With conference tournament play underway this week, the countdown to Selection Sunday for the unveiling of the NCAA Tournament’s field of 68 has begun in earnest. There are obvious favorites in expected No. 1 seeds Purdue, Houston, and defending champion Connecticut, but there is always a chance a lesser-known team can pull off a few shining moments to find its way to Phoenix come early April.
Each year, it becomes more difficult to find those teams capable of winning four games over two weekends to make it to college basketball’s Holy Grail — the Final Four. The popularity of season-long bracketology means every team’s profile is highly scrutinized, which puts a premium on line shopping for the best futures odds in sports betting markets.
Last year was a NCAA Tournament for the ages: All four No. 1 seeds failed to reach even the regional final as a No. 4 seed, two No. 5 seeds and a No. 9 seed found their way to Houston. Two of those teams — Connecticut and San Diego State — were in the NCAA Selection Committee’s Top 16 released last month while Florida Atlantic again lurks in the middle of the pack.
The criteria for a sleeper is simple: Any team not in the NCAA Committee’s Top 16 was eligible to be picked. The teams are ranked in order from longest of the longshots to most plausible longshot to make a Final Four run, and all futures odds are as of Thursday morning.