As the chaos of March Madness begins, fans across the country rush to fill out their brackets and search for the sleeper teams that could make a surprising run.
The first team to go farther than people expect is Arizona. The Wildcats are a top five team, but they are better than you expect. They have shown that they can win in big games time and time again with eight wins over AP poll top 25 teams in the nation, specifically with a recent win over No. 2 Houston.
The Wildcats have won by an average of almost 20 points in their wins this season. Arizona doesn’t have a prolific scorer to lead them, but they have many players that they can rely on to get buckets like guards Brayden Burries and Jaden Bradley.
Michigan State is another team you want to pick far in your bracket. Every year, Michigan State peaks at the right time, during the Big Ten Tournament and March Madness. They are a well coached team with experienced head coach Tom Izzo.
When a team has Jeremy Fears Jr., everyone around him will be at their best because he will find you with his elite playmaking skills, averaging more than nine assists per game. Michigan State also has veteran big men with seniors Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper, who are very fundamental players that will make the right play when it comes to the wire.
An overrated team in March Madness is Iowa State. Every year, Iowa State does the same thing through the season. The Cyclones do well in the regular season, but then get to March Madness and choke badly to a worse team. Like last year, when they were a three seed and lost in the round of 32 to Ole Miss.
Two years ago, Iowa State was a two seed and they lost in a close game to three seed Illinois in the sweet sixteen. Iowa State has lost their last three ranked games. This has been the pinnacle of the Cyclones, losing close games when it matters.
The next team that will not go far in the tournament is BYU. AJ Dybantsa should be the first pick, as he is the best college player, but he is dragged down by his team. Richie Saunders, their second best player, suffered a season ending ACL tear against Colorado, 45 seconds into the game. Other than their best five players, they have no reliable backups, and when their starting five gets fatigued, they fall apart late in the game.
In March Madness, when it matters most, the Cougars will get tired and fall apart. BYU has lost eight out of their last eleven games, plummeting at the end of the year, not at the right time.
A big sleeper for March Madness this year is Iowa. After firing Fran McCaffery, their coach of 15 years, Iowa has turned it around. The Hawkeyes hired head coach Ben McCollum from Drake, who then brought with him four players from Drake, including star point guard Bennett Stirtz. Stirtz is a projected lottery pick in the NBA Draft (top 14), after starting his college career D2 at Northwest Missouri State University. Last year, eleven seed Drake pulled off an upset vs. six seed Missouri, so expect Iowa, with most of Drake’s old players, to bust brackets this year in March Madness.
