Here’s a few sneaky good teams for 2023-24

It can be difficult to really gauge who the best teams are before the season gets underway, because most rankings are essentially based on who has the best rosters and who has the best coaches. Each year, we see teams burst onto the scene that no one saw coming. The most notable from 2022-23 was probably Kansas State. They went from being ranked last in the Big 12 Preseason Poll to a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament. These are five teams who I think can have similar seasons in 2023-24.



TCU Horned Frogs

TCU enters the season unranked coming off of a 22-13 season in the Big 12 and earning a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament. They lost their leader Mike Miles Jr., a fantastic scoring guard who averaged 17.9 points and 2.7 assists per game while shooting just under 50% from the field, but brought back three of their next top four scorers in Emanuel Miller, JaKobe Coles, and Chuck O’Bannon Jr. The new faces Jamie Dixon brings in is what makes me excited about these Horned Frogs. Big man Ernest Udeh comes over from Kansas, who didn’t get too many minutes during his freshman campaign, but I see his playing time shooting up in Fort Worth as the only true center on the team. Next is Avery Anderson III, another in-conference transfer who came to TCU from Oklahoma State. The 6’2” guard averaged just under 10 points and 2.2 assists across his four seasons suiting up for the Pokes, but I like his experience and potential to be an all-around serviceable guard for TCU. The last notable transfer coming to Fort Worth is Jameer Nelson Jr., who comes from the University of Delaware. In 2022-23, Nelson averaged 20.3 points and 2 steals a contest while shooting 44% from the field on a crazy 15 shots a night. If his scoring can translate to Power 5 competition, I think he can be a huge piece to fill in somewhat of a Mike Miles role from a season ago.


Memphis Tigers

Penny Hardaway has a completely revamped roster coming into 2023-24, with his five leading scorers from last season departing from the program. But, this roster is oozing with talent and experience coming from elsewhere. The Tigers are bringing in an astounding eight new faces, including 2 5-star rated transfers and another 3 4-star rated transfers. The most notable newcomer for this program is Jahvon Quinerly, who comes from Alabama. Quinerly is one of the most reliable floor generals the game has to offer as he enters his fifth year of college ball. His stats won’t blow you away, but his handle and high IQ for the game made his talents highly sought out this offseason. With the departure of scoring machine Kendric Davis, Quinerly brings in a new culture with his way of running an offense, where he is a pass-first guard with amazing handles who, again, can facilitate an offense better than most. Next, there’s Jordan Brown who comes over from Louisiana. The 6 '11” center comes in replacing DeAndre Williams after his retirement from the college game at the age of 26. Brown averaged 19.3 points and 8.6 boards on 60% efficiency from the field during his fourth season in Lafayette, and should be the primary big man in an offense that ran through Williams a year ago. The new guys surrounding these two key pieces include David Jones coming to town after spending last season at St. John’s. Jones can be a solid 3 man for a tournament team with his 13 points and just under 7 rebounds per game averages from a season ago. Jones is a score-first guy who can be a very nice rotational piece. Next on this lengthy list is Caleb Mills, who departed from Florida State. Mills was part of probably the most disappointing team in the country last year with the Noles, who finished 9-23 after being expected to at least be in the running for the NCAA Tournament. Nonetheless, Mills played well averaging 13 points and a steal a contest. Jayhlon Young and Nick Jourdain come from UCF and Temple respectively and will be a few of the glue guys for this Tigers squad. Now besides all these new faces, Memphis returns only 2 of its top 10 guys who played the most minutes last season, so Penny Hardaway has a very unique offseason where he will have to get this practically entire new team to gel come tip-off. This is where I believe in Hardway and the coaching staff and think they can get it done. The experienced key guys in Brown and Quinerly mixed with the plethora of rotation pieces coming to Memphis, I like where this team can go. Outside shooting could be a huge issue, as the team was not a great outside shooting squad a year ago and isn’t really bringing in any true shooters with this huge transfer class. But, even if they get off to a rocky start early, I think this team has the makeup of a tournament team, and even one that can sneak their way up the AP Poll eventually.



