.
“What stood out to me is how poorly we executed offensively and how many layups we gave up defensively,” Boyle said after the close defeat to ISU on a neutral court in South Dakota on Nov. 13. “You get more frustrated watching the film because you feel like we should have those things shored up by now.”
He could've said that through most of the Auburn debacle. Lazy passes hounded CU at the end of the first half, as well.
This will be a CU team that likely takes a while to really get going. That's because of the big changes. Askia Booker is no longer around, which in the longer term is a good thing. He hoisted way too many shots from well beyond his range.
But taking on a new identity won't happen overnight. Josh Scott needs to stay healthy inside after he averaged 14.5 PPG and 8.4 RPG last year.
Providence transfer Josh Fortune has been sketchy through a few games (3-of-8 shooting in both games), which is understandable since he hasn't played in more than a year.
For the rest of nonconference play, CU should be able to get its bearings against marginal competition, not counting a Dec. 12 visit from BYU or a Dec. 6 trip to Colorado State.
Tad Boyle's team will start the new year at Cal, and that could be a time to get back on the Top-25 map.
Auburn Tigers
5 of 10
The crusty part of us wishes Bruce Pearl would stop trying to incite the crowd to cheer—as he did several times Tuesday afternoon in the game against Colorado—and just focus on the floor.
But there are two definite truths. Pearl's energy has brought an excitement to Tigers basketball not seen in years, if ever. And this frenzy is legit, like the team.
A group of guys who couldn't score to save their lives last year has Kareem Canty this year. His Auburn bio features one of the great lines: (2014-15) "One of the top scout team members in the nation."
The Marshall transfer's importance is even easier to measure this year. He had 24 points—even making his first five treys—against Colorado after 20 against UAB, including sinking half of his six three-point attempts.
The $100 million spent is paying off for Auburn on a new home and the second-year coach.
Auburn was picked 10th in what's a historically stacked league. We're not ready to proclaim an NCAA bid, because of the strength of Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and LSU, among others. But a 1-1 start coupled with a few soft upcoming games before a Dec. 19 visit to Xavier sets up Auburn to get rolling.
You can bet Pearl will be getting the fans fired up the whole way up the rankings ladder.
The only problem was that Auburn couldn't hold on against Colorado, which rallied from a 15-point deficit.
A technical foul off a follow-up slam dunk from Horace Spencer—an iffy call for spiking the ball after the slam—really let the emotion out of the arena and Auburn. It'll have to learn to play more steadily.
But that'll come for a group that hasn't experienced much winning, and also features three new transfers.
Cincinnati Bearcats
6 of 10
Mick Cronin is back after his health scare last season. He looks better, and so does his basketball team.
It dismantled Robert Morris on Nov. 15, hitting 11 three-pointers and forcing 29 turnovers. That was against a team that had four starters from an NCAA tournament team.
UC had zero games last year of at least 85 points. Right now it has two, with blowouts of Western Carolina and Robert Morris.
Cronin has virtually the entire roster back—including six of seven players who saw at least 20 minutes a game—and has been a constantly strong defensive presence.
Averaging only 62 points a game was a killer, though.
That might not be a problem this year.
Cincy is hanging just outside the Top 25 right now. So getting it to that level wouldn't be a surprise at all. But it's a wonder we've missed on this team to this point, considering the fast results—and that it was mature and skilled enough to make the NCAA tournament last year despite the potential for issues caused by Cronin's absence.
Chattanooga Mocs
7 of 10
Talk about a debut. Matt McCall had spent the past four years with Billy Donovan at Florida, then was introduced as Chattanooga's head coach last April.
He's got some Billy D. magic in him, taking the Mocs on the road and beating Georgia, even leading for more than 37 minutes in a game ultimately settled in overtime, 92-90.
Chattanooga hasn't been to the NCAA tournament since 2009, but this could be an interesting season in the Southern Conference. This was a team that last year went 22-10 and 7-6 during nonconference play while facing Wisconsin, Butler, Georgia and UAB.
Guards Casey Jones and Greg Pryor are a big part of the Mocs, returning about 74 percent of their scoring.
And 6'10'' junior Justin Tuoyo had a top-20 presence in blocked shots last year.
Watch out for Chattanooga to get some extra attention Nov. 21 and Nov. 23, when it faces Illinois followed by Iowa State.
The Georgia win, followed by some respectable results in these two games, will keep the Mocs on the radar of some poll voters for a while.
Oregon State Beavers
8 of 10
Can Oregon State finish better than sixth in the Pac-12?
Of course it can. It could also be ranked in early December. That's just the way the schedule sets up with a run of home games, including Nov. 24 against very respectable Valparaiso.
Point guard Gary Payton II is one of only two first-team all-conference players in the fold in 2015-16, among the 10 from last year's list (Cal's Tyrone Wallace is the other). Second-year coach Wayne Tinkle also has his highly recruited son, Tres, on the roster.
A team that should score better this year should also get some more easy baskets, too, with Payton II returning as the NCAA's best turnover producer.
It's an experienced team built on defense. That's the way to exceed expectations and even find some Top 25 love.
Valparaiso Crusaders
9 of 10
Some interesting cross-country scheduling will make Valpo a high-risk, high-reward team.
But we know the Crusaders can play, as they held on Tuesday for a 58-55 win at Rhode Island.
They'll have a couple of games against no-name teams before heading to Oregon to face the Ducks (Nov. 22) and Oregon State two days later.
Valpo returns every player that saw at least 10 minutes last year, a group that finished with a three-point loss to Maryland in the NCAA tournament.
Watch out for Vashil Fernandez, a 6'10'' center who was granted a fifth year of eligibility. He was the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year after blocking a school-record 98 shots last year. LSU transfer Shane Hammink should help inside, too.
Valpo held off URI despite an off day from star Alec Peters (4-of-12 shooting), though the junior hit a three-pointer with about 1:20 left to put the game out of reach.
Throw in a very reasonable schedule, even with the West Coast trip, and Valpo's experience—coupled with really having nothing to lose in a one-bid league—and the Crusaders could be looking to relive the 1998 days, when now-coach Bryce Drew was hitting fantastic shots himself.
Florida Gators
10 of 10
Some people might call Florida State the "surprise team." But the Seminoles are getting some receiving-votes love.
So we'll jump on the Florida bandwagon, figuring not as many people believe in a brand-new coach—a guy replacing a legend.
But Mike White takes over a tenable situation, as the Gators struggled last year and created reasonable expectations. This isn't Louisiana Tech for White. But the football team is doing well, so there's a nice honeymoon period replacing Billy Donovan.
Figure if Dorian Finney-Smith can be an All-SEC player as projected, and there aren't any crazy upsets in the soft starting schedule, UF could be on the rise quick as people (voters) pay attention to the post-Donovan era.
Consistent play from Devin Robinson and Kasey Hill would help the cause greatly. And the Gators will get their first big proving-ground shot Nov. 22 in Connecticut on a neutral floor against either Purdue or Old Dominion.
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.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
