The first round of March Madness tips off tomorrow and fans around the country are scrambling to fill out their brackets. Now that the field is set, it’s time to look at possible sleepers in this year’s tournament. Who will provide a Cinderella story this time around?
It’s interesting to note that in the history of the tournament, no 16th-seeded team has ever advanced past the first round. Don’t expect that statistic to change this year. For possible sleepers, we need to look at teams that will land in the 11th and 12th seeds of the bracket. In the last 30 years, 33% of these teams have upset either the fifth or sixth-seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament. In fact, in last year’s tournament, three No. 12 teams and two No. 11 teams scored upsets in the first round.
Ohio State knows that fact well as it was shocked by No. 11 Dayton in the first round last year. The Buckeyes may find themselves as the lower seed this time around, however, as they are currently only 34th in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), one of the tools used by the NCAA Selection Committee in evaluating the strength of the teams. Ohio State is currently listed as +3,000 at NCAA basketball betting site TopBet to win the national title this season.
Don’t be fooled by that low ranking, though. The Buckeyes have a serious chance at making the second round behind the excellent play of their star freshman D’Angelo Russell. The 19-year-old has been simply sensational for Ohio State this season, leading the team in points (19.3 PPG), rebounds (5.6 RPG), assists (5.2 APG) and steals (1.6 SPG).
Russell has already shown that he isn’t afraid of the bright lights in March, putting up 23 points, five rebounds, four assists, three blocks and one steal in a brilliant all-around performance against Minnesota in his first ever Big Ten Tournament game. Expect Russell and Ohio State to make some waves in the upcoming NCAA tournament.