The 2021 college basketball season was a shocker for many reasons. After an abrupt offseason and no NCAA Tournament, people didn’t know what to expect. Still, the year exceeded any expectations in terms of excitement. For the college basketball 2021-22 season, who are the underrated teams this year?
There were no all-time legends playing, but plenty of teams rose from the ashes to have solid seasons. Alabama rose through the conference standings to win both SEC titles. UCLA went from the First Four to the Final Four, and they were a play away from making it to the title game. Despite being favorites all year and remaining undefeated to the title game, Gonzaga failed to win the national championship.
There were plenty of underrated teams last year because of COVID-19. No one knew what to expect, and there were too many outside influences to make strong predictions. Those influences are still in play, but it should be easier to predict who will play well this season.
That will make it harder to pick underrated teams this year, but it is not impossible. These teams are the most underrated before the season begins. We’ll see how they play as they try to make deep NCAA Tournament runs.
Tennessee was seen as one of the best teams in college basketball a few short years ago, but they relied heavily on upperclassmen. When those stars left for the NBA, they were left in the middle of a rebuild. Still, they made it into the NCAA Tournament as a 5-seed last year.
The Vols are often forgotten because they were in Alabama’s shadow all season. They also lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, so they were an afterthought. However, they were a solid team with plenty of upsides. If they simply ran it back this year, they would be a top contender in the SEC.
Instead, they bring in one of the most talented recruiting classes they’ve ever had. It was the top class in the SEC, and it included two five-star players.
Tennessee will have plenty of new faces, and that will cause some fans to doubt them. However, they may have the best chance to win it all this year out of the SEC. If the underclassmen can live up to the hype, they will have a talented roster with a proven head coach.
NCAA odds have them at +5000 to win it all this year, which shows value.
It is easy to discount the talent outside of the Power 5, and that’s what is happening to Houston. If they were in the Big 12, they would be seen as a top 5 team. After all, they were a Final Four team last season.
Instead, people will credit Quentin Grimes with all of their production. They’ll assume this was a team that only thrived because of one star, meaning they will fade away without him. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Houston should remain favorites in their conference, and they should be seen as a great team.
Losing Grimes will hurt, but the Cougars add Kyler Edwards. He will instantly start, and he’ll help tremendously on offense.
The Cougars also added depth, and they bring back a great head coach. They have a chance to prove that they are more than one player, and I think they’ll do just that. Expect them to win their conference and make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament thanks to Edwards and the returning players.
I don’t think that Texas Tech is a top program in the Big 12. Still, they’re underrated due to the low expectations. Practically the entire team entered the transfer portal this offseason, and Chris Beard took the head coaching job at Texas. Without him, hope is hard to find for the Red Raiders.
Still, that’s what makes them underrated. It will take time for this program to collapse. If everything fails, it will take multiple seasons. This year, they bring enough transfers in to remain competitive. They won’t be competing for a spot in the Final Four, but they’re capable of upsetting other big teams in the conference.
These teams need to have their expectations raised. They could make some noise this season.