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It's never too early to start looking ahead to next season.
Check out our list below for five teams on the rise heading into 2016-17.
Creighton : The Bluejays return three of their top four scorers from this past season's team that won 20 games and made the Postseason NIT.
Greg McDermott's squad will also add Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster, who averaged double-figures in each of his two years with the Wildcats.
The Big East will again be anchored by both Villanova and Xavier, but Creighton won't be too far behind.
The Bluejays will have one of the country's most explosive back courts with Foster and Maurice Watson along with a knockdown shooter in Isaiah Zierden and a capable veteran power forward in Cole Huff.
Expect Creighton to play in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
Clemson : Brad Brownell led the Tigers to 10 ACC wins without a true home court advantage and he'll have that and several other talented newcomers at his disposal next season.
Clemson will add three transfers -- Marcquise Reed (Robert Morris), Shelton Mitchell (Vanderbilt), and Elijah Thomas (Texas A&M) -- who should all be immediate contributors. Thomas -- a bonafide low post option -- will be eligible in December.
Brownell has to wait and see if Jaron Blossomgame will return to school after declaring for the NBA Draft without an agent, but his departure would just mean a bigger role for Donte Grantham (10.2 points). His return would potentially put this team into the top five or six in the ACC standings.
Steady point guard Avry Holmes (10.0 points, 2.6 assists) also returns to run the show and he'll be a better play maker in 16-17 because he'll have more weapons at his disposal.
The breakthrough for this program is coming.
And it's coming next season.
Minnesota : This past year for the Gophers was one to forget.
Next season may be one to remember.
Despite an 8-23 record with only a pair of Big Ten wins, there's reason for optimism within Minnesota's program.
The Golden Gophers will add a Top-40 prospect in wing Amir Coffey as well as two transfers in Reggie Lynch (Illinois State) and Davonte Fitzgerald (Texas A&M), who could both find their way into the starting lineup.
The 6-9, 260 pound Lynch is a below the rim low-post scorer who should give Minnesota a true option to throw the ball to in the paint.
Richard Pitino also returns a capable lead guard in Nate Mason as well as power forward Jordan Murphy, who averaged 11.6 points and 8.0 rebounds as a freshman.
This should be a postseason team in 2017.
Oklahoma State : Brad Underwood will take an overall record of 89-14 to the Big 12 and he should have a real chance to add on that during his first year with the Cowboys.
Oklahoma State's projected starting back court -- Jawun Evans and Phil Forte -- only played a combined 25 games last season due to injuries and if they're healthy then the Cowboys could have one of the best perimeter combinations in the Big 12.
Junior guard Tavarius Shine has potential while Leyton Hammonds and Mitchell Solomon should form a capable duo up front.
The key to the whole thing could be Solomon, who only averaged 3.7 points and 3.9 rebounds as a sophomore.
If that happens, Oklahoma State should surpass its win total from last year (12) by a significant margin.
La Salle : Can a team finish 9-22 one season and be one of the better teams in the Atlantic 10 just a year later?
It's a real possibility for the Explorers considering the pieces they will add.
La Salle has a trio transfers -- B.J. Johnson (Syracuse), Pookie Powell (Memphis), and Demetrius Henry (South Carolina) -- that will be eligible in 16-17 and they will join a solid returning nucleus of Jordan Price (19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds), Cleon Roberts (12.9 points), Johnnie Shuler (9.6 points), and Tony Washington (7.7 points, 7.4 rebounds).
Those seven players figure to make up the majority of the Explorers' rotation with veterans Amar Stukes and Yevgen Sakhniuk also in the mix.
Dr. John Giannini has hoped to have La Salle competing for an NCAA bid since he led the North Philadelphia school to the Sweet 16 in 2013.
If he can figure out how to the get the chemistry right with this group, the Explorers may have a chance to achieve that goal next season.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/25543150/five-teams-that-missed-the-ncaa-tournament-but-will-make-it-in-2017
