Being a No. 1 seed in the NCAA National Tournament doesn’t guarantee a championship. In fact, only 59 percent of first seeds go all the way. That’s why you should always be on the lookout for lower ranked teams, which have the potential to rock the world of college basketball this month. Let’s take a look at three of them below.
2017 NCAA March Madness Sleepers
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Florida Gators
Well, the Gators getting upset by Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament should only cloud further the team’s chances of winning the national title—at least in most of the public’s eyes. At +2,500 to be the last team dancing in March Madness, the Gators project to be much better squad than what their 17th AP Poll suggests as they are eighth in KenPom’s rating. Florida thrives on defense, allowing opponents to only 66.6 PPG and 45.7 field goal shooting percentage. They are fifth overall in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency with a rating of 89.4. Teams’ offense could go salty in a single-round tournament like the Big Dance but not so with defense, which mostly requires effort and tenacity.
Iowa State Cyclones
The Cyclones (+5,000) had the best shot of winning the national title in a while a couple of seasons back when Fred Hoiberg had Georges Niang and a prolific offense that ranked among the best in the nation. That said, today’s version of the Cyclones isn’t too shabby either. For one, they have one of the best players in the nation in guard Monte Morris, who averages 16.3 PPG and 6.2 APG. Teamrankings.com has the Cyclones’ chances of advancing to the Final Four at just four percent, but good luck telling that with a straight face to the team that had wins over Kansas and Baylor—both ranked No. 1 in the nation at some point—back in the regular season.
Minnesota Gophers
Minnesota (+8,000) had a five-game rut back and was on the brink of seeing its bubble burst back in January. Then the Gophers strung eight-straight victories, including ones over Indiana and Maryland. Though they lost the regular season finale to Wisconsin, they bounced right back with a win over Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament. In other words, the Gophers will come into March Madness riding a sizeable momentum, thanks to a strong performance late in the regular season. Minnesota is first in the nation in blocks (7.0 per game) and holds opponents down to only 44.5 percent shooting from the field.
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