5 underdogs that can bust your brackets
Underdogs will surely shake up brackets and cause mayhem during the NCAA Tournament. Our job now is to see how the potential Cinderella teams stack up against the field.
Here are long shots that can whip up some magic:
No. 7 Louisville
Louisville is pretty darn good for a team that lost 13 times. KenPom has the Cardinals high atop the standings as the No. 17 team in the country, with the No. 29 offense and No. 17 defense.
Finishing games was a problem for the Cardinals this season. Louisville let a handful of potentially huge upsets slip away late, which is why the team is ranked 301st in the nation in luck.
There's a clean slate ahead for Louisville now. The Cardinals are a well-balanced team, with game-changer Jordan Nwora leading the squad. Playing in the cutthroat ACC should prepare the Cardinals to face whatever competition comes their way. The East Region isn't exactly stacked, so we think Louisville deserves another look.
No. 8 Syracuse
Syracuse feels like a gimme in this scenario.
Head coach Jim Boeheim has been excellent in the NCAA Tournament when the Orange are an underdog, and he's currently on a 20-8-1 run against the spread when getting points, with 15 outright wins over that stretch.
Syracuse covered all four games as an underdog during last year's tournament, winning three and advancing to the Sweet 16.
No. 12 Oregon
The No. 6-seed Ducks being favorites over the No. 1-seed Washington Huskies in the Pac-12 Tournament championship speaks volumes about how weak the conference was this season. Still, Oregon comes into the tournament hot.
Including their Pac-12 title victory over the Huskies, the Ducks have ripped off eight wins both straight up and against the spread.
Oregon draws No. 5 Wisconsin in the first round, which could turn into a slow-paced game with a defensive style that suits the Ducks. If you're looking for a No. 12 seed to pull off an upset in the opening round, here's your best bet.
No. 14 Yale
Oftentimes, betting on a team that can shoot the lights out and defend the perimeter is wise. The Yale Bulldogs are one of those teams after ranking No. 6 in the nation in field-goal percentage, No. 46 in three-point percentage, and No. 33 at defending threes.
Head coach James Jones helped his program unseat Baylor three seasons ago as a sizable underdog in the first round. LSU, Yale's first-round opponent, should be on upset alert this year, too.
No. 10 Iowa
Cincinnati might want to chat with the committee after drawing a No. 7 seed despite winning 28 games and the AAC Tournament title. The Bearcats get a tough draw against the Iowa Hawkeyes, a team that dropped five of its last six games to close out the season.
We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but if the Hawkeyes get past the first round, they're a threat on the perimeter against No. 2 Tennessee.
Alex Kolodziej is theScore's betting writer. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 11 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AlexKoIodziej.