Under-the-Radar College Basketball Teams Most Likely to Crack Top 25

Though it ultimately means nothing in the grand scheme of things, being ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 is a prestigious achievement most college basketball teams are sure to savor. While schools like Arizona, Duke, Kansas and Kentucky make a habit out of being ranked, it's not that common for others and thus is a big deal when it happens.

So far this season, we've had 27 different schools earn spots in the Top 25, either in the preseason rankings or the poll released after the opening weekend of competition. With the parity that exists in the sport, it's not uncommon to have half the teams in the poll to lose during a week, and when that involves teams in the bottom half of the rankings, it opens the door for those on the outside to make an appearance.

Who might that be during the 2016-17 season? We've picked out some teams that aren't part of the usual batch of ranking candidates, looking on the fringes for potential options, which means eliminating anyone who isn't currently ranked but was in the Top 25 at some point last season.

BYU

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Last AP poll appearance: 2011 postseason

It's often hard to project what kind of team BYU will have at the beginning of each season because of the turnover that comes with the school's religious background. Players who spent the previous two years on a Latter-day Saints mission return to the roster, and their impact is up in the air until the games begin.

It looks like Eric Mika is going to be a major force in 2016-17 for the Cougars after being away for two seasons. The 6'10" forward averaged 11.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in 2013-14 and has basically doubled those numbers so far, averaging 22 points and 11.5 rebounds along with 2.5 blocks per game through two contests.

Mika provides a frontcourt presence to a guard-oriented team in which sophomore Nick Emery and freshman TJ Haws—whose brother Tyler is BYU's career scoring leader—have combined to hit nine three-pointers in their first two games. The Cougars are averaging 89 points per game.

BYU (2-0) could face Alabama in Las Vegas on Wednesday. In December, it will play Southern California in Los Angeles, host Colorado and take on Illinois in Chicago. Wins over Power Five conference teams are what it will take for the Cougars to get ranked for the first time in more than five years.

Clemson

John Raoux/Associated Press

Last AP poll appearance: Jan. 18, 2010

Clemson (2-1) might have jumped into the next Associated Press poll had it managed to win the Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando, Florida, but Friday's loss to 11th-ranked Xavier in the semifinals kept that from happening. But don't count the Tigers out simply off one setback, particularly to a potential Final Four team and without its expected full allotment of contributors.

Shelton Mitchell, a transfer from Vanderbilt who is Clemson's projected starting point guard, has yet to play after having minor knee surgery earlier this month. Also missing is center Elijah Thomas, who will be eligible in mid-December after transferring from Texas A&M.

Senior forward Jaron Blossomgame, who carried the Tigers last season, is averaging 14.3 points per game but is 2-of-9 from three-point range after shooting 44.1 percent in 2015-16. But unlike last year, when Blossomgame scored 8.5 more points than anyone else on the team, he's one of six players scoring in double figures so far.

"I like Clemson's talent," Bleacher Report's CJ Moore wrote. "Has the look of an NCAA tournament team."

Florida State

Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Last AP poll appearance: 2013 preseason

The wins so far haven't been impressive from a margin-of-victory standpoint, beating a trio of teams by an average of 18 points. But those somewhat competitive games have still shown that Florida State is in a good place despite losing one of its top scorers from a year ago.

The Dwayne Bacon/Malik Beasley backcourt duo was among the best in the country in 2015-16, but only Bacon is back for his sophomore year, while Beasley is with the Denver Nuggets. Bacon is at his usual scoring pace, 16 points per game, but he's not the only Seminoles player lighting it up on offense.

Most notably, freshman Jonathan Isaac is living up to his hype. The 6'10" forward is averaging 14.7 points and 4.7 rebounds, and he's made seven of 13 three-pointers, including 3-of-6 in Friday's 100-86 win over Winthrop.

The greater challenges will start in the NIT Season Tip-Off. First up is Temple on Thursday, followed by either Illinois or No. 19 West Virginia.

Illinois

Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports

Last AP poll appearance: Dec. 1, 2014

Injuries derailed any hope of Illinois having a good season in 2015-16, when it went 15-19 and had only one stretch where it won more than two consecutive games. The Fighting Illini have already achieved that with a 4-0 start after Friday's 89-69 win over Detroit.

Now among the most veteran teams in the Big Ten, Illinois is starting three seniors who have combined for 46 points per game. Forward Malcolm Hill is pouring in 22.3 points per game, including the Illini's first 40-point game since January 2012.

Hill was almost a one-man team last season, but with help around him—five players average at least 9.8 points per game—it will be harder for teams to focus on stopping him.