Oregon Ducks

Oregon came in 4th in the Pac 12 Preseason Poll behind Arizona, USC, and UCLA. But, I don’t think they’re getting enough praise and they could easily enter March as the second-best team in their league, especially given how incredibly weak the conference is as a whole. The Ducks are bringing back their top two scorers from last season in N’Faly Dante and Jermaine Couisnard. Dante, entering his fifth-year of college hoops, could be in for a real breakout year despite it being his fifth. Through his first three years at Oregon, he never averaged double-digit points and never took over 5 shots a game. But, 2022-23 was the 6’11” center’s best year yet where he averaged 13 points and 8 rebounds a game with 61% shooting from the field on 9 shots a contest. I could very well see those numbers rising again. For Couisnard, the fifth-year senior guard is also coming off his best collegiate season with 12.8 points and 2.2 assists per-game averages on just around 40% shooting from the field. In today’s college game, experience is everything and these two core pieces are definitely ready to lead this Ducks squad. In terms of recruiting, Dana Altman is bringing in the 8th ranked recruiting class headlined by three top-40 prospects. These include the 18th ranked prospect in SF Kwame Evans Jr., the 26th ranked prospect in PG Jackson Shelstad, and the 40th ranked prospect in SF Mookie Cook. They also bring in Georgia transfer guard Kario Oquendo, who averaged just under 13 points a contest in Athens last season. I really like the balance of experience and newcomers on this Ducks team and think they are much more built to compete than UCLA and maybe even USC.


Iowa State Cyclones

The Cyclones are another team that’s completely overhauling its roster from last season. TJ Otzelberger, like Penny Hardaway, has a strange duty this offseason to mesh these guys together, but with his getting ISU to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first two years at the helm, I won’t doubt him now. Otzelberger put together the 9th ranked recruiting class nationally, including 5-star PF Omaha Biliew. The team also landed a 4-star PF and C in Milan Momcilovic and JT Rock respectively. Along with that, Iowa State brings two snipers in Keshon Gilbert from UNLV, who averaged 11 points and 3 assists while shooting 38% from 3-point range a season ago, and Jackson Paveletzke, a 6’2” sophomore guard coming over from Wofford. Paveletzke averaged 15 points and just under 4 assists a night a season ago while shooting a very solid 39% from 3. With Tamin Lipsey, Robert Jones, and Tre King as the team’s only notable returners, this is another situation of a brand new team that can have some growing pains early, but has the build of a true contender come March. Placed 7th in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, don’t be surprised if the Cyclones are at the top of the league late this season.


Wake Forest Demon Deacons

After a pretty successful 2022-23 campaign for Wake Forest, where they finished 19-14 with wins over Duke, Wisconsin, and then-ranked #19 Clemson, the Demon Deacons have been getting zero preseason buzz. But why? They have all the tools of a team completely capable of making the NCAA Tournament, especially in an ACC that has been really disappointing over the course of the last few seasons. The team brings back three of its top five scorers from a season ago along with some solid newcomers that we will get into shortly. First, their recruiting class features 4-star SG Parker Friedrichsen, who will probably get decent minutes during his freshman year. Steve Forbes is also bringing in a few very solid transfers to repair the damages from the lost contributors. Hunter Sallis heads to Wake from Gonzaga, where he’s admittedly had a pretty disappointing first few seasons in college after being a highly ranked prospect out of high school. But, he’s dealt with crowded backcourts in Spokane and didn’t really get a chance to flourish. Over the past two seasons, Forbes has brought in a guard through the transfer portal and turned him into one of the best players in the ACC in their only seasons at Wake. In 2023, it was Tyree Appleby, who he turned into a 19 point-per-game scorer. In 2022, it was Alondes Williams, who he turned into an 18 point-per-game scorer and a finalist for ACC Player of the Year. We will see if he can keep this trend going and churn out the talent Sallis displayed in high school. If Forbes can establish another star guard to build his team around like he’s done over the past few years, combined with a vulnerable ACC and plenty of winnable “upset” opportunities, I don’t see why Wake can’t compete for a tournament spot. 


*all statistics taken from 247sports.com and espn.com*
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