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2018 March Madness Cinderella Betting Picks

2018 March Madness Cinderella Betting Picks

Written by on February 16, 2018

NCAAB News and Betting Previews| Xbet.ag
Just about every year, there is at least one team (and sometimes more than one) with a low seed that ends up knocking off a number of favorites in the NCAA tournament — “Cinderella” stories that almost never get all the way to the title (although Connecticut did it in 2014). Some other teams on that list in the past have been Butler, who muscled their way all the way to the final against Duke, Florida Gulf Coast, which dunked their way to the Final Four in 2013, and George Mason, who reached the same heady air in 2006. Who can we expect to pull off surprises in this year’s tournament? Check out our March Madness betting perspective on some low seeds who could play at an extremely high level.

2018 March Madness Cinderella Betting Picks

Middle Tennessee State (19-5, 11-1 C-USA)

Nick King is one of the best college basketball players that you’ve never heard of — and the Blue Raiders have won games in the first round of March Madness in each of the last two seasons, so this year’s group has some savvy on the big stage. King has bounced around, starting at Memphis before transferring to Alabama and then to MTSU, but he can crash the boards and make shots from mid-range and inside.

Western Kentucky (17-7, 9-2 C-USA)

The Hilltoppers knocked off SMU and Purdue in the Battle 4 Atlantis back in November, and they put a scare in Villanova. Three transfer players (Dwight Coleby, Darius Thompson and Lamonte Bearden) have given Western Kentucky talent and depth at the same time, and they are afraid of no one.

Penn State (17-9, 7-6 Big Ten)

Normally, “Cinderella” squads come from the smaller conferences, but the Nittany Lions have only made the tournament once in the last 17 seasons. They do it on defense, with shutdown guards and forwards who box out and get rebounds. They just pulled off a big rout of Ohio State — but that’s their only really impressive win of the season. They’ll need to do some work in the Big Ten tournament to get off the bubble, but if they can build some momentum, look out.

Vermont (20-5, 10-0 America East)

The Catamounts are #15 in the nation in three-point shooting (40.7%). Sophomore Anthony Lamb (foot) is out for the rest of the regular season, but Vermont has responded well to his absence — they haven’t lost since he went out. He could return for the tournament, and this is a team with a heavily upperclass rotation, so they have experience playing together.

Boise State (20-4, 10-2 MWC)

Wing Chandler Hutchinson is a consensus first-round draft pick when the NBA comes calling. The Broncos sit behind Nevada in the Mountain West standings, but Boise has played well against competition outside the conference, and a lot of prognosticators have the Broncos getting into the dance as well, particularly if they keep winning down the stretch and do well in the conference tournament.

South Dakota State (21-6, 9-1 Summit)

Mike Daum could return to the NCAA tournament if the Jackrabbits can take down South Dakota and win the Summit League. Daum is a force in the paint, but South Dakota State can also bring it from downtown, with Skylar Flatten ranking #1 in the nation in three-point percentage at an eye-popping 52.9%. That was an element that the Jackrabbits were missing last year.

Belmont (19-7, 11-2 Ohio Valley)

Belmont lives and dies from downtown, taking more than 54 percent of their shots from behind the arc. However, they make enough of them (37.5%) for that approach to work for them. If they have to come inside, though, they lead the nation in shooting inside the arc at 61.6%. Head coach Rick Byrd is one of just five active NCAA coaches to have won at least 500 games at the same school, so this is a program that preaches consistency as well.
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