Top five IU teams to watch

MEN’S BASKETBALL
In case you haven’t heard, Cody Zeller will be bringing his talents to Bloomington this year. Zeller is IU’s highest rated recruit (according to Rivals.com) since Eric Gordon in 2007. The highly touted incoming freshman from Washington High School alone is enough to make the men’s basketball team a hot ticket. Couple Zeller with the fact that IU has all but one player returning and the Hoosiers could be making some significant strides in the 2011-12 season.

FOOTBALL
Speaking of new additions, the IU football team also underwent a major personnel change in the offseason. IU coach Kevin Wilson will begin his first season with the Hoosiers, who are coming off three straight sub .500 seasons. The former Oklahoma offensive coordinator has already upped the intensity of the team’s offseason workouts, hoping to turn around the program’s struggles. While the Hoosiers may not be favored to win the Big Ten title next season, the extreme difference between Wilson and Lynch will make students actually stumble from the tailgate fields into Memorial Stadium.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Although it doesn’t generate equal fan support compared to the other revenue sports at IU, the men’s cross country team might be the most successful. IU coach Ron Helmer led his squad to a 7th place finish at the NCAA Championships last fall, their best since 1977. The men’s cross country team might have the best chance of any IU team to win a national championship next season. All of IU’s top five finishers will be returning this fall with hopes to bring a national title back to Bloomington.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
The IU women’s volleyball team caught fire at the perfect time last season, reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. After notching the most wins since 1979, the biggest question mark surrounding the team is how they’ll survive without All-American Ashley Benson. But the Hoosiers will bring back senior Mary Chaudoin, senior Caitlin Cox and junior Jordan Haverly, all of whom played critical roles in IU’s historic run last season.

MEN’S TENNIS
IU only had one senior during its last season, but that did not prevent the Hoosiers from taking on No. 4 Ohio State for the Big Ten title. Although the Hoosiers came up short, they finished 9-1 in the Big Ten and tallied 22 wins, the most ever in program history. IU fed off home cooking, going 15-2 in Bloomington last season. With senior Santiago Gruter being the lone departure, the rising Hoosiers figure to be back in the mix for a Big Ten title.