Every year at this time, we reveal "dark horse" teams that are somewhat unknown or can outpace expectations. And despite the fact that we have far more advanced systems of technology, we also divulge teams that are "under the radar" and cannot be detected except by our genius. A dark horse is a horse racing term about an equine that is little known to gamblers, who are supposed to know everything about the ponies.
Essentially, we are telling you to "keep an eye on" these teams so that we can tell you "I told you so" about them at the end of the season. Of course, I am far too kind and benevolent to say I told you so (I will simply tweet out a link to this article should any of these teams pay off in March). My last warning is not to "sleep" on these teams, in your near-narcoleptic, sleep-deprived condition.
Sure, teams like Missouri (with an outstanding collection of transfer talent), Duke (bouncing back from an early exit in the NCAA tournament), Michigan State (with a healthy Branden Dawson), and Colorado (with rebounding savant Andre Roberson) will be on many of our lists, but they are too close to the radar to me.
My list has five true, "under-the-radar, dark-horse teams to keep an eye on" (so don't sleep on them) for the 2012-13 season:
To read Jay Bilas' full blog about teams that could surprise this season, you must be an ESPN Insider.
Jay Bilas
College Basketball analyst- College basketball analyst for ESPN and ESPN Insider
- Played and coached at Duke
- Practicing attorney
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Jay Bilas
Jay Bilas provides expert color commentary from courtside on college basketball games and serves as a studio analyst and as the co-host of ESPN's popular studio shows "College GameDay" and "College Gamenight." He also writes for ESPN.com and contributes numerous reports for "SportsCenter." Since 2003, Bilas has provided in-depth player scouting and analysis for ESPN's coverage of the NBA draft.