With a clash against No. 19 West Virginia coming up Thursday in the NIT Season Tip-Off, the Illini have an opportunity to make a splash and start earning some votes. That last happened in December 2014, when they started 7-1 but then lost two straight and never appeared on another ballot.

North Carolina State

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Last AP poll appearance: Jan. 28, 2013

When it finally has access to its entire roster, North Carolina State is going to be a tough out in the ACC. Even at less than full strength, the Wolfpack are looking dangerous and have the kind of preseason schedule that could get them back into the rankings.

Friday's 85-72 win over Montana in the opening round of the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands moved NC State to 3-0 after going 16-17 last season. And it came without three guys who are expected to play key roles this season.

The NCAA suspended Omer Yurtseven, a 7-foot freshman from Turkey, for the first nine games because of amateur issues from his overseas career. Another freshman, 6'8" Ted Kapita, didn't travel with the team because of visa issues, and sophomore guard Maverick Rowan missed a second straight game because of a concussion.

Kapita and Rowan are among the six players averaging double figures, including highly regarded freshman point guard Dennis Smith Jr. The Wolfpack will play No. 22 Creighton in Saturday's Paradise Jam semifinals, and a win there could boost them into the Top 25.

Oklahoma State

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Last AP poll appearance: Feb. 16, 2015

Brad Underwood won 89 games from 2013-16 at Stephen F. Austin, which is tied for the most by a head coach in his first three seasons. The other guy who did that, Brad Stevens, went from Butler to the NBA's Boston Celtics.

The move from Nacogdoches, Texas, to Stillwater, Oklahoma, isn't as prestigious, but that doesn't lessen the expectations Underwood has in his second coaching gig. And though the competition to this point hasn't been particularly tough, what his Oklahoma State team is doing so far is promising for what's capable in the future.

The Cowboys (3-0) have averaged 107 points per game in wins over Campbell, Central Arkansas and New Orleans by a combined 31.3 points. All three opponents have KenPom.com ratings in the 300s, so take those results for what you will, but it's just the kind of start a team that was 12-20 last season needs.

We'll get a much better idea of how good Oklahoma State is next week when it plays in the Maui Invitational. The Cowboys open with Connecticut and could face the likes of Georgetown, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee or Wisconsin as well.

Stanford

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Last AP poll appearance: 2008 postseason

Stanford began this season in China and will play next week in Orlando. There are also trips to Kansas and Texas during the preseason before the Cardinal enter Pac-12 play, where they've been picked to finish 10th after a ninth-place result last season. That was the final part of Johnny Dawkins' eight-year run that included two NIT championships but only one NCAA tournament appearance in 2014.

Jerod Haase had that many NCAA bids in four years at Alabama-Birmingham, upsetting Baylor in the 2015 tourney. With Stanford (3-0), he's inherited an experienced team that has shot 48 percent in wins over Harvard (in Shanghai), Cal State Northridge and Weber State. The Cardinal have held their opponents to 35.7 percent shooting overall and 21.3 percent from three-point range.

Junior forward Reid Travis, who only played eight games last season because of a leg injury, is averaging a double-double (21.7 points, 12.3 rebounds) and shooting 58.8 percent. After another home game Sunday against Colorado State, he and the Cardinal will take on Miami in the AdvoCare Invitational and possibly face Florida, Gonzaga, Iowa State or Seton Hall in that tournament. Stanford also visits Kansas and SMU in non-league play.

Virginia Tech

Michael Shroyer-USA TODAY Sports

Last AP poll appearance: Nov. 15, 2010

Virginia Tech was seemingly a perennial NCAA bubble team under Seth Greenberg from 2003-12, but after the school let him go, the program bottomed out. Buzz Williams left Marquette to coach the Hokies in 2014, and after winning 11 games that first season, he jumped to 20-15 last year, giving the program its most wins since 2010-11.

And with five of the top six scorers back this winter, Virginia Tech could do better than the 10-8 record it had in the ACC en route to its first NCAA tournament bid in 10 years.

Both newcomers and returners have led the Hokies to easy wins over Maine and High Point, including 6'10" freshman Khadim Sy and redshirt sophomore guard Ahmed Hill, who averaged 8.7 points in 2014-15 but missed last season recovering from knee surgery.

Virginia Tech's first tests will come over Thanksgiving weekend at the Wooden Legacy in Los Angeles, where it opens with New Mexico and could play Texas A&M and UCLA along the way. The Hokies will then visit Michigan in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

All statistics courtesy of Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information courtesy of Scout.com unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.