Last year's NCAA Tournament was littered with chaos, as a No. 4 seed, No. 9 seed and two No. 5 seeds reached the Final Four to bust everyone's brackets. It's hard to stomach advancing these lower seeds so far in bracket pools, but they can be fun to target in the betting market.
Let's pick out a juicy long shot in each of the four regions and root for at least one of them to make a deep run.
The Selection Committee ranked BYU as the best No. 5 seed in the field, but it had to move the Cougars to a No. 6 seed because of their religious responsibilities on Sunday. Mark Pope's squad is an efficient offensive machine that ranks 11th in the country in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency, second in assists per game and second in three-pointers made per game.
BYU lives and dies by the three-ball, so it could lose early or make a deep run depending on if the shots are falling. We'll take a chance on the variance and hope the Cougars get hot from deep.
New Mexico is becoming an increasingly popular Cinderella pick, but we still like the Lobos to make some noise in the West.
The Mountain West champions can fill it up offensively. New Mexico ranks eighth in adjusted tempo, second in field-goal attempts per game and 17th in points per game. Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn Jr. make up a deadly backcourt duo fans are going to love, and we know guards run the show in March.
New Mexico also forces a ton of turnovers and rarely turns the ball over itself. This statistical profile is a perfect recipe for a March Cinderella.
This pick is all about the upside, as Colorado is loaded with top-end talent. Cody Williams, KJ Simpson and Tristan de Silva are all NBA draft prospects, and Eddie Lampkin Jr. is a bruising center with NCAA tournament experience as a transfer from TCU.
The Buffaloes had an up-and-down regular season, but they can hang with anyone on their best night. They rank fifth in the country in three-point percentage and fifth in opponent rebounds per game, which is a great combo to have this time of year. If it can get past Boise State and Florida, Colorado could face a banged-up Marquette team in the Sweet 16. The bottom of the South Region is there to be had, so we love the value here at 60/1.
This one isn't as juicy, but we don't love any of the lower seeds to make a run in the Midwest Region. Gonzaga, on the other hand, is as steady as it comes in the NCAA Tournament. Mark Few has led the Bulldogs to eight straight Sweet 16 appearances.
Gonzaga will face a McNeese State team that ranks 338th in KenPom's adjusted strength of schedule in the Round of 64, then it'll likely face a Kansas team missing its best player in the Round of 32. From there, a potential Final Four path would be Purdue and Tennessee, two teams and head coaches who consistently underperform in March.
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