NCAA Basketball: 6 biggest breakout candidates for 2019-20 season
By Brian Rauf
South Florida Bulls
As long as we’re talking defense, we have to bring up South Florida. The Bulls won 24 games last season on the back of their play on that end of the court, as they ranked 37th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Brian Gregory’s squad held 10 opponents to fewer than 60 points, and they’re in prime position to improve on that end of the court in the 2019-20 season.
Why? They bring virtually everyone back! All but one major rotation piece from that team is returning, including stars David Collins, Laquincy Rideau, and Alexis Yetna. That trio has the ability to play with anyone, particularly defensively, and it showed. South Florida only lost three games by double digits a year ago – one to Houston and two against UCF – with 13 points being their biggest defeat.
USF’s defense kept them in games while their offense may have kept them from winning more of those big ones.
The Bulls ranked outside the top 200 in adjusted offensive efficiency and were among the nation’s worst teams in turnovers, ranking 336th in that category. There is plenty of room for improvement in other areas, particularly their three-point shooting, but they were relatively average there. If they can improve to simply being average in the turnover department (which, again, should happen given their experience), their offense will improve dramatically – as will their record.
dark. Next. Biggest winners & losers of the offseason
When the college basketball season tips off on November 5th, you’re obviously going to watch your team and the teams at the top of the polls. But make sure you pay attention to these six teams as well, as all are poised to have much better seasons than expected.