The 2015 NCAA Tournament brackets have already been released, which means it’s time to start digging in to the picks. Naturally there will be sleepers to bust all brackets, so we will do our best to identify some of the top upset picks for the tournament.
Buffalo (23-9): A 12 seed from the Mid-American Conference, the Bulls will be facing West Virginia in the first round. They have won eight games entering the tournament, so they come in hot. Junior forward Justin Moss can score (17.7 ppg) and rebound (9.2 rpg) and will get plenty of help from Shannon Evans, who averages 15.4 points per game. Watch out for Bobby Hurley’s squad, which is also ranked No. 54 in Ken Pom’s standings, while West Virginia is 25th.
Wichita State (28-4): A seven seed for this team is a joke. The Shockers were a No. 1 seed in last year’s tournament before drawing Kentucky in the second round and losing, so they will be hungry to put together a good run this year. They return top players like Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet, who have tourney and veteran experience. They are ranked No. 14 by KenPom, which means they are severely underseeded. Not only should they beat Indiana, but a win over Kansas is in the cards and so is a run to the Elite Eight.
Valparaiso (28-5): Valpo is a 13 seed and will be facing Maryland, the second place team from the Big Ten, in the first round. The Crusaders are a solid team from the Horizon League. The name to know from their squad is sophomore forward Alec Peters, who is averaging 16.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. They are ranked No. 63 in KenPom’s composite rankings thanks to a solid adjusted defense score. They will face some very stout competition in Maryland, which has beaten some of the best teams in the country, including Wisconsin. But we already know the Terps are disappointed with their seeding and draw, so they may enter the game lacking motivation.
Eastern Washington (26-8): The Eagles tied with Montana for the Big Sky Conference title and beat them to win the conference tourney and receive the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. They are a 13 seed and will take on four-seed Georgetown. The Hoyas are one of just two teams to beat Villanova this season, but they also had their share of losses, including three to Xavier and 10 overall. They are vulnerable.
Deeper sleepers
Wofford (28-6): Wofford is another 12 seed that has perhaps the toughest matchup among the same seeds. They will face Arkansas, which reached the SEC Tournament championship game. The Terriers were blown out in December by West Virginia and Duke, but they beat NC State, which posted wins over Duke and UNC. They went 16-2 in conference and 15-1 over their final 16 games, which is a good sign entering the big dance.
Stephen F. Austin (29-4): They’re a very good team and pulled an upset in the first round of the tourney last year, and some are expecting history to repeat. The Lumberjacks have only lost one game since Nov. 27 and really have been blowing out most of their competition. The only issue I have with picking them this year is that their matchup is tough. I believe Utah, seeded fifth, is a very good team. The Utes are a strong defensive team ranked eighth in KenPom’s composite rankings. They were unable to overcome Arizona this season, but they blew out plenty of opponents in the Pac-12 and are a tough squad.
