NCAA Upset Predictions 2024: Cinderella Picks for Men's March Madness Bracket
The Samford Bulldogs have the perfect profile of a team who could chaos in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
The Southern Conference tournament champion plays one of the most frenetic styles and is one of the deepest teams in the 68-team field.
Samford's profile could force the Kansas Jayhawks into a tough first-round matchup. Kansas dealt with injuries and depth issues all season, and although Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. will be back from injury, the Big 12 side could be susceptible to an early exit.
A few other power-conference teams that struggled with consistency at parts of the regular season could be on upset alert as well.
The list of potential Cinderellas may not be as robust in previous seasons because of all the upsets in conference tournaments, but there are still a few teams in the field who can pick off the more notable sides that struggled for parts of the season.
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Samford
Samford has 10 players who play more than 10 minutes per game and five players who average at least nine points per contest.
The Bulldogs play at the fifth-fastest tempo of any team in the NCAA tournament, per KenPom, and they love to utilize a full-court pressing system.
Samford also has a point guard in Rylan Jones who played at the power-conference level at Utah and a big man in Achor Achor who averages 15.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
The SoCon champion can produce the right amount of chaos to upset a Kansas team that did not win more than two games in a row in Big 12 play.
The injuries to Dickinson and McCullar caused the Jayhawks to lose in the first round of the Big 12 tournament, and although both players will be back, the inconsistencies make them a tough team to pick for a deep run in March Madness.
Samford could face a difficult second-round matchup against Gonzaga, but at that point, it could be the highest seed left in the tournament.
Charleston
The Charleston Cougars could feast in their first-round matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Pat Kelsey's team enters the Big Dance on a 12-game winning streak in which it scored over 80 points on eight occasions.
Charleston is one of the few mid-major programs who can keep pace with Alabama's offense.
Alabama has not exactly played the best defense all season, especially in the stretch run toward the NCAA tournament.
The Crimson Tide conceded over 100 points on three occasions in their last six games and they gave up over 80 points in each of its 11 defeats.
The Cougars are a nightmare matchup for the Crimson Tide, but in order to advance far in the NCAA tournament, they need to adapt styles.
They will face a slower-paced matchup against either the Saint Mary's Gaels or Grand Canyon Antelopes in the second round.
If Charleston can adapt to that type of game after winning a shootout, it could be the biggest surprise of the tournament.
Oregon
The Oregon Ducks could follow in the footsteps of their in-state rival as an unlikely second-weekend participant after winning the Pac-12 tournament.
Three years ago, the Oregon State Beavers won the Pac-12 tournament title as the No. 5 seed and made a run to the Elite Eight.
Oregon won three games in Las Vegas as the No. 4 seed to land a spot in the field of 68.
The Ducks hold the edge in the coaching matchup against South Carolina Gamecocks. Dana Altman took Oregon to the second weekend on five occasions, while Lamont Paris will be coaching in his second-ever NCAA tournament game.
Five of South Carolina's seven losses were to NCAA tournament teams and it comes into the Big Dance with a 5-4 record in its last nine games.
Oregon could take advantage of its momentum and South Carolina's average form of late to surge into the second round, where Atlman could face his former employer, Creighton, in a fascinating matchup.
Creighton was one of the few teams to beat the Connecticut Huskies this season, but the Bluejays were eliminated in their first game at the Big East tournament.