10 College Basketball Teams Playing Above Expectations

It’s only the third week of college basketball, but some teams are already outperforming the preseason expectations placed upon them.

Honorable Mention: Davidson Wildcats (4-0)

Davidson was picked to finish 11th in the Atlantic 10, and while no conference games have been played yet, they’re off to a 4-0 start in non-conference play. They haven’t taken down any Power 5 foes yet, but they do have wins over Washington State, Bowling Green, and Charlotte on the road.

The Wildcats are also 11th in the country in three-point shooting, hitting 44.4% as a team. If the hot shooting sticks, it’s a major improvement from last year, when the ‘Cats only shot 33.8% from deep for the season.

Davidson’s next game is against Boston College in the Charleston Classic Lowcountry bracket. They’ll get the winner/loser of Utah State and Tulane, so it’s a chance to build the resume even more with some solid wins early this season.

10. Seton Hall Pirates (4-0)

Seton Hall only won seven games last season, but they’re already over halfway there this year. The wins are over Saint Peter’s, Wagner, Fairfield, and Monmouth, and they play New Haven on Tuesday, but last year, it didn’t matter who the Hall played – they lost to Fordham, Hofstra, and Monmouth in the non-conference.

Freshman Najai Hines is a player to watch is a big part of the reason why SHU leads the nation with 10.0 blocks per game.

9. Penn State Nittany Lions (4-0)

It’s fair to say Penn State was picked to be one of, if not the worst, team in the Big Ten this season. But they find themselves 4-0 with a few solid wins over mid-majors. Fairfield and Navy figure to be major players in the MAAC and Patriot, while La Salle comes out of the A-10.

Is it enough to make a big deal about it? Not really, but this Nittany Lions team looked really bad on paper, so it’s something.

8. Kansas State Wildcats (4-0)

There are a few Big 12 teams on my list, and K-State is a fairly obvious choice. The Wildcats are 4-0 with a Wooden Award candidate after finishing below .500 last season.

I think most of us could’ve imagined PJ Haggerty taking over for this team, but he looks like one of, if not the best player in the Big 12. Through four games, Haggerty is averaging 26.0 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.8 rebounds.

And it’s not just a one-man show either. David Castillo, Nate Johnson, Abdi Bashir Jr., and Kamari McGriff are all pitching in as K-State has an offense to be feared.

7. Syracuse Orange (3-0)

Syracuse has only played three mid-majors so far, but they’ve crushed them all. The most impressive win was an 80-50 drubbing of Drexel.

Syracuse has been without its team leader and best player, JJ Starling, who sustained an injury just a few minutes into the team’s first game against Binghamton. But Kiyan Anthony has stepped in, second on the team with 17.3 PPG and doing it off the bench.

But the biggest reason to believe in Syracuse is how they’re leading the nation in points allowed per game – a stingy 46.7 PPG from opposing teams. It doesn’t matter who you’ve played at this point, because most teams haven’t played much competition, and Syracuse is completely shutting down anyone who walks into the JMA Wireless Dome.

6. Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-0)

Picked near the bottom of the 18-team Big Ten, Nebrasketball already has a win over Oklahoma and is undefeated through four games. Rienk Mast is playing at an All-Big Ten level, and Pryce Sandfort is playing exceptionally on his new team. They also look fairly deep, which is needed in a conference with no night off.

5. Indiana Hoosiers (4-0)

I think there was some belief that a team with Tucker DeVries, Lamar Wilkerson, and others could be a team to watch out for in the Big Ten.

But the bigger reason to take more stock in Indiana is how dangerous their scoring looks. The Hoosiers averaged just under 100 points through three games, and that included a win over Big East team Marquette.

A nine-point win over Incarnate Word was a bit concerning, but right now, it looks like Indiana should be taken seriously under their new regime.

4. Georgia Bulldogs (5-0)

Mike White has Georgia at 5-0 with a win over in-state rival Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs have scored as much as 120 points and no fewer than 87, so they figure to have a forceful offense.

But it’s crazy how spread out it is. Sure, Jeremiah Wilkinson and Blue Cain are both averaging over 15 points. Jake Wilkins is close behind at 12.6 PPG. But there are 11 players on this UGA roster playing valuable minutes and averaging at least 4.2 PPG. That’s no small number, so there’s a chance this might be one of the deepest teams in college basketball. Definitely worth keeping an eye on during SEC play. Expect a full 40 minutes whenever you play Georgia.

3. West Virginia (5-0)

Maybe things worked well for both WVU and Indiana, with Darian DeVries working his magic in Bloomington, and Ross Hodge keeping the Mountaineers undefeated through five games.

West Virginia’s most impressive win was a 71-49 beatdown of rival Pitt. WVU only turned the ball over six times, and although neither team was great offensively, they found a way to pull ahead in the second half and make the Backyard Brawl a one-sided affair.

Up next? Clemson – a chance for a 6-0 start with two wins over ACC teams.

2. Oklahoma State (4-0)

The Cowboys were picked to finish 12th in the Big 12, but they’re 4-0 with a 24-point win over Texas A&M.

Steve Lutz is in his second year in Stillwater, but his coaching is already paying dividends for a program hungry to return to some winning ways. Vyctorius Miller can’t miss, Christian Coleman and Parsa Fallah are playing wildly efficiently, and they’ve done it for the most part without Anthony Roy, who has only played in one game, scoring 15 points in 16 minutes. It’s an OSU team playing at a high level, yet not even close to full strength.

1. Georgetown Hoyas (4-0)

There was a somewhat bright outlook on the Hoyas in year three of Ed Cooley, but no one expected them to have one of the best resumes in college basketball this early. With wins over Maryland and Clemson already, Georgetown looks primed to be a serious competitor in the Big East.

And it really boils down to KJ Lewis and Malik Mack. It’s one of the top backcourts in the country and there aren’t many teams out there that will rival them on a college basketball court.