Now that March Madness is officially underway and millions of brackets have been filled out all across the country, college basketball fans can only hope and pray that their predictions are those that will secure a perfect bracket. However, aside from these nearly impossible odds panning out, upsets occur every year, making these predictions that much more difficult. That being said, the following are a few potential upsets that even college basketball analysts have agreed could happen.
Loyola-Chicago over Miami
As a no. 11 seed going up against a 6 seed, the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers appear to be underdogs. However, Loyola has shot roughly 40% from the three-point line, and is one of the most scoring efficient double-digit seeds in the tournament with an average of 74.2 points per game.
The Miami Hurricanes have struggled defensively despite their seeding, and are just 1-4 against opponents ranked within the top 25. The Ramblers, on the other hand, were able to take down a heavily favored Florida Gators team this past December by a large margin. This game almost seems too perfect to be an upset.
Montana over Michigan
The Michigan Wolverines are coming off of a (big) Big Ten tournament win and are looking to ride that success well into their newest tournament. But, it has now been over a week since their last game, and the Montana Grizzlies are poised to take advantage of that. Montana’s team is quite disciplined, rarely coughing up the ball while also being able to force turnovers on the defensive side. If Michigan is unable to prepare themselves for the first game of the tournament, they could be met with a surprisingly tough 14-seed opponent.
Murray State over West Virginia
While the West Virginia Mountaineers were able to beat the no. 1 ranked Virginia Cavaliers earlier this season, they have shown some weaknesses. Their aggressive defense can be formidable, but rarely stops teams who are able to score frequently. The Murray State Racers are entering the tournament having held the country’s longest win streak (13 games in a row), and are led by some impressive seniors in Jonathan Stark and Terrell Miller, both of whom are scoring machines.
Davidson over Kentucky
John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats saw their first 4-game losing streak in 13 years this past season, and are going up against a red-hot Davidson team who just defeated two tournament teams to win the A-10 Championship. They are among the top-10 in offensive turnover rate, two-point shooting, and free throw shooting. Combine that with Kentucky seeming to have peaked at the end of their regular season, and this game has all the makings of an upset.