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As college basketball season hits full stride with league play either underway or on the horizon across the country, the national picture is coming into focus. Four teams have already claimed the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25, and there are plenty more who have cracked the poll after beginning the season on the outside looking in.

Last week, we covered a few of this season's biggest disappointments. Now it's time to highlight three teams that have been pleasant surprises. Conference play can be humbling for programs who aren't ready for the never-ending stream of quality opposition it brings, but a fast start can sustain a team's NCAA Tournament resume. That was certainly the case for Clemson, Michigan State and Missouri, who were highlighted in the dribble handoff at this point last season for their strong starts. Each of those three reached the Big Dance largely because of the work they did early in the season.

So who are this season's top surprise teams? These are the squads that stick out as we reach the midway point of December.

Iowa State

Iowa State went 2-22 last season and was picked to finish last in the Big 12 this season under first-year coach T.J. Otzelberger. Perhaps it'll still go that way. As always, we'll see. But based on what the Cyclones have shown through the first five weeks of the season, I'd be surprised if ISU isn't several spots away from the bottom of the Big 12 and a legitimate contender to make the NCAA Tournament.

Iowa State is 10-0.

Thanks to Otzelberger's skillful overhaul of ISU's roster, mostly via the transfer portal, the Cyclones have already beaten Xavier, Memphis, Iowa and Creighton. That's four wins over top-65 KenPom teams that have taken Iowa State from 113th at KenPom to 50th at KenPom in a span of nine games. If you take the preseason bias out of BartTorvik.com, Iowa State is 18th in that computer. So there's some real evidence that suggests the Cyclones are legit and far from a team just off to a nice start. Will they go undefeated? Of course not. But they've already done enough in the non-league portion of the schedule to make it where going 9-9 in the Big 12 will probably be enough to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament -- and, at this point, I'd likely bet on the Cyclones doing at least that and possibly more. -- Gary Parrish

Arizona

This is all on a sliding scale, as I'm not surprised by Arizona being good enough to easily make the NCAA Tournament. I did anticipate that, as I ranked the Wildcats in the top 30 in the preseason. But did I -- or anyone for that matter -- think Arizona would be looking like a No. 1 seed through the first month-plus of the season? That would be a no. No, no, no. Tommy Lloyd has come in and done a marvelous job to date, and even if some of the wins might be good as opposed to great (Michigan, Illinois are a combined 13-7; meh), we're still going to give credit to a retooled team with a new coach that went 17-9 a season ago. 

U of A is No. 1 in the NET and is only one of two schools with three Quad 1 wins already (Providence being the other). It rates among the best offenses and has a defense that's formidable around the rim. Sophomore wing Bennedict Mathurin is averaging 27.7 points and 7.7 rebounds on 60.8% shooting. The combination of Sean Miller bringing in so much international talent and then Lloyd, who thrived in recruiting those players at Gonzaga for more than a decade, coaching that talent has been a beautiful fit. Lloyd is on my top three for coach of the year so far, and Arizona looks like it has the components to make the Final Four. Surprising indeed.  -- Matt Norlander

Xavier

The Big East's coaches predicted that Xavier would finish third in the conference, so it's not like the Musketeers have come from nowhere. But the fact that they are 9-1, ranked No. 15 in the NET and have a 3-1 mark in Quad 1 games is a sure sign that they have overachieved relative to national expectations. One of the most impressive parts about what Xavier has done is that it beat Ohio State and Virginia Tech without last season's leading scorer Zach Freemantle, who missed the first six games with a foot injury.

Given Villanova's concerning offensive performance against Baylor on Sunday and the fact that the Wildcats haven't exactly popped yet, it suddenly looks like the Musketeers could have a shot in the Big East race. Even if Xavier cools off a bit and finds itself in the middle of the Big East pack, it should still qualify for its NCAA Tournament since 2018 because of its strong non conference performance. It would be the program's first appearance in the Big Dance under fourth-year coach Travis Steele and an affirmation of how he kept the roster's nucleus together during the offseason. -- David Cobb