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#3 Loyola Chicago - NCAA Tournament: No. 10 in South
Loyola Chicago and their unofficial mascot, Sister Jean, are ready to make noise again in March. This time around, they will need new head coach Drew Valentine to design an effective game plan that will lead the Ramblin Ramblers to another Final Four appearance.
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Drew Valentine's Loyola Chicago team is similar to their past teams, as their identity focuses on shooting well and playing defense, which they still do at an elite level. They are likely receiving a low seed because of their young head coach since they are a much stronger team than the other tenth seeds.
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A tenth seed would imply that the team is roughly the fortieth-best team in the tournament, but Loyola Chicago is much better than the fortieth-best, and they will look to prove it against Ohio State. A win over Ohio State would set up a defensive showdown against the Villanova Wildcats, which will be must-see TV.
#2 Texas - NCAA Tournament: No. 6 in East Bracket
Chris Beard once led Texas Tech to a Final Four and a national championship game appearance and now looks to lead the University of Texas to the same place. The identity of this Texas team is similar to that of his previous team, as Texas is efficient on both ends of the floor.
Efficiency is the strength of this team, but consistency is not, so Texas finds itself as a sixth seed rather than a higher seed like the other teams with similar skills. Texas has the efficiency and trends of an elite team, which is why they will be a sleeper in the NCAA tournament.
The Baylor Bears and UCLA Bruins are two teams with similar efficiency that the Longhorns could face before a potential Final Four appearance. Before there is any chance at those teams, the Longhorns will need to beat Virginia Tech, who just beat Duke for the ACC championship, so the sleepers will need to earn their place.
#1 Iowa - NCAA Tournament: No. 5 in Midwest Bracket
The Iowa Hawkeyes are the fifth seed in the Midwest bracket, but they are one of the hottest teams in the country, due in part to a fantastic win in the Big 10 tournament. Given that the Big 10 has the most teams in the NCAA tournament, the best tournament team in the conference is worth watching.
Under the leadership of a potential top pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, the Hawkeyes have the firepower and star power to make a run at a national championship. Keegan Murray and the shooters around him look to be the first sleepers with a chance to eliminate one of the national championship favorites.
Iowa and Vermont are the two sleepers in the top half of their brackets, which means they will have to beat the number one seed in their brackets to reach the Elite Eight. If the Iowa Hawkeyes reach and get past the Kansas Jayhawks, the sleepers will become one of the favorites to win the NCAA tournament.
The Iowa Hawkeyes will either succeed or fail due to the success of Keegan Murray, and Keegan Murray will try to prove why he is amongst the best players in college basketball. One man will not win a national championship, but in clutch moments, having a star that can take over the game is critical to winning it all.
