Larry Brown and the Mustangs are looking to build on their 27-win season. (Getty)

Which programs are primed to break through this year? Check out our list below for five teams that will rise during the 2014-15 college basketball season. In no particular order ...

SMU

No Emmanuel Mudiay? No problem. The Mustangs may not have the requisites to be a top-five team without Mudiay, but they're still a squad that should rank in the top 15-20 for most of the season. SMU returns eight of its top 10 players who won 27 games last season and beat eventual national champion UConn twice in addition to double-figure wins over Cincinnati and Memphis. Larry Brown's crew also adds a key fifth-year transfer in former Xavier small forward Justin Martin (11.7 points, 5.2 rebounds in 13-14) and Virginia Tech transfer Ben Emelogu (10.5 points in 13-14), who was granted a waiver to play immediately. The Mustangs won't just be good enough to make the NCAA Tournament next March, they'll be good enough advance and do damage in the NCAA Tournament.

Miami

Guards win in college basketball and Jim Larranaga boasts several of them. The Hurricanes will add two potential starters in transfers Angel Rodriguez (Kansas State) and Sheldon McClellan along with a red-shirt freshman in Deandre Burnett, who could wind up leading this team in scoring. Larranaga also welcomes back a quality piece in sophomore Manu Lecomte and adds two first-year players in guards Ja'Quan Newton and James Palmer, who should contribute immediately. But what about the front court? Miami needs 7-foot junior Tonye Jekiri and 6-10 JUCO transfer Ivan Cruz Uceda (eligible after first 16 games) to protect the rim and rebound on a regular basis if this team is to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons. The Hurricanes went 17-16 last season and have significantly better personnel heading into this season. Does that mean a trip back to the field of 68 out of an ACC Conference that features heavyweights like Louisville, Duke, North Carolina, and Virginia? With a coach like Larranaga and a perimeter this deep, it's definitely within the realm of possibility.

Texas A&M

Billy Kennedy needed two things desperately last season --- a point guard and a center. Now he's got both. The Aggies welcome two impactful additions in freshman floor general Alex Robinson and 6-11 red-shirt big man Tony Trocha to go with four returning starters --- Alex Caruso, Jordan Green, Antwan Space and Kourtney Roberson --- from last year's team that went 18-16. Texas A&M lost leading scorer Jamal Jones, but will replace him with SMU transfer Jalen Jones, a 6-7 forward who led the Mustangs in scoring and rebounding during the 2012-13 season. Robinson's arrival should finally allow Caruso to move off the ball where he's more comfortable and also give Kennedy the point guard he's craved since he arrived in College Station. The Aggies have made national headlines recently for putting together a strong 2015 recruiting class but it says here that the present for Texas A&M is being undersold. If Houston transfer Danuel House can get a waiver from the NCAA to play immediately, this team could be a real threat to be at the top of the group of teams in the SEC behind Kentucky and Florida.

Utah

Can the Utes go from being a team that reached the NIT to a squad that now competes with Arizona at the top of the Pac-12? It certainly looks that way. Delon Wright and Jordan Loveridge are two of the best players no one knows about nationally while Brandon Taylor, Dakari Tucker and Dallin Bachynski are quality returning role players who know their place. The Utes' staff is also incredibly excited about 6-9 red-shirt freshman forward Kyle Kuzma, who has the skill and versatility to play multiple positions on the floor. True freshmen Brekkott Chapman and Isaiah Wright --- a lethal on-ball defender --- are also expected to instantly have an impact. Larry Krystowiak's team is legit. With personnel defections throughout the Pac-12, there's a very realistic chance this will be the second-best team in the conference.

Illinois State

The Redbirds are ready to challenge both Wichita State and Northern Iowa at the top of the Missouri Valley. Dan Muller returns two key pieces in combo guard Daishon Knight and 6-10 big man Reggie Lynch from last year's team that won 18 games while adding three high-level talents in red-shirt freshmen Deontae "Teddy" Hawkins and MiKyle McIntosh along with JUCO transfer Devaughn Akoon-Purcell. If Illinois State can make shots with regularity, there's a good chance the Redbirds will make a few statements early during a non-conference schedule that features VCU and likely LSU in the Paradise Jam in the Bahamas.