March Madness is here and it’s time to fill out dozens or some people’s cases, hundreds of brackets! After filