We always hear the term sleepers and college basketball in the same sentence during March, when the madness of the National Tournament is up on the marquee. But we also have to keep tabs on dark horses during the regular season. Each conference will always have at least one team that was a mere afterthought prior to the season but turns out to be a legit contender.
College basketball is always full of surprises. It’s part of the allure of the NCAA. With that said, let’s look at some of the sleepers, who have the potential to become their respective conference’s regular season champions.
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2015-2016 College Basketball Regular Season Sleepers
Louisville Cardinals
2014-2015 conference record: 12-6 (27-9 overall)
Why Louisville is a sleeper: It’s easy to say that the Cardinals will have a rough go this coming season. First of all, they’ve lost big time talents over the offseason. Gone are stars Terry Rozier and Montrezl Harrell, who comprised 32.8 of Louisville’s 69.2 points per game last season.
The team also saw double-digit scorer Wayne Blackshear graduate. On top of it all, the program is currently under investigation for alleged lewd recruiting practices, something that could become a big distraction for Louisville if it hasn’t already.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Somehow, Rick Pitino will have to find a way to make his team competitive while playing in arguably the toughest conference in the nation. It’s great that he still has Chinanu Onuaku and Mangok Mathiang on the roster.
Both players don’t do much scoring, but they offer tremendous rim protection (2.6 blocks per game combined) for a team that a season ago allowed just 59.8 points per game. Not every team can be Kentucky, which can be No. 1 in preseason rankings based on recruits alone, but it’s also hard not to take notice of Louisville’s haul over the summer.
The program is ranked ninth in terms of recruiting this year according to 247 sports. Toss in transfers Damion Lee (Drexel) and Trey Lewis (Cleveland State) and the Cards might make more noise this coming season than what most people expect.
Michigan Wolverines
2014-2015 conference record: 8-10 (16-16 overall)
Why Michigan is a sleeper: Look, Michigan was one of the most disappointing teams last season. The Wolverines were ranked in the Top 25 preseason polls of the 2014-2015 season before embarking on campaign filled with losses—including humiliating defeats to NJIT and Eastern Michigan in back-to-back fashion—and finishing just ninth in the Big Ten with an 8-10 record. But of course, that nightmare of a season was largely a caused by the injuries to Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton Jr., who each played no more than 19 games.
Well, both studs are healthy now and they’ll be playing alongside virtually the same lineup Michigan had last season. Only Max Bielfeldt was the significant departure from the roster that’ll welcome back players like Zak Irvin, Kameron Chatman, Ricky Doyle, Spike Albrecht, and Aubrey Dawkins. It’s going to be interesting how coach John Beilein will guide this team back to relevancy in the conference.
Why West Virginia is a sleeper: It wasn’t fun facing the Mountaineers last season. West Virginia was pure menace defensively then, when they were forcing opponents to commit 19.3 turnovers per game. And even though the Mountaineers were blown out to by Kentucky in the National Tournament, you have to give it to West Virginia for reaching as far as the Sweet 16.
West Virginia’s main problem last season, however, was its offense, as the Mountaineers shot just 31.6 percent from the three-point area and 41.2 percent from the field overall. Moreover, they only registered 1.025 points per possession, which was 283rd in the nation.
Help is on the way, though, with the acquisition of former JUCO guard, Teyvon Meyers. Meyers should give West Virginia’s anemic offense a big jolt after averaging 25 points per game and averaging 36.7 percent from the three-point area with Williston State. In addition, the Mountaineers also added four-star freshman Esa Ahmad, who’ll bring toughness and depth in the frontcourt.
Utah Utes
2014-2015 conference record: 13-5 (26-9 overall)
Why Utah is a sleeper: Without a doubt, Delon Wright’s departure was a punch to the gut of Utah. Wright led the team last season in points, assists, minutes, and steals so yeah, he was kind of a big loss for the program. But the world is not completely falling apart for the Utes.
For one, Wright’s production should be spread out to those left in the lineup and to some key additions. That group will be led by big man Jakob Poeltl, who is poised to improve on his 2014-2015 averages of 9.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 1.9 BPG as a freshman.
Plus, the seven-foot Austrian shot 68.1 % from the field. Poeltl should get help from Brekkott Chapman, who is expected to benefit the most from Wright’s absence in terms of minutes. A four-star recruit back in 2014, Chapman averaged just 5.7 PPG while playing for only 15.0 minutes per contest.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
2014-2015 conference record: 14-4 (23-11 overall)
Why Tulsa is a sleeper: Tulsa is welcoming back a slew of returning players from last season. And they’re not just some end-of the-bench players. Coach Frank Haith’s squad now boasts of a returning class that includes all players that played at least 20 minutes per game last season.
In that group is the potent tandem of James Woodard and Shaquille Harrison, who both finished in the top 8 of win shares in the AAC a season ago. Woodward led the team with 14.5 PPG to go along with 4.9 RPG. Harrison, on the other hand, put up 13.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 3.7 APG. Experience matters in college basketball as it does in the pros, so expect Tulsa to contend this season.
