There was no Arkansas, Indiana, UCLA, Syracuse or Villanova in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Even programs like Miami and Kansas State, which made deep runs during the 2023 NCAA Tournament, were left out in 2024. From a conference standpoint, it was particularly jarring when the dust settled on the 68-team bracket and just three Big East teams were included.
But regardless of who doesn’t make it, the party always goes on, and the 2024 Big Dance delivered. Now, as the 2024-25 college basketball season approaches, those teams and many others who were left on the outside looking in during last season’s Selection Sunday are charting a path back to college basketball’s big stage.
Missing the Big Dance can provide some coaches with the clarity they need to make the roster and philosophy changes needed to ensure it doesn’t happen in back-to-back seasons. Florida, North Carolina, Texas Tech are three prominent examples of teams that missed the field in 2023 but were back in the field of 68 in 2024.
The Red Raiders went through a complete overhaul under first-year coach Grant McCasland. Florida made steady strides in Year 2 under coach Todd Golden. And UNC enjoyed a bit of addition by subtraction as the departure of mercurial guard Caleb Love crystalized the team’s hierarchy and helped the Tar Heels win the ACC.
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So as the new season approaches, which teams that were left out of the 2024 NCAA Tournament are poised to make it to the Big Dance in 2025? Our writers made their picks for this week’s Dribble Handoff.
Arkansas
The highest-rated team in my preseason Top 25 And 1 that didn’t make the NCAA Tournament last season is Arkansas. So put me down for the Razorbacks. Yes, I know, Arkansas is only returning one scholarship player (Trevon Brazile) from a team that lost more than it won; that’s not usually a good sign for any program.
But John Calipari did a nice job quickly remaking the roster after leaving Kentucky under pressure, adding three Division I transfers who started for NCAA Tournament teams last season — namely Johnell Davis (FAU), Jonas Aidoo (Tennessee) and DJ Wagner (Kentucky), the last of whom followed Calipari to the other side of the SEC. Is this the best roster in the country? No. Is it one of Calipari’s best rosters ever? Absolutely not. But it is a roster that should be old enough and talented enough to have Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament in Year 1 under Calipari. — Gary Parrish
I don’t think there’s going to be any doubt. With Hunter Sallis back — and I love his chances to be an All-American — Steve Forbes is going to have the key floor leader to ensure the disappointment ends in Winston-Salem. This is the year Sallis carries Wake into the upper echelon of the ACC and gets the Deacs to the NCAAs, snapping the school’s eight-year drought. He returns alongside another key Deacon, Efton Reid, who is probably going to have a few games where he flat outplays supposedly better opposing big men.
Cameron Hildreth will return to play alongside Sallis in the backcourt, joining up with Louisville transfer Ty-Laur Johnson, who is hoping to be the latest newcomer to the program to get a reputation makeover. Here’s the thing: A lot of guys apply to that distinction: App State transfer Tre’Von Spillers will play the 4, while Omaha Biliew (Iowa State) and Davin Cosby (Alabama) are also going to have a chance to shine. The talent, experience and pent-up frustration is finally giving way. Mark me down for the Demon Deacons as a No. 4 seed. — Matt Norlander
K-State took a major step back after a 26-win season the year prior that ended with a magical and unexpected run to the Elite Eight. The Wildcats finished 19-15 after missing on some new additions and falling on the wrong side of some injury luck. Woeful shooting and turnover problems only made things worse.
Coach Jerome Tang and his staff hit the portal hard to try and recapture some of that lost magic with eight new transfers, a four-star high school recruit from Sunrise Christian and a potential plug-and-play add from the junior college ranks.
Things are looking up in Manhattan, Kansas, with what is essentially a brand-new roster. There’s shot-blocking and size with Kentucky transfer Ugonna Onyenso and Samford transfer Achor Achor. There’s inside-out versatility in Illinois transfer Coleman Hawkins. And the additions of Dug McDaniel (Michigan), Max Jones (Cal State Fullerton) and C.J. Jones (UIC) should add much-needed playmaking and scoring to the backcourt.
With wholesale changes to shake things up, it may take some time for Kansas State to get things straightened out and grooving in the right direction. But the talent is in place. The right coach is in place. And opportunities abound in the new-look Big 12, where every night will serve as proving ground to earn an eventual at-large in the NCAAs. My bet is the Wildcats will be back in the 68-team field this year with a fearsome defense and upgraded scoring to complement it. — Kyle Boone
St. John’s was on the outside looking at the field of 68 for the 2024 NCAA Tournament despite winning six of its final seven games before Selection Sunday to reach 20 victories. The lone loss in that stretch was a 95-90 defeat against eventual national champion UConn in the Big East Tournament. Nonetheless, Rick Pitino’s first squad with the Red Storm wasn’t invited to the Big Dance.
That should change this season after Pitino restocked the cupboard with a quality group of veteran transfers. The headliner is former Seton Hall star Kadary Richmond. But ex-Utah and Georgia Tech guard Deivon Smith will also help upgrade the Johnnies’ backcourt. On the whole, it appears Pitino has a more athletic team with a higher floor than last year’s group, which lost eight of 10 games during one stretch in the middle of Big East play. — David Cobb
Michigan
Hiring Dusty May away from FAU was one of the best coaching carousel moves of the offseason. May was a highly sought-after name in the coaching world because of what he did with FAU’s program. May is in a great position to turn the Wolverines back into a Big Ten contender because of what he did in the transfer portal.
Michigan added Ohio State’s Roddy Gayle Jr., Yale’s Danny Wolf, Auburn’s Tre Donaldson, Alabama’s Sam Walters, and his former player at FAU, Vladislav Goldin, and added four-star guard Justin Pippen, the son of NBA legend Scottie Pippen via high school recruiting. Michigan is in prime position to make it back to the NCAA Tournament. — Cameron Salerno
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