Last year, it was Northern Iowa and Cornell who were teams that no one knew about, much less cared about. They weren't supposed to be part of the national title picture, yet 12-seeded Cornell won two tournament games (the first March Madness wins in school history), and Northern Iowa knocked off top-seeded and championship front-runner Kansas. While it was a year filled with Cinderella stories, no two teams shocked people more than those two.
This year may be young, but some teams are starting to show their true colors already. Who can shock the nation-wide audience like Northern Iowa and Cornell did last year?
Let's take a look at the teams:
Virginia Military Institute Keydets
The Keydets are averaging 99.4 points per game, including a 151-92 win in their last game. You can focus on their lack of defense if you want, but bad teams don't score 151 points in 40 minutes. Their 66-point first half looked boring compared to their 85-point second half.
Last year's VMI squad scored a lot of points, too, but not as many, and they weren't finding ways to win. This year's version of the team is a different beast, and in the Big South Conference, it's hard to imagine anyone standing in their way as they seek a tournament bid.
Not since 1976, when the team reached the Elite 8, have VMI fans had as much reason for optimism as they do this year. They're not top-25 material, and they may not be all year long. But nobody wants to play a school that can put up 151 points, and they may just pull an upset (or two) in March.
Wichita State Shockers
It would say something about the Missouri Valley Conference if they could have teams upset the nation's elite two years in a row, and it just might happen. As good as last year's Northern Iowa team was, this team has a chance to be even better. The MVC is better than last year, so the Shockers might not enter the tournament with a shining record, but they've already been fairly impressive this year.
They nearly beat Connecticut early this year, and they beat a pretty solid Virginia team on a neutral court. They'll have a chance to prove themselves again on Saturday, when they go on the road to face 19th-ranked San Diego State. I think they can, and will, win that game. If they do, they should find themselves in the top 25, and they might just stay there for a while.
Their formula is largely the same as other mid-major schools. Play smart, disciplined ball, and seize opportunities when they arise. What separates them is that they have some players talented enough to be playing for the elite teams they'll need to beat come tournament time.
Vanderbilt Commodores
It may not be entirely accurate to call an SEC school a Cinderella team, but when nobody expects a team to finish at the top of their conference, and they've won four tournament games in the last decade (and none since 2007), the shoe might just fit, regardless of what conference the team is from.
The Commodores have taken care of business against the weaker teams they've played, and they have an impressive win on the road against North Carolina. Their lone misstep so far was a 3-point loss on the road against a solid West Virginia team.
Their good year last year was spoiled by Murray State, when the Racers pulled of a shocking 66-65 upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament. This year, the team is motivated to make people forget that game, and they might just succeed in doing so. If they make it through their brutal conference schedule, watch out, because they may just be the team winning against a higher seed in March this time around.
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