This is a good read on teams some up & coming teams for this season

The bigger they are, the harder they fall – and the quicker they get back to their feet.

Look at Kentucky. The Wildcats are historically one of the greatest programs in college hoops, and after a few seasons of sucking the hind titt in the SEC, a new head coach and roster full of talent has UK back among the national title favorites.

Perennial powerhouses will have the occasional off year, or years, depending on how far the program has sunk. But it won't be long until these NCAA staples climb back to the top of their respective conference.

That's why it's important for the other teams in those conferences to capitalize on these rare down years from the leagues' finest. Here's a look at programs trying to make some noise while the conference giant is sleeping.

Atlantic 10

Down: Xavier Musketeers
Up: Dayton Flyers

With Sean Miller turning his success in Ohio into a high-paying, high-profile gig in the Pac-10, the Musketeers have much to prove in the A-10. Xavier not only losses its coach but its top three scorers from last season.

This opens the door for Dayton, which has toyed with the top of the conference the last three seasons. The Flyers are quick out of the blocks, jumping up the Top 25 but fail to come through in conference play. Against the Musketeers, they are just 1-7 (2-6 ATS) in the past three seasons but have four starters back (10 of their 11 top scorers) including All-American hopeful Chris Wright, whose high-wire act has quite the following on YouTube.

Big East

Down: Pittsburgh Panthers, Marquette Golden Eagles
Up: West Virginia Mountaineers

Two of the Big East's best teams over the past four seasons drop to the middle of the pack. Pitt doesn't have DeJuan Blair, Sam Young or Levance Fields and Marquette bids farewell to Wesley Matthews, Dominic James and Jerel McNeal.

The Mountaineers lose some of their scoring with the departure of streaky shooter Alex Ruoff but hang on to their standout frontcourt of Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks. Luckily, WVU dodged some legal issues in their backcourt and Bob Huggins has this program just where he wants it heading into his third year in Morgantown.

Colonial Athletic Association

Down: VCU Rams
Up: Old Dominion Monarchs

The Rams will suffer through growing pains this season. Gone is NBA-talent Eric Maynor, who was a leader on and off the court for VCU. Add to that, the departure of brilliant head coach Anthony Grant, who followed the big bucks to Bama, which leaves the CAA's top program in the hands of first-year coach Shaka Smart.

The Monarchs are building on a College Insiders Tournament title (hey, it's a start) and return all five starters on a hulking roster. Old Dominion does the little things that win tight ball games – rebound and limit turnovers – and has pro talent in 6-foot-10 senior Gerald Lee and budding talents in Frank Hassell and Darius James. Blaine Taylor's crew won 14 of its final 16 games (9-7 ATS) to end last season.

Conference USA

Down: Memphis Tigers
Up: Tulsa Golden Hurricane, UTEP Miners

Do not sell Memphis short in the C-USA. The Tigers are still among the most talented programs in the league but are far from their title-contending days. On top of John Calipari's tuck-tail-and-run and those five-star recruits he took to UK with him, Memphis lost Martin Ngaloro, who is staying in France, and Angel Garcia, torn ACL, for the year.

C-USA foes have been licking their chops for a chance to dethrone the Tigers. Tulsa has a shot at the conference crown with NBA-ready 7-footer Jerome Jordan and Ben Uzoh filling up the paint. The Miners are also in contention in the C-USA, bringing in former-Louisville nightmare Derrick Caracter and Christian Polk, who held his own at Arizona State, to offset the loss of scoring dynamo Stefon Jackson. Those are two BCS talents to boost a roster of three returning starters including budding scorer Randy Culpepper.

Pac-10

Down: UCLA Bruins
Up: California Golden Bears

Ben Howland's program won't be down for long. The Bruins have the best recruiting class in the Pac-10 but will take time to gel with so much experience leaving the program. UCLA will get it together around February and more than likely get an at-large bid for the tournament.

Cal can make the most of this time. The Golden Bears are one of the most explosive teams in the country. They ranked first in 3-point percentage last season and can keep themselves in games, and cover a spread, with just a few trips down the floor. Cal is another year older in Mike Montgomery's system and has proven scorers in Jerome Randle, Theo Robinson, Jamal Boykin and Patrick Christopher.

SEC

Down: LSU Tigers
Up: Mississippi State Bulldogs

After winning the SEC West, the Tigers are being pegged to fall all the way to the bottom of the conference. Louisiana State still has versatile forward Tasmin Mitchell and shooting guard Bo Spencer, who is among the injury prone players on Trent Johnson's roster. But ailments have already impacted this team, which will depend on unproven talent to keep pace in the improved SEC.

The Bulldogs are already used to capitalizing on down years. While the SEC was soft last season, MSU came out of nowhere to claim the SEC title and now bring back all five starters from that squad including defensive game-changer Jarvis Varnado and sophomore guard Dee Bost. And if freshman Renardo Sidney can get himself illegible, the Bulldogs could bust some heads come March.

Southern

Down: Davidson Wildcats, Chattanooga Mocs
Up: Charleston Cougars

Gone is the poster boy for Southern hoops. Davidson losses Stephen Curry's dead-eye shooting and knack for the dramatic. The Wildcats have talent remaining but will struggle on offense without Curry there to create in the crunch. The Mocs also dwindle this season. After chasing Davidson for the past few campaigns, Chattanooga is minus its top four scorers from last year.

The Cougars proved they were ready for the Southern crown after shocking the Wildcats in the Southern Conference tournament last season. However, they fell flat on their face against the Mocs in the title game. Charleston got some bad news in September when defensive stopper Antwaine Wiggins shredded his ACL and was ruled out for the season. But the program returns the best backcourt combo in Southern which includes sharpshooter Andrew Goudelock, who is showing up on NBA radars.

SHhhhhhhhhh...

Don't talk about the College of Knowledge Cougars!!!!

And they beat Davidson TWICE last yr. Ran out of gas in the title game, it was also ahome game for the Mocs. Wiggins hurts. Great over team and I can't wait to see the total for their game vs. the Heels.