March Madness is one of the most highly anticipated tournaments in all of sprots. Every year 68 teams in college basketball get selected to the Men’s tournament to battle for a national title. In the past we have seen Cinderella runs deep into the tournament, and we have also seen high ranked teams get exposed as frauds.
Here are five teams in this year’s NCAA tournament that are dark horse candidates to win it all, and five high ranked teams that are potential frauds.
Dark horse: Oregon
The Oregon Ducks flew under the radar this season due to an average season. The team did go 23-11 in the regular season and finished fourth in the Pac 12. However, they did win the final Pac 12 Tournament over the Colorado Buffalo. This is a conference that had both No. 4 Arizona, and No. 21 Washington State. The Ducks’ upset win over first seeded Arizona in the second round of the tournament showed their ability to take down large opponents, despite that win being their only ranked win of the year. Overall, the Ducks have shown their resilience, and are a gritty team ready to make noise in this year’s tournament.
Potential Fraud: Arizona
Sticking in the Pac12 the Arizona Wildcats won the Pac 12 title in the regular season, finishing with the best record in the conference. It was rare to see them win a game by less than twenty. However, the Wildcats showed they are not invincible, suffering losses to Oregon State and Stanford (both teams didn’t even make a tournament), Florida Atlantic, and a series sweep given up to Washington State. All in all, a team with as much hype and praise like Arizona shouldn’t be losing games against low-ranking opponents.
Dark horse: Florida Atlantic
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The Florida Atlantic Owls finished 25-8 earning the eighth seed in their regional bracket. Florida Atlantic was unable to win their conference tournament in the AAC, as that went to the University of Alabama Birmingham. Florida Atlantic was the only team in their conference to have a ranking at any point in the season. The team starts the tournament against ninth-seeded Northwestern, and many analysts are predicting a win for the Owls. This could be the start of a deep post-season run for FAU.
Potential Fraud: Purdue
The Boilermakers didn’t really jump out at anyone this year, yet they found their way into the first seed of the Midwest regional bracket. On paper, this team hasn’t put-up eye-popping points. The Big ten had a group of mediocre teams this year and besides Zach Edey name one person on the Boilermakers roster. All in all the Boilermakers should be on upset alert come the first round.
Dark horse: San Diego State
Nobody had San Diego State making a tournament run last year but that is exactly what happened. This year the Aztecs are ranked 21st in the nation and are hungry after last year’s championship loss to Uconn. The Aztecs have defied the odds before and it wouldn’t be surprising to see another deep run from the Aztecs.
Potential Fraud: Kentucky
Kentucky finished second in regular season play for the SEC and 15th in the AP Poll. Kentucky’s defense has had more holes than Swiss cheese and is ranked 344th out of 362. Despite having the second-best scoring offense in the nation, the defense it not there for Kentucky, which will be a huge problem come tip off.
Dark horse: Grand Canyon University
How Grand Canyon University is not ranked in the Top 25 is baffling, but that doesn’t matter anymore because now it’s tournament time. Grand Canyon has played sound basketball all season en route to a 29-4 record. Every one of GCU’s losses have been within seven points, and with a conference championship under their belt this is a high-flying group of players.
Potential Fraud: Tennessee
The Volunteers finished 24-8 in the regular season and first in the SEC. But similar to Purdue, nothing jumps out on paper. Just by looking at their schedule and averages this is a mediocre team at best. There is no reason besides their record that this team should be as hyped up as they are, and this will be shown as the tournament progresses.
Dark horse: Washington State
The Washington State Cougars have been a very random team in 2024. They swept the Arizona Wildcats, but all of their losses have come against unranked opponents. This is the team’s first visit to the NCAA Tournament in almost 20 years and it would be a storybook ending to the Pac 12 conference to see WSU go out on top.
Potential Fraud: Gonzaga
Okay, we had to do it. Sorry Zags fans but what the heck happened to start the year? For a team that has historically dominated in the West Coast Conference, the Zags had a heck of a time keeping up with the battle for first place. Despite a seven loss year, and the 18th ranking in the AP Poll the Zags have nothing to offer and are at risk of being exposed.
