Potential NCAA Tournament Teams That Few Are Talking About

While college hoops fans and betting aficionados everywhere surely know the names of the nation’s most elite basketball ‘factories’ like Duke, Kansas and North Carolina to mention a few, when it comes to betting on March Madness, what you really need to know are the lesser publicized programs that could potentially knock off one of the nation’s basketball bluebloods once March Madness gets underway next month.

Thanks to my expert analysis, you’re going to get a special look at five teams that few people are talking about, but teams that could surprise in a big way come tourney time. Now, let’s get started with the latest college basketball point spreads.

Potential NCAA Tournament Teams That Few Are Talking About

Iowa State Cyclones (15-9 SU, 11-10 ATS)

The Cyclones have won two of their last three and got an absolutely huge win by stunning Kansas 92-89 in overtime on February 4. The Cyclones lost a heartbreaker to Texas 67-52 just over a week ago but bounced back nicely to beat Oklahoma 80-64 on Saturday.  ISU hits the road to face K-State, then plays three out of their next four at home.

Xavier Musketeers (18-7 SU, 11-13 ATS)

The Musketeers had won four straight including a narrow 82-80 win over previously No. 22 Creighton before getting spanked by Villanova 73-57 on Saturday. Still, the Musketeers are a fairly dangerous team in my estimation as they average 75.9 points per game (120th) and allow 70.1 per contest defensively to rank a respectable 121st. nationally in points allowed. The bottom line for the Musketeers is that they need electrifying point guard Trevon Bluiett (17.9 ppg) to be at his very best if they’re going to make some noise come tourney time.

Wichita State (23-4 SU, 12-11 ATS)

The Shockers (21-4) may not play the best competition, but by now, I think everyone knows just how good this program is. Wichita State has won eight straight at the time of this writing and is ranked a stellar 26th nationally in scoring (81.6 ppg) and an even more impressive 15th in points allowed (62.6 ppg). While Wichita State doesn’t have a superstar on their roster this season, they are very deep as evidenced by the fact that three players average double digits in scoring while three other that all average at least 8.1 points per game. Throw in three more players that chip in just over 5.0 points per contest while a whopping 10 players average double figures in minutes played per contest. And you can see why the Shockers could be dangerous when March Madness rolls around.

TCU

TCU (17-8 SU, 12-11 ATS) may be in fifth place in the Big 12, but the Horned Frogs have the look of a team that could be trouble if they get into the NCA Tournament, which I believe they narrowly will. In his first season at TCU, talented head coach Jamie Dixon has led his team to quality wins over Texas (twice), K-State, Iowa State and Washington (twice) while also putting up solid efforts against Kansas (86-80), West Virginia and Baylor (in their first meeting).

VCU Rams

The Rams (21-5 SU, 9-13 ATS) have won seven straight and sit atop the A-10 at the time of this writing and I believe they could be a tough out once March Madness begins, mostly because of their fantastic, 47th-ranked defense (66.2 ppg). The Rams have trio of players that all average double figures in scoring and another that averages just over nine points per game.