Conference play has surpassed the midway point and the NCAA tournament is just more than a month away. The usual suspects like Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas and Arizona remain in line to contend for a national championship, but as always with March madness comes the aura of unpredictability. While few would be surprised if any of the five teams mentioned above marched their way to Indianapolis, here’s a look at five potential sleepers who have the ability to make it there as well:
Baylor
The Bears have been inconsistent at times, but are one of the best defensive teams in a very deep Big XII conference yielding fewer than 60 points per contest. Though Baylor fell to Oklahoma State on Monday night, Baylor has victories over Iowa State, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Texas within the last month with three of those victories coming by double-digits.
Baylor has six players who average at least eight points and a very underrated interior led by 280-pound junior Rico Gathers, who ranks second nationally in rebounding. Athletic Taurean Prince leads the Bears in scoring while senior Kenny Chery is one of the more underrated point guards in the country. Playing in perhaps the nation’s deepest conference, Baylor will also be battle-tested come March.
NEWARK, NJ – JANUARY 29: Kellen Dunham #24 of the Butler Bulldogs attempts a shot in the first half against Sterling Gibbs #4 of the Seton Hall Pirates at Prudential Center on January 29, 2014 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Chris Chambers/Getty Images)
Butler
Brad Stevens may be in Boston, but if there’s a mid-major teams would like to avoid come March, it’s Butler. With two NCAA final appearances in the last five years, the Bulldogs are in the midst of another stellar season. With wins in seven of its last eight games, Butler seems to be playing its best basketball of the season.
Defensively, the Bulldogs are yielding just 61 points-per-game, but offensively, Butler has some very difficult match-ups with big wing players who can score in a variety of ways. 6’6″ junior Kellen Dunham is averaging just under 17 points a contest and shooting 42 percent from beyond the 3-point arc while 6’7″ sophomore Andrew Chrabascz has scored at least 12 points in seven of his last eight games including a career-high 30 against Marquette on January 31st.
Northern Iowa
The Missouri Valley Conference is just two years removed from a Final Four appearance and in the league this season, Northern Iowa is shaping up to be the team to beat. The Panthers have won 11 straight games, have been incredibly efficient from the floor and have yielded the fifth fewest points in the country this season. Last week, Northern Iowa blew out Wichita State and against teams from major conferences this season, the Panthers are 3-0 winning by an average margin of nearly 17 points.
Senior Seth Tuttle is a walking mismatch at 6’8″ and with limitless range. Tuttle leads Northern Iowa in scoring, rebounding and assists while shooting 61 percent for the season. Tuttle is averaging nearly 16 points-per-game and is the only Panther to average in double-figures. As a team however, Northern Iowa is shooting 40 percent from deep and has eight players that average at least five points.
Ohio State
Guard play was key for each of the last two national champions and for Ohio State, guard play is not at all an issue. Freshman D’Angelo Russell is shaping up to be one of the best guards in the country averaging 19.5 points, nearly six rebounds and over five assists. Russell has scored in double-figures in every game this season and of late, the Buckeyes have come on as a team beating ranked Indiana and Maryland teams by double-digits.
Averaging nearly 12 points a contest and shooting 53 percent, 6’7″ Marc Loving is a match-up nightmare while senior Shannon Scott has been a very good compliment to Russell in the backcourt, dishing out more than six assists per contest. The Buckeyes do lack size, but having a lot of versatile wing players could force bigger teams to go small against Ohio State by the time March rolls around.
Utah
Utah may have cracked the top 10 in this week’s Coaches Poll, but the Utes are one of the better teams in the country that no one is talking about. At 18-4 overall and tied for first in the Pac-12, Utah may be one of the more complete teams in the entire nation. The backcourt combination of Delon Wright and Brandon Taylor is combining to average more than 25 points and shoot 51 percent from the field while 7’0″ freshman center Jakob Poeltl has been an enforcer inside, averaging nine points on 66 percent shooting and nearly eight rebounds and two blocks per contest.
As a team, Utah ranks fifth nationally in field goal percentage and is allowing the ninth fewest points-per-game in the country. The Utes are also outrebounding opponents by more than nine boards a contest. The Utes are very deep as well with seven players who average at least five points and eight players who play at least 12 minutes-per-game.
