Who Were The Most Disappointing Teams In College Basketball The Last 10 Seasons?

So it’s August and this is somewhat the dead time in hoops. We’re a little bit away from the start of preseason in the NBA, we’re past the July recruiting period, so really all we have are some international trips and any surprise trades. So with that in mind I decided August will be the time to reflect on the past and get yelled at by putting out different blogs involving the best/worst/rankings/whatever. So if you have something in mind, let me know. I started this with the 10 best programs in college hoops from the last 10 seasons.

So we’re going the opposite way from yesterday when we looked at the best out of nowhere seasons in college basketball. This time we’ll look at the most disappointing teams over the last 10 seasons. Similar to the one yesterday, this will focus more on the regular season due to how fluky the NCAA Tournament is – so consider yourself lucky Virginia fans. With that in mind we’ll look at teams that had high expectations in the preseason and for whatever reason – injuries, lack of team chemistry, suspensions, etc – disappoint us during the regular season. Here’s my list:

10. 2015-16 Maryland Terrapins
This was supposed to be the team that led Maryland back to the promise land. You had Melo Trimble returning with Rasheed Sulaimon and Jake Layman. You had Robert Carter as a big time transfer. You had Diamond Stone as the big time recruit. They were No. 3 in preseason polls and received 14 first place votes. They were a favorite to win the title, but there was never any player development. This team never figured it out as they went just 12-6 in Big 10 play after a pretty weak nonconference. For a team that was a favorite to win it all, they just never seemed to live up to the hype.

9. 2013-14 Oklahoma State Cowboys
Before Marcus Smart became a fan favorite in Boston, he was an All-American at Oklahoma State and expected to help lead the Cowboys to a Final Four. They were a preseason top-10 team and finished 8th in the Big 12 with an 8-10 record. This team was way too talented for that with Smart, Le’Bryan Nash, Phil Forte and Markel Brown as the big four names on the roster. They ended up making the NCAA Tournament but just as a No. 9 seed – which ironically was their AP position in the preseason.

8. 2012-13 NC State Wolfpack
Would you believe that NC State was once projected to be a top-10 team in the country? Heading into the 2012-13 season, NC State was the No. 6 team in the preseason. They brought in a top-5 recruiting class with TJ Warren, Rodney Purvis and Tyler Lewis. They returned guys like Lorenzo Brown, C.J. Leslie and Scott Wood. However, they had a very boring nonconference with no signature wins and a loss to Oklahoma State that dropped them from No. 6 to No. 18. They stopped being ranked just 12 weeks in and made the NCAA Tournament, somewhat limping in as a No. 8 seed.

7. 2011-12 UConn Huskies
A year removed from the Kemba Walker led title, UConn came into the 2011-12 season with high expectations. The Huskies were No. 4 in preseason polls with a roster made up of Andre Drummond, Shabazz Napier, Ryan Boatright and Jeremy Lamb. Despite losing a scholarship and Jim Calhoun being suspended for 3 games, this was a team that many thought would make it back to the Final Four. This team just never seemed to figure it out though, not sure whether to play through Drummond or the guards. They finished 8-10 in the Big East and a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. After being ranked in the top-10 for the first 8 weeks of the season, they stopped being ranked after week 11.

6. 2010-11 Michigan State Spartans
The No. 2 team in the preseason poll, the Spartans returned pretty much everyone from the 2009-10 team. This included Draymond Green, Kalin Lucas, Korie Lucious, Delvon Roe and more. However, they lost every notable nonconference game starting with the loss to UConn in Maui. They just never seemed to figure out rotations and really struggled offensively finishing just 73rd in the country. They went just 9-9 in the Big 10 and ended up as a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Quite a fall from the No. 2 spot.

5. 2009-10 Texas Longhorns
Rick Barnes was supposed to lead this team to the Final Four. Hell, they even received a first place vote in the preseason, with a No. 3 ranking. They had Avery Bradley and Jordan Hamilton joining the team that had Damion James, Dougas Balbay and Dexter Pittman. However, they played a non-challenging nonconference with only two top-50 wins. They then went 9-7 in the Big 12 and ended up as a No. 8 seed. They didn’t really struggle offensively or defensively, but they couldn’t finish out a game.

4. 2017-18 USC Trojans
One of the teams that felt the fallout of the FBI investigation, this USC team from this past season really struggled. Besides losing Tony Bland as an assistant coach, the Trojans lost De’Anthony Melton, one of the most important pieces for the season. USC had a ton of individual talent, but Melton was the one that was able to do it all without the ball in his hands plus knew how to distribute. They never figured out their roles and USC struggled, going from a top-10 ranking to missing the NCAA Tournament.

3. 2014-15 Florida Gators
It was Billy Donovan’s last season in Florida. The Gators were a top-7 preseason team despite losing Casey Prather, Scottie Wilbekin and Patric Young. Despite that, this is a team that had Kasey Hill, Devin Robinson, Jon Horford, Dorian Finney-Smith and more. The Gators really struggled defensively though, ranking just 115th in the country. They ended up missing the postseason all together though as they went just 16-17 overall. Donovan then left for the Thunder and Florida fans were left wondering what the hell happened here.

2. 2008-09 Notre Dame Irish
Tory Jackson and Luke Harrangody were supposed to be one of the best duos in college basketball. That’s part of the reason as to why Notre Dame was the No. 9 team in the preseason. However, they ended up getting blown out by UNC early in the season, which sort of showed they weren’t this top-10 team. They weren’t a good defensive team. They couldn’t force turnovers and they ended up going 8-10 in the Big East and missing the NCAA Tournament. In fact they fell out of the rankings just 8 weeks in and never made it back to the top-25.

1. 2012-13 Kentucky Wildcats
Despite losing everyone from the title team, this Kentucky team brought in Nerlens Noel, Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress in another top recruiting class. However, a Noel injury really ended up forcing this team to miss the NCAA Tournament. They never really figured out roles either after the Noel injury. Goodwin didn’t live up to his hype. Porythress was inconsistent as a freshman. Ryan Harrow, who was supposed to be the next great Kentucky point guard after practicing with the team the year prior was a complete negative. This was the one team that missed the NCAA Tournament since Calipari took over at Kentucky.