5 Teams that will be vastly improved in 2020-21
College Basketball expert Jon Rothstein gives you five teams he thinks will be vastly improved during the 2020-21 college basketball season.
Video Transcript
JON ROTHSTEIN: Hey, this is Jon Rothstein for Yahoo Sports. Time now to highlight five teams who should be to vastly improved during the 2020-21 college basketball season.
We start in the American Conference with South Florida. To me, the Bulls were in NCAA tournament team last year had Alexis Yetna not suffered a season ending knee injury.
With Yetna back fully healthy, the Bulls have a legitimate chance to finish in the top four of this conference next season.
Another team that should be vastly improved next season is Nebraska. We look at what Fred Hoiberg did at Iowa State. He has always been significantly better in year two than in year one. Why? Because of the influx of transfers.
Western Kentucky's Dalano Banton and Tennessee's Derrick Walker should be immediate impact players for Nebraska. Nebraska is also bringing in a grad transfer in Kobe Webster from Western Illinois, who will have a major offensive impact. And also adding former Wichita State wing Teddy Allen as a junior college import.
The wild card for this program? Wisconsin transfer Kobe King, who could potentially be eligible next season even though nothing right now is currently guaranteed.
We go to the blue bloods next. North Carolina should be significantly better than it was a year ago in what was definitely the most disappointing season that Roy Williams has had as a head coach. Cole Anthony is expected to go to the NBA.
But Roy Williams will bring in three guards who should have a major impact in the backcourt, two top 50 freshman and RJ Davis and Caleb Love, and also a redshirt freshman in Anthony Harris, who was a top 80 player last year prior to committing to North Carolina but did not play meaningful minutes for the Tar Heels due to injury.
Two other teams that should be much better. We'll stay in the ACC with the first one. That's Miami under Jim Larranaga. The Canes return a veteran backcourt in Chris Lykes and Kam McGusty, also bring in a top 50 recruit in Earl Timberlake, and have a hidden gem up front in Cincinnati transfer Nasir Brooks, who sat out and redshirted last year.
That's a lot of experience at the one, two, and five spot for Jim Larranaga and Miami. Miami will be back in the NCAA tournament in 2021.
And lastly we go to the Pac-12. Larry Krystowiak had moments last year at Utah where it looked like the Utes had a chance to be one of the more relevant teams in the Pac-12. The nucleus of Rylan Jones, Both Gach, and Timmy Allen all back for another season. Larry Krystowiak, obviously a very proven coach.
While we've seen programs put teams together year-by-year, Utah has real continuity right now. The Utes to me look like a top six or seven team in the Pac-12 next season. That means they're good enough to compete for a berth in the '20-'21 NCAA tournament. Those are five teams that should be vastly improved for the '20-'21 college basketball season.
I'm Jon Rothstein. This is Yahoo Sports.