NCAA Tournament Sleepers

Written by -

Cinderella stories are what the big dance is all about, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we have more than one in 2011. There are upsets every year, and finding those upsets can help you win your bracket. In this article, we’ll take a look at the possible sleepers (schools outside the top 3 seeds) in each region.

East Region:

No. 5 Seed West Virginia – The Mountaineers aren’t as good as they were when they made a Final Four run in 2010, but they still have the potential to represent the East Region in Houston. Key contributors Casey Mitchell, Kevin Jones, Darryl Bryant, John Flowes and Joe Mazzulla we all big parts of last year’s success.

No. 7 Seed Washington – The Huskies enter the big dance with plenty of momentum after winning the Pac-10 tournament. Plus, they advanced to the Sweet 16 last year. Great guard play can take you a long way in the dance and the Huskies have that with Isaiah Thomas.

No. 11 Seed Marquette – The Golden Eagles could be very dangerous in this tournament. They have been prepared by playing in the nation’s top basketball conference. They have wins over two-seed Notre Dame, three-seed Syracuse and three-seed UConn this season.

West Region:

No. 4 Seed Texas – The Longhorns are a team I feel can win the entire thing. They have great size, great athletic ability and good guard play. They have proven unstoppable this year when they decide to tighten the screws defensively.

No. 6 Seed Cincinnati – You know how the old saying goes: “defense wins championships.” Well, the Bearcats have a championship-caliber defense, and that makes them very dangerous in this tournament. They ranked eighth in the country with only 59.2 points per game allowed during the regular season.

Southwest Region:

No. 4 Seed Louisville – Like Texas, the Cardinals are a four-seed with the potential to win it all. They have get great guard play from Preston Knowles and Peyton Siva. Plus, their full-court press is very difficult to prepare for.

No. 6 Seed Georgetown – The Hoyas limp into the tourney off four straight losses, but they showed their potential with wins over Louisville and Syracuse. Georgetown also figures to get a boost from the return of Chris Wright.

Southeast Region:

No. 4 Seed Wisconsin – The Badgers have great inside and outside threats in Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor. Plus, they play great defense and don’t turn the ball over.

No. 5 Seed Kansas State – The Wildcats are another teams with the potential to knock out Pitt in this region. Jacob Pullen is one of the best point guards in the tourney. He really put himself on the map when he helped lead the Cats to the Elite Eight last year.

No. 10 Seed Michigan State – Michigan State’s goose may finally be cooked, but with Tom Izzo’s track record in the tournament and the experience his team has on the roster, the Spartans most definitely deserve sleeper consideration. They have made back-to-back Final Fours and have won at least two games in the tournament each of the last three years.

About the Author: Jimmy Boyd is known for his consistency. He's a proven winner in college and pro football, college and pro basketball and pro baseball. He finished as the No. 1 ranked MLB handicapper in 2007 by earning $1,000/game bettors $50,050. He also finished as the No. 1 ranked basketball handicapper in the 2008-09 season, profiting $1,000/game bettors 38,530. His basketball plays have banked $1,000/game bettors nearly $80,000 the last five years. Check out Jimmy's premium picks for tonight!
Connect with the author via: Twitter - Google+
WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on this website.

Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress.