Bracket 2022

Identifying that team beforehand, though, can be the hard part. Which Cinderella teams could blow up your bracket? We've been tracking top contenders all season ...

This is a program that has been in this spotlight before, with close losses to the likes of Baylor, Maryland and Ohio State in the first round of the Big Dance in the last decade. The main knock on Davidson would be a lack of overall athleticism (especially compared to teams such as MSU and potential second-round matchup Duke), but the Wildcats do have excellent positional size. The biggest question is whether they can get enough stops—this isn’t an overly athletic team and it’s struggled to defend high-major competition this season, giving up 104 points to Alabama and 87 points to Washington. That might not be quite as big a concern against a Providence team that isn’t that explosive on the offensive end, and advanced metrics have suggested the Friars have overachieved for most of the season. This team isn’t a flashy one—it’ll look to control tempo in its first-round matchup against Illinois and rely on its defense in the half court. This might be the best Davidson team Bob McKillop has had since Stephen Curry was introducing the country to the small private school in North Carolina. This team doesn’t have a future NBA star like Curry, but it does share his penchant for drilling threes in bunches. The Jackrabbits rank in the top 15 in KenPom’s offensive efficiency metric, topping the nation in both three-point field goal percentage (a ridiculous 44.2% from deep) and effective field goal percentage (topping Gonzaga and Purdue at 59.7%). They take care of the ball, are loaded with shooters and have several weapons that can beat you. And if the Hoosiers can get past a potential matchup with UCLA in the second round, No. 1 seed Baylor feels vulnerable due to injuries. If they get past the Dons, can they topple an elite team in Kentucky in the second round and make the Sweet 16? But the Aztecs have been better on that end of the floor lately, and the presence of elite isolation scorer Matt Bradley gives this group a guy who can create shots for himself when the offense bogs down. That’s a pretty compelling case alone for why Murray State can make a run in March Madness, but let’s dive into why the Racers have been so good in 2021–22. Offensively, Matt McMahon runs terrific sets that are difficult to prepare for and even harder to play against, running elite shooting wing Tevin Brown off an array of staggers and pindowns to get him open shots. The Aztecs are long, athletic and extremely well coached on that end of the floor, and they do a tremendous job of imposing their style of play on opposing teams. But it’s not just Roddy that makes this team special—point guard Isaiah Stevens is one of the nation’s best floor generals and put up 17 points and 11 assists without a turnover in an early-season win over Creighton.