data-mm-id=”_vc3c0tufh”>It's getting to be that time of year, as March Madness is right around the corner. We're just more than a week from the NCAA Tournament kicking off. At this point of the season we all know who the prohibitive favorites to take home a title are. Both Gonzaga and Baylor have jumped out from the pack and really anyone inside the top 10 has a shot to win it all. But there a few teams lurking just outside mainstream thought that have a great chance to make deep runs in the tournament. Here's a look at five sleeper college basketball teams who could wind up winning the national championship this year. If you're looking for outside the box options in your bracket this year, consider these squads. HoustonAt this point, Houston probably shouldn't be considered a sleeper pick, but there are some out there who don't know how good the No. 7 Cougars really are. Kelvin Sampson's squad is for real and can hang at the highest levels of college basketball. A great, two-way squad, Houston ranks sixth in KenPom, and is ninth in both offensive and defensive efficiency. While the Cougars haven't played the toughest schedule, they've largely waltzed through it, and are 21-3. Junior Quentin Grimes is their leading scorer (17.9 points per game) and can go nuclear in an instant. He's the kind of guy who can carry a team in tournament games. Fellow guards Marcus Sasser and DeJon Jarreau also help shoulder the load on offense. More than anything, the Cougars defend. They're holding opponents to the lowest effective field goal percentage in the country. They make everything difficult for opponents, and on the offensive end they can shoot and hit free throws. While they're a bit undersized, the Cougars are a well-coached, well-balanced team that will be scary in the tournament. San Diego StateSomehow, Brian Dutcher has managed to replicate Steve Fisher's wild success at San Diego State and even begin to surpass his predecessor. The Aztecs are fantastic this season, despite losing leading scorer Malachi Flynn to the NBA draft and third-leading scorer Yanni Wetzell to graduation. SDSU is 20-4 this season and won a Mountain West title with a balanced attack and some ferocious defense.The 19th-ranked Aztecs are also 19th on KenPom, and are eighth in defensive efficiency. They lag a bit in offensive efficiency (48th), but shoot the lights out from beyon the arc as a team (38.0 percent), don't turn the ball over, and rank 60th in effective field goal percentage (52.9 percent). A team that plays dogged defense and can shoot will always be dangerous in the tournament. The Aztecs are also loaded with veterans still upset they missed out on the tournament last year when they were 30-2 and ranked sixth in the country. Seniors Matt Mitchell and Jordan Schakel lead the team, while massive junior forward Nathan Mensah patrols the paint. It's a balanced team that has all the ingredients to make a deep tournament run. The Aztecs suffered back-to-back losses to Utah State in mid-January and haven't dropped a game since. They're on an 11-game winning streak, but for some reason, people seem to have forgotten just how good this team is. Michigan StateTom Izzo has pulled a rabbit out of his hat late in the season and his Michigan State Spartans are on a roll. Michigan State won its first six games of the campaign, then went in the tank, losing 9 of their next 13, but two of those wins were over Nebraska and one came against Penn State, both horrific teams. Since then, the Spartans are on fire, having won five of seven, including victories over Illinois, Ohio State and Michigan, all of whom are currently ranked in the top 10 (Illinois is No. 3 and Michigan is No. 4). Michigan State struggled to find adequate guard play after four years with Cassius Winston running things. They instead relied heavily on Aaron Henry to get them out of jams when the offense broke down. That said, in their current streak, they've proven to be a balanced team, getting solid contributions from Joey Hauser, Josh Langford, Rocket Watts and sharpshooter Gabe Brown. After a huge upset win over Michigan on Sunday, Sparty's star is on the rise. Michigan State is solidly in the tournament. Given Izzo's track record, the vast improvement the team has shown over the last month, Henry's big play ability and the veteran presence of Hauser and Langford, this team could surprise people later in the month. Don't count them out as a big-time sleeper. Oklahoma StateThe Big 12 is loaded this year. With Baylor, Kansas, Texas and West Virginia taking up all the oxygen in the room, 18-7 Oklahoma State has flown under the radar. But everyone should keep their eyes on the 12th-ranked Cowboys this month, as they could be poised to make a big run. OSU ranks 36th in KenPom and is 63rd in offensive efficiency and 23rd in defensive efficiency. Those numbers don't jump off the page, but they do have one big thing going for them. Freshman Cade Cunningham is the best player in the country and will likely be the top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. While he missed Saturday's win over West Virginia due to an ankle injury, he'll almost certainly play in the tournament. Cunningham is a beast, a point-forward at 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, there's very little he can't do on a basketball court. This season he's averaging 19.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 42.5 percent from 3-point range. He has a decent, balanced squad around him, but let's be real, this is all about Cunningham. It wouldn't be shocking if he led a Carmelo Anthony-like charge through the tournament. UConn Dan Hurley's squad can play and, now at full strength, is starting to show what it can do. The Huskies are 14-6 and have won four straight, more importantly they're now 10-2 when star James Bouknight suits up. Bouknight had elbow surgery in January, and was finally cleared in mid-February. Since his return, UConn is 5-1 with several convincing wins and a lone loss at Villanova. Bouknight is a potential lottery pick who can get hot quickly. The sophomore is averaging 20.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. But he's not a lone solider out there. The Huskies rank 24th in KenPom and are 25th in offensive efficiency and 29th in defensive efficiency. Defensively, they don't allow opponents to hit shots, as they're holding foes to an effective field goal percentage of 46.8. With Bouknight fully-healthy, UConn could easily make a big run in the tournament. He's the kind of high-level guard who can carry a team. But the Huskies guard and have enough around him to step up if he goes cold on offense. They're a team to watch this month.
Related Posts
Emotions will run high at El Madrigal on Sunday as Barcelona play their first game since the death of former coach Tito Vilanova.
Gerardo Martino s men face a game against Villarreal just two days after Vilanova s passing following a lengthy battle with throat cancer was confirmed.
The assistant to Pep Guardiola during a period of glorious success at Camp Nou, Vilanova subsequently took over as first-team coach and led the Catalan giants to the Liga title with a club-record haul of 100 points in 2012-13.
Having battled ill health and spending time in hospital during his brief reign, Vilanova stood down in July 2013 to be replaced by Martino.
His condition then worsened earlier this month and Barca released a statement on Friday confirming Vilanova s passing at th…
Scotland international winger Robert Snodgrass has talked up a potential move to Scottish champions Celtic in the summer, as current club Norwich City near relegation to the Sky Bet Championship.
The Canaries (8-8-20) are currently in 18th-place in the English Premier League table, with two fixtures away to Chelsea and at home to Arsenal remaining on schedule. As a result, Norwich are priced at to suffer relegation, and rightfully so.
Simply put, the club are in shambles, as evidenced by the fact that 40-year-old goalkeeper Carlo Nash, who has not made one first-team appearance for the Canaries this season, is the leading vote-getter for Norwich City Player of the Season.
Nash has received about 2,000 votes via mail and social media (Facebook and Twitt…
Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao believes the first goal will be crucial in Wednesday s Europa League Final with Athletic Bilbao.
Falcao scored in last year s Europa League final as Porto triumphed 1-0 over fellow-Portuguese club Braga.
This season it is an all-Spanish final and while the Colombian striker would love to score again he would give up that opportunity as long as Madrid score first.
To score a goal in a final is something special, Falcao said in the lead-up to Wednesday s final.
It happened to me last year but I have to say, that the important thing is not who scores, but that the team scores.
Anyway, it s true that in a final whoever scores the first goal can control the rest of the game.
Madrid won the Europa Le…
Milan legend Alessandro Nesta says the side must play with more consistency if they are to return to the UEFA Champions League.
The San Siro outfit missed out on Europe s premier competition this season after a poor 2013-14 campaign that saw them finish eighth.
Milan have shown signs of improvement under the stewardship of coach Filippo Inzaghi this term, but a 1-0 loss at Genoa last weekend has left the club seventh and five points adrift of third place.
Nesta who won two Serie A titles and two Champions League medals during a 10-year stay feels the club must perform better on a week-to-week basis in order to push for a Champions League return.
I have travelled the world and the name of Milan is always too important to finish eighth, the centre-ba…
Emre Can launched into a scathing attack on the performance of the referee after Borussia Dortmund were knocked out of the Champions League following a 2-0 defeat against Chelsea.
Graham Potter s side faced a tough task after losing the first leg 1-0 in Germany, but Raheem Sterling s first-half goal and a Kai Havertz penalty secured a 2-1 aggregate win for the Blues.
Havertz s penalty was the subject of much controversy after the forward was allowed to retake the spot-kick following encroachment from Salih Ozcan during his first missed attempt, a decision that left Can furious.
The referee was to blame, the Dortmund midfielder told Prime Video.
I don t understand the second penalty. How can you give it? I don t give a damn who ran into the penalty ar…
Milan have confirmed Daniel Maldini has joined Spezia on a season-long loan, leaving San Siro for the first time.
The 20-year-old is a third-generation footballer with the club, having followed in the footsteps of his father, modern legend Paolo Maldini, and grandfather, club icon Cesare Maldini, in playing for Milan.
Cesare started his Serie A career at Triestina and ended his playing days at Torino, but Paolo stayed with Milan throughout.
This now represents Daniel s first move away from the club, having made 15 Serie A appearances for the Rossoneri across three seasons. However, those outings have only amounted 194 minutes.
At Spezia, the 20-year-old will get the opportunity to establish himself in the top flight.
Official Statement: Daniel Ma…
CSKA Moscow have announced the return of Ahmed Musa on loan for the remainder of the season after the forward failed to make an impact at Leicester City.
Leicester paid a reported club-record £16million to sign Musa in July 2016 as they bolstered their squad for a Champions League campaign in the wake of their stunning Premier League title success.
But the Nigeria international only scored two top-flight goals in his first campaign, while his only strike this term came in a 4-1 win over Sheffield United in the EFL Cup second round in August.
Musa has subsequently been allowed to depart the King Power Stadium until the end of the season.
Ahmed will be included in the Red-Blues squad list for the national league and the Europa League knockout stage, said …
Newcastle Jets cemented their place in the top two of the A-League with a 2-0 victory over Melbourne Victory played out in front of new Socceroos coach Bert van Marwijk.
The Jets are clinging onto the coattails of runaway leaders Sydney FC, and closed the gap back to nine points with Saturday s success at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Nigel Boogaard headed home a free-kick in the first half, before Australia youth international Riley McGree scrambled home a 70th-minute goal to make sure of the points after good wing play from Andrew Nabbout.
Nabbout has impressed since returning to the A-League with the Jets in 2016 and has been mentioned as a chance for the Socceroos World Cup squad. Another fine performance in front of the new national coach will do his chances no ha…
Tottenham Hotspur have signed Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko from Spartak Moscow on a five-year deal and Croatian defender Vedran Corluka from Manchester City, the club confirmed on Monday.
The club told the Stock Exchange they had signed the 26-year-old Russian for 14 million pounds (25.2 million dollars) and confirmed on their website the arrival of 22-year-old Corluka.
We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Manchester City for the transfer of Vedran Corluka to the Club, Spurs said in a statement.
Corluka, who has been capped 24 times by Croatia, won successive titles with Dynamo in 2006 and 2007.
He left for the Premier League and Manchester City in August 2007, where he featured at right-back, centre-back and in midfi…
Rio Ferdinand resumed training with his England team-mates here on Monday, handing Fabio Capello a major boost ahead of Wednesday s World Cup qualifying clash with Croatia in Zagreb.
Manchester United defender Ferdinand had been struggling with a neck problem and missed the 2-0 victory over Andorra here on Saturday.
But after Monday s session, he was passed fit to travel to the Croatian capital and will expect to return to the centre of defence alongside captain John Terry, with Everton s Joleon Lescott making way.
Head coach Capello, who is under pressure after England s lacklustre display against the group minnows, is expected to promote Joe Cole to the starting line-up after the Chelsea midfielder came off the bench to score both goals against Andorra.
…