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NCAA Basketball: 5 breakout teams to watch in 2018-19

By Brian Rauf

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: Head coach Will Wade of the LSU Tigers discusses a call with an official during the second half of the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2017 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: Head coach Will Wade of the LSU Tigers discusses a call with an official during the second half of the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2017 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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BLOOMINGTON, IN – JANUARY 28: Head coach Archie Miller of the Indiana Hoosiers reacts in the first half of a game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Assembly Hall on January 28, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Purdue won 74-67. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN – JANUARY 28: Head coach Archie Miller of the Indiana Hoosiers reacts in the first half of a game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Assembly Hall on January 28, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. Purdue won 74-67. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Every season, several college basketball teams come from relative obscurity to the forefront of the national stage. These teams will do that in 2018-19.

College basketball is a place where the unexpected occurs with regularity. We know something wacky and unpredictable is coming – we just don’t know when and from where.

Sometimes, breakout teams (or teams that will severely outperform their record from the previous season) are obvious. A strong recruiting class with five-star prospects immediately generates excitement about a team’s potential. Alabama fit this mold last year as Collin Sexton led them to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012.

Other times, a program will return virtually all of their major contributors from the previous year and the natural progression appears to be obvious. That was Wichita State last year, as they made the jump from the Missouri Valley to the American with their top 10 players from the previous season.

Then there are the teams that start the season off the beaten path only to over-perform and emerge as one of the best in the country, making everyone wonder how they missed it. Virginia went from unranked in the preseason to No. 1 for a good portion of the 2017-18 season, and Loyola-Chicago stole hearts in March with their Final Four run.

Of course, some teams projected to have breakout campaigns fall flat on their face. Remember when USC was supposed to be a top 10 team last season? Or when LSU famously failed to make the NCAA Tournament despite having Ben Simmons?

This season promises to deliver the same kind of improbable pandemonium – and it’s one of the many reasons why we love college basketball.

We know those breakout teams are coming – but who will they be? Who should you be paying attention to? Here are the five programs that I think are the most likely to experience that breakout season in 2018-19.

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