While a select few teams like North Carolina, Kansas and Maryland have lived up to their hyped NCAAB odds preseason expectations, and look like potential teams to reach the Final Four in Houston; nothing can be guaranteed for such teams. In main, this has got to do with the crazy upset-riddled nature of the season so far, which has seen six teams hold the No. 1 ranking this season—Villanova becoming the latest team to claim the top ranking. Helping with the parity and unexpected twists is the fact that we’ve seen an unprecedented rise of teams like Xavier and Iowa, while powerhouses like Duke and Kentucky haven’t played that well, at least compared to their usual high levels. Meanwhile, nearly every top team in the nation has struggled to win on the road, leading to constant shifts in the Power Conferences.
So, if there’s ever a year for mid-major or double-digit seed to shake up the March Madness and win the National Championship, 2016 sounds just about the right year for that to happen. In line with this train of thought, here are some crazy but logical under-the-radar teams we believe have a legitimate shot to win the 2016 college hoops national championship.There are still a bunch of great games left before conference tournaments start: https://t.co/EyPCrMgoFh pic.twitter.com/yJNBtxvMfu
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) February 15, 2016
No.15 Dayton Flyers (21-3, 11-1 in Atlantic 10)
If you’ve paying close attention to the Atlantic 10 Conference, then you are probably well aware of the pedigree brought by the Flyers, who currently leading the A10 standings, one game ahead of Saint Joseph’s. Besides their unexpected loss to La Salle, the Flyers have been absolutely dominant in conference play. And as far as top wins are concerned, Dayton already beat Iowa on a neutral court in November, underlining their ability to play hard in big games. Key to Dayton’s success is the strong play of the team’s defense that is allowing 64.0 PPG (20th-best in the nation). Offensively, Charles Cook, who leads the team in scoring at 16.0 PPG, is the player to watch. The James Madison is also a beast on the defense, averaging over 6 rebounds and nearly 2 blocks per game. The experienced duo of Dyshawn and Scoochie Smith have been pivotal to the team, and after helping Dayton to considerable NCAA Tournament success in the last two seasons, both players could prove instrumental for another run this year. After all, this is a Dayton team that made an Elite Eight run in the 2013-14 season, followed by another strong run last year, which included an upset win over the sixth-seeded Providence Friars before suffering a respectable loss to a very good Oklahoma team in the round of 32. With such a strong résumé, along with the increasingly piling number of losses being witnessed by the top teams in the nation; the underrated Flyers (No. 19 in last week’s AP Poll, No. 11 in this week’s Poll) not only have a chance of climbing higher in future rankings, but they also have a legitimate chance at earning at least a top four seed on Selection Sunday and going it deep in the March Madness.No. 19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (18-7, 9-4 in ACC)
The Jerian Grant-led Fighting Irish team of 2014-15 was the real deal, winning the ACC Tournament and coming oh-so-close to beating the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats in the Final Eight. With Grant now in the NBA, the Fighting Irish are understandably not as dominant as they were last year, but they are still putting up big numbers. Star guard Demetrius Jackson, who leads Notre Dame in scoring (16.6 PPG) and assists (5.0 APG), has stepped up nicely in Grant’s absence and the duo of Zach Auguste and Steve Vasturia has equally been terrific. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish are just 1.5 games behind UNC in the ACC, giving the team a chance to win the conference title. But even if they don’t claim the ACC title, their star power and offensive potency should give them a chance to go the distance in the ACC Tournament. I mean, this is a team that beat the then #9-ranked Duke on the road earlier in conference play, followed by recent home wins over #2-ranked North Carolina barely a week ago and #13 Louisville on Saturday. That’s three wins against ACC’s top three favorites, a testament to Notre Dame’s potential in big games. Throw in the fact that Notre Dame has an excellent coach in Mike Brey, along with a potent offensive efficiency that is ranked fourth-best in the nation as per Team Rankings, this team is certainly poised for a top five seed in March and another deep tournament run.No. 16 Oregon Ducks (20-6, 9-4 in Pac-12)
Even after dropping their last two games at Cal and at Stanford, the Ducks still own a solid 9-4 conference mark, which is actually tied with Arizona (21-5 overall mark) for the best Pac-12 record. The road doesn’t get any easier for Oregon that still has USC and UCLA both on the road, but Oregon has a winnable stretch of three home games against Oregon State, Washington State and Washington, which should help them in the bid to claim the Pac-12 regular season title. Other than their fair schedule, the Ducks rose to No. 11 in last week’s rankings, showing that their impressive season is starting to get national recognition, and indicating that things could even be better if they can return to solid winning ways after the setbacks against the Bears and Cardinal. In terms of title-contention credentials, the Ducks have a balanced offense that has four players averaging double figures, led by sophomore Dillon Brooks (17.2 PPG). Defensively, JUCO transfer Chris Boucher has been a monster in rim protection, a big reason Oregon is vastly improved on the defensive end. It won’t be smooth-sailing, but the Ducks have all the necessary pieces to finish the regular season strongly and make a deep swim in the Tourney.
