Joe Raymond/Associated Press
March wouldn't be mad without sleepers.
The NCAA tournament is defined by the underdogs who come from nowhere to start their Cinderella stories at the Big Dance. Unfortunately, many sleepers often ruin brackets in the process. But it's a small price to pay to watch great basketball and appreciate the squad everyone slept on.
There are few things quite like watching an upset in progressespecially ones that happen in the round of 64. Double-digit seeds aren't supposed to beat single-digit seeds. But they do. And it's great.
Below are three sleeper teams who you should be on the lookout for in the NCAA tournament.
All Your Bracket Essentials
TV Info
2015 NCAA Tournament Dates March 17-18 First Round (Dayton, Ohio) TruTV March 19 & 21 Second and Third Round (Jacksonville, Florida; Louisville, Kentucky; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Portland, Oregon) CBS, TBS, TNT March 20 & 22 Second and Third Round (Charlotte, North Carolina; Columbus, Ohio; Omaha, Nebraska; Seattle, Washington) CBS, TBS, TNT March 26 Sweet 16 (Midwest and West Regions) CBS, TBS, TNT March 27 Sweet 16 (South and East Regions) CBS, TBS, TNT March 28 Elite Eight (Midwest and West Regions) TBS March 29 Elite Eight (South and East Regions) CBS April 4 Final Four (Indianapolis, Indiana) CBS April 6 National Championship Game (Indianapolis, Indiana) CBSNCAA.com
Sleepers
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin, a No. 12 seed, is set to upset Utah, a No. 5 seed, in the round of 64. Simply put, the Utes were overseeded and the Lumberjacks were underseeded.
Finishing the season 28-1, the Lumberjacks absolutely destroyed most of the opponents on their schedule. The Utes, on the other hand, limped to the finish line, winning just three of their final seven contests. This is an upset according to seeding, but honestly not much of an upset at all.
Sam Vecenieof CBSSports.comdescribes the Lumberjacks as a"meticulous buzzsawof offensive efficiency." That's because they led the nation with 17.8 assists per game, which shows a clear willingness to move the ball around until an open shooter is found. It's this unselfish trust in each other that allowed the team to score 79.5 points per game and shoot 49.1 percent from the floor.
Led by Thomas Walkup and Jacob Parker, this offense truly is efficient. Six players shot at least 45 percent from the field, and five players dropped at least 8.4 points per game.
The Lumberjacks don't receive a ton of national attention coming out of the Southland Conference. That'll happen to a mid-major who didn't play a single ranked opponent all season long. But that doesn't mean this team should be overlooked.
Given the streaks each team ended their seasons on, Stephen F. Austin should walk all over Utah in Round 2. That would set up a matchup against either Georgetown or Eastern Washington, both of whom are beatable.
Stephen F. Austin could easily advance to the Sweet 16.
Dayton
Dayton drew the short straw this year. There's absolutely no reason why the Flyers should have played a First Four game against Boise State. Sure, the Broncos gave them a good fight, but Dayton is head and shoulders above most of the lower-ranked teams.
Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenbergdescribes just how slighted Dayton was despite a dominant regular season:
The Flyers finished a game out of first place in the Atlantic 10 despite playing the entire conference season with six scholarship players and none taller than 6'6" as a result of the December dismissal of their two top big men. They won 25 games, defeated seven RPI top 100 opponents and only suffered one mediocre loss all season, yet the selection committee relegated them to the First Four behind a handful of teams with lesser resumes.
Dayton went on a miraculous run to the Elite Eight last season, and most of those same players returned for the 2014-15 season. Many would argue that this team is even better this time around, especially with big-game experience under its belt.
Providence is beatable in the round of 64, and so are both Oklahoma and Albany, who are Dayton's potential opponents in the round of 32. The Flyers have beaten better teams this season.
Dyshawn Pierre is the key for Dayton. He's very difficult to guard given how well he can play down low and on the perimeter. He averaged 12.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this season, and Providence will have its hands full trying to contain him. A walking double-double, Pierre could very well become one of the early stars of this tournament.
Valparaiso
Valparaiso isn't the most well known school in the country, but its brand of basketball is now at a point where it can pose a threat to some of the bigger teams in the tournament. Take Maryland, for instance.
The Crusaders are considered underdogs in terms of seeding, yet there's still a strong chance they'll take down the Terrapins, per ESPN Stats & Info:
The Horizon League certainly isn't deep, so it's no surprise that some have been quick to write off Valpo. But sophomore forward Alec Peters is a bright young talent, and he can take over against any opponent. He dropped 16.7 points and pulled down 6.8 boards per game during the regular season, leading the team in both categories.
Defensively, Vashil Fernandez is an absolute beast. He blocked 3.0 shots per game, making the 6'10" senior perhaps one of the most difficult players to drive into the lane against in this tournament. Maryland must be careful when taking the ball down low. He'll swat anything out of the way that he can reach.
It's both the offensive and defensive threats that make Valpo a candidate to win in the round of 64.
"This group is good enough to win one, former Crusaders point guard Greg Tonagel told Paul Oren of NWI.com. "The program is at a point now where getting to the tournament should be expected and now its time to take that next step. Theyll separate themselves if they can do that."
Either West Virginia or Buffalo would await them in the round of 32, another game that could easily be won by the Crusaders.
Kenny DeJohn is a Breaking News Team Featured Columnist. Follow him on Twitter.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2401744-march-madness-schedule-2015-tv-info-and-sleeper-teams-for-ncaa-tournament
