There's always a team that comes out of nowhere and shocks the world. While it's a difficult task to pick the true Cinderella story or the absolutely shocking upset, here are a few teams that could at least win their first-round matchups:
The Ducks finished the season strong, having won eight straight, albeit in a mediocre-at-best Pac-12. Payton Pritchard (12.7 points, 4.7 assists per game) is the lone holdover from the 2017 Final Four team and he had a great Pac-12 Tournament. So too did Louis King, who averaged 16.5 points and six rebounds during the run to the tourney title. He and Kenny Wooten have a strong defensive presence in the post.
Wisconsin look out of sorts in its loss to Michigan State on Saturday and star Ethan Happ could struggle with the Ducks defense. Playing closer to home than the Badgers can’t hurt their cause, either. Any time a power conference school is seeded this low, they’re a threat to pull an upset – just ask Syracuse how being a low seed worked out last season.
Everybody knows about Ja Morant and Murray State by now. While the Selection Committee made some puzzling decisions in this bracket, they delivered us all with a fantastic first-round matchup between Morant and Marquette’s Markus Howard.
The Flames were an at-large candidate for the better part of the year, playing in a surprisingly tough Atlantic Sun Conference and rank in the top-50 of KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency. The Flames went into Pauley Pavillion and beat UCLA in December, granted the Bruins struggled mightily this season.
We talked a lot about Wofford in our Ticket Bracketology series this season. With good reason – Fletcher Magee can fill it up, and he needs just three more 3-pointers to break the NCAA career record. But we’ve also given some love to the Pirates, who lost to Villanova in the Big East Tournament finals.
The Hall got hot at the right time and just knocked off Marquette and Villanova in recent weeks. Myles Powell (22.9 PPG) and Myles Kale (10.3 PPG) make this team go and they could give a Wofford defense that hasn’t seen power conference competition since December major fits.
The Gators reached the SEC Tournament final and used a strong finish to the season to earn an at-large bid. Florida has an incredibly balanced attack, with six players averaging at least eight points per game. Nevada has been notorious for struggling on defense this season and is perhaps a bit under-seeded. But similar to Oregon, any time a power-conference team has a low seed, they’re capable of the upset.
The Anteaters, aside from having one of the best nicknames in the NCAA Tournament, also have one of the best player names in the tournament -- Max Hazzard. He just so happens to be pretty good at basketball, too. Hazzard averaged 12.5 PPG on 39.4 percent from 3-point rage. He's capable of getting hot from distance, which will be key in beating a K-State defense that ranks in the top-30 for defensive 3-point percentage.
Vermont has a good amount of experience on its roster, namely in Ernie Duncan and Anthony Lamb, who replaced former teammate Trae Bell-Haynes in winning America East Player of the Year. Lamb should have been recruited by a power conference school. He's good enough to play with the big boys on a regular basis. Averaging 21 PPG without a great 3-point shot, Lamb is the real deal. He shows up in the big games -- 24 points against Kansas, 25 against Louisville and 28 in the America East championship.
Florida State, like Seton Hall, has gotten hot at the right time and just knocked off Virginia in the ACC Tournament semifinals. But back-to-back losses against Pitt and Boston College mid-season showed the Seminoles' vulnerability. Florida State ranks 256th in allowing free throw attempts, while Vermont gets to the line at a high clip and makes them at an even higher rate. This could be the kind of game that's decided at the line.