by It’s the same song and dance every year – and no, we’re not talking about “One Shining Moment”.
You brood over stats and rankings, carefully choosing your bracket. You dream of winning the cash prize and bragging to your friends.
Then, inevitably, a team you’ve never heard of (er, UMBC) arrives and all hell breaks loose. Suddenly, the person in your pool who can’t even properly pronounce “gonzaga” was crowned the winner, all because they liked a random two-digit seed with a weird mascot. What is a paladin anyway?
We digress.
This is to give you an edge over the competition. Here we feature five teams that could break your class – hoping you’ll preselect them and emerge victorious in your office pool.
Survive and win: March Madness Survivor Pools from USA TODAY
If and when any or all of these teams go on a run, don’t say we didn’t warn you.
MARCH MADNESS:5 simple tips to start your NCAA tournament round
STEP 1 IS THE ENTRY:Keys to winning the USA TODAY Sports March Madness Survivor Pools
Texas A&M, #7 in the Midwest
The Aggies have been criminally undermanned considering they have won 10 of their last 11 games and finished runners-up in the SEC in the regular season. Yes, they were blown away by No. 1 overall pick Alabama in the SEC Tournament Championship — and that’s exactly why they’ll be willing to give a run to get that bad taste out of their mouths.
Texas A&M has had a great case as a 4-seed and will likely take its frustration out first on Penn State and then on rival Texas (and soon the SEC). To make a run and ruin Brackets, they’ll need to be beaten by Wade Taylor IV (16.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.8 steals), a high-risk, high-reward keeper sophomore , play hard.
Memphis, #8 East
The Tigers smoked Houston in the AAC Championship over the weekend, and while Houston may not have been at full strength, that kind of win may be just what you need to start a deep run in the tournament.
The win gives Memphis a lot of confidence. Plus, the Tigers are certainly hungry to improve from their second-round exit last year. Memphis has a great one-two at two seniors as a fifth-year, with guard Kendric Davis (22.1 points, 5.6 assists) and forward DeAndre Williams (17.8 points, 8.0 rebounds) fit teams inside and out. Memphis definitely wins its first-round match against 9-seed FAU and could get its first No. Take out 1-Seed in Purdue. After that it’s blue skies until the Final Four.
MEN’S NCAA TOURNAMENT: Everything you need to dominate your March Madness pool
State of Arizona, No. 11 in the west
This is one of those sneaky tips that can earn you extra points if you pick Arizona state first over Nevada in Wednesday’s play-in game.
Playing a game that is essentially a warm-up game can give teams a small advantage when the entire tournament ends on Thursday. The Pac-12 had a somewhat odd year, but Arizona State looked good in the conference tournament in Vegas, upsetting third-place USC (and the other bubble team) 77-72.
The Sun Devils’ best win came on February 25 in Arizona. It drew attention to the insane late-game buzzer-beater that allowed ASU to sneak away with an 89-88 win. But what happened before that was most impressive — the Sun Devils kept it competitive for 40 minutes in McKale, one of the toughest environments in college basketball. This team knows how to win and is led by one of the standout players from the former Final Four, eighth-year coach Bobby Hurley.
THE BRACKETS ARE BACK:The USA TODAY Sports Bracket Challenge is back. $1 MILLION grand prize for a perfect bracket
Oral Roberts, No. 12 South
Here 12 over 5 works well. Duke is playing his best basketball of the season, but nobody wants to deal with Max Abmas, the tournament’s top mid-major.
Abbas was a sophomore when Oral Roberts went on a Sweet 16 run in 2021 as a 15 seed. That year, he became the first player since Davidson’s Steph Curry to score 25 points or more in his first three NCAA tournament games. Do you think he’ll be intimidated when he faces one of the most historic programs in college? Barely.
Experience counts, and the Golden Eagles have plenty of it. They’ve also had plenty of wins, having lost just one game since Thanksgiving. Don’t just pick ORU to anger Duke in the first round – this team has a good chance of making it to the second weekend.
Furman, No. 13 South
We promise we didn’t pick this just because after the disaster of 2018, we’ll always think about sending Virginia home in the first round. Picking a 13 over 4 is the new 12 over 5. Trust us – especially when it comes to this particular matchup.
Everyone knows that Virginia likes to slow down the game and cripple teams offense with their defense and pace of play. One way to avoid this is to run, which Furman enjoys doing and is good at. The Paladins are 82.1 points per game, rank 11th-best in college basketball and have not gone below 65 points in any game this season.
Furman also has to watch the ball, possession is precious against a team that likes to slow down. Big scoring results from 2023 Southern Conference Player of the Year Jalen Slawson are key.
