We’ve officially made it to the best time of year for basketball fans! The field is set for March Madness, which was certainly met with some controversy, but we have the field regardless.
Several blue bloods have high seeds, none of which come as a surprise. Duke, Florida, Auburn, and Houston are all No. 1 seeds, and everyone knows they are going to play well.
Maybe not to win a National Title, but they’re all expected to reach the Elite Eight, if not further. While these teams are no-brainers in your bracket, there are also plenty of teams that could bust some brackets early, which is what we’re going to focus on in this article.
We’ve put together our three favorite high-seeded teams that could seriously disrupt this year’s bracket and make a run for the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, or even the Final Four. Strange things seem to happen in March, and we are excited to see if these four underdogs can put a Cinderella Story together. Let’s dive in!
Colorado State might be one of the best 12 seeds we’ve seen in the Tournament for quite some time. They are led by senior guard Nique Clifford, who is leading the team in points, rebounds, and assists.
Not only is this 12-seed a 2.5-point favorite against Memphis in their opening game, but they have a favorable path to the Sweet Sixteen, needing to beat the winner of Maryland and Grand Canyon. Colorado State is the 42nd team in the KenPom ratings, which might not necessarily indicate that they are going to go far, but we love their defense, which could carry them to a Cinderella-type run.
Whether CSU can beat Florida remains to be seen, but we’re riding with them until their third round, at least. It’s March, so anything can happen!
VCU has an interesting draw in this tournament that could land them in the Elite Eight if they play their cards right. They’re slight favorites in their opening matchup with BYU and face the winner of Wisconsin-Montana before facing one of Saint Mary’s, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and Robert Morris in the Sweet Sixteen.
Alabama could have a deep run in them, but we like VCU’s chances of taking them down if they get the opportunity. Not only do 11 seeds tend to perform well from a historical perspective, but VCU’s strong defense and ability to score 62.4 points per game in the regular season could serve them well in this tournament.
Max Shulga and Joe Bamisile are their best scorers, and they had four players during the regular season averaging at least 10 points per game. Having a deep roster and not necessarily needing to rely on one star is crucial in March, which is another reason for us to be excited about VCU this season.
Call us crazy, but Yale is one of our favorite Cinderella teams this year. They are one of the best-scoring teams in the country, averaging 81.7 points per game, and their defense is nothing to sneeze at, either. Unlike the first two teams we mentioned, Yale is a significant underdog in their first-round battle with Texas A&M, but we’re not sure why.
Their scoring was much better than A&M's during the regular season, and their defense was similar. If they can get by this Texas-based team, they just might be able to go on a bit of a run before taking on Auburn in the Sweet Sixteen.
Auburn might be the most vulnerable of the No. 1 seeds, and if Yale’s scoring is as prolific as it’s been all season, we like their odds of taking down Auburn on their path to the Elite Eight. They’ll need John Poulakidas and Nick Townsend to lead the way from a scoring perspective, but if they can hang on, this could be a team to beat down the stretch.