The college basketball talk at the beginning of the season is always about blue bloods like Kansas, Duke and Kentucky. But come March Madness, it’s going to be Cinderella who gets a lot of the attention. Let’s take an early look at those potential sleepers and examine four under-the-radar teams that can make the Sweet 16:
1. VCU Rams
The Rams haven’t been back to the Sweet 16 since the 2011 season, when they went all the way to the Final Four. The Rams got a lot of attention back then for their so-called “Havoc” defense, which would expose the poor guard play of opposing teams. The Rams would live off of steals and cheap baskets, rolling up enough points.
However, the limitation attached to the Rams is that when they don’t create turnovers in the backcourt or in the open court, opposing teams can run solid halfcourt sets and beat VCU’s position defense – especially near the basket. VCU has to be a better defensive team in the half-court in order to reach the Sweet 16. With a veteran group this season, head coach Shaka Smart just might be able to lead a run to this later point in the 2015 version of March Madness.
2. Nebraska Cornhuskers
The story with the Huskers, and why they’re not going to be favored to make the Sweet 16, is that they have never won an NCAA Tournament game in their history. Nebraska has been one of the least successful March Madness teams of all time. However, Nebraska did make the NCAA Tournament last season under promising new coach Tim Miles, who seems to have the program pointed in the right direction.
The Huskers did not dominate other teams last season but they won the vast majority of close games they played. This is a sound team that executes well and pays attention to the fine details – especially on defense. A good example is how they defended the three. Nebraska allowed opponents to hit only 31.5 percent of threes, putting them in the top 40 of the country.
If they take another small step forward in their growth and get a little lucky, a Sweet 16 could be in the cards.
3. Harvard Crimson
The Crimson are the first Ivy League team to appear in the preseason top 25 poll since autumn of 1974. They lose a few important seniors from last season’s team, but they still have their leading assist man, Siyani Chambers, back from the 2013-2014 team, so they should be able to run very good plays in halfcourt settings. Steve Moundou-Missi was a leading field goal percentage player for the Crimson last season and he was also the team’s leading rebounder and shot blocker. Harvard has the complementary players that can work together to create the most effective offense in the Ivy League. This team should get back to the tournament and it will be a pest for anyone to play once there.
4. Utah Utes
The Utes are making their first appearance in the preseason top 25 poll since the fall of 2000. This is a very explosive offensive team with most of its best players returning for another season. Last season, Utah hit 48.8 percent from the field and 53.7 percent from two-point range. If Utah can shoot at those same levels in the coming season, against a tougher schedule, it’s going to be very hard to beat come March. On top of that, the Utes are extremely tough to beat at home in Salt Lake City. If they can do anything away from home, they’re very likely to get a decent seed in the NCAA Tournament and survive for a couple of rounds.
