After seven long months of waiting, the college basketball season is finally here. Monday, November 6 marks the start of the campaign as 362 schools will battle it out to earn one of 68 spots in the promised land — the NCAA Tournament.

While March might be five months away, it is never too early to begin predicting which teams will make the tourney and highlighting who the true contenders will be. With the experts mostly picking favorites like Purdue and Duke to win it all, here are two dark-horse teams that should be on your national championship radar.

New Mexico

Two months into the 2022-23 college basketball season, New Mexico was 14-0 and the last DI undefeated team remaining. The Lobos felt like a lock for the NCAA Tournament, but then the grind of the Mountain West Conference slowly wore them down. Coach Richard Patino's team went 8-11 the rest of the way and earned an NIT bid instead of the NCAA Tournament berth they coveted.

The Lobos enter this year with all the pieces to bounce back from last season's disappointment and feature a starting lineup with five seniors. Leading this team is one of the best backcourt duos in the nation in Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn Jr. House and Mashburn combined for 35.5 points per game in 22-23, with either one able to take over the game on any given night.

Ultimately, poor defense let down New Mexico last year, as this team finished 120th in Ken Pomeroy's adjusted defensive efficiency rating, and Coach Patino looked to shore up this weakness in the transfer portal. He brought in big man Nelly Junior Joseph — who was First Team All-MAAC at Iona — Dayton forward Mustapha Amzil, and Fresno State guard Jemarl Baker — a 25-year-old who was one of the most underrated defenders in the Mountain West last year.

This New Mexico team is hungry, and if the transfers can solidify the Lobos defensively, then UNM has the backcourt scoring to beat anyone in the country.

Saint Mary's

“Gritty not pretty” is the motto that has defined the Saint Mary's Gaels' grinding style of play in recent years. Predicated on tough defense and a slow offense, head coach Randy Bennett's team has gone 53-16 over the last two seasons, earning a five-seed in the NCAA Tournament each time while finishing in the top 20 in Ken Pomeroy's adjusted efficiency margin.

This year, the Gaels will hope that their balance and experience will translate to a deep run come March. The team is led by guard Aidan Mahaney, who was First Team All-West Coast Conference a season ago as a freshman. Mahaney shot 40% on three-pointers and demonstrated a proclivity for coming up big in clutch situations. He hit a last-second jumper to beat BYU on the road and also scored 16 points in the last 6:20 of regulation plus overtime to come back and knock off Gonzaga exactly one week later.

But this team is not all about Mahaney. Big man Mitchell Saxen was also First Team All-WCC, finishing as one of four Gaels to average 10+ points per game while offering an elite defensive and rebounding presence down low. The difference-maker for SMC could be guard Augustas Marciulonis. The Lithuanian replaces Logan Johson — reigning WCC Defensive Player of the Year and the Gaels' leading scorer. Marciulonis has demonstrated promise in his first two years under Coach Bennett as a point guard who can finish at the rim and also distribute, but he will need to improve his shooting touch and ball security if he wants to be an effective starter for the Gaels.

Saint Mary's continues to be one of the elite mid-major teams in college basketball and is not a squad that any opponent will want to face in the NCAA Tournament.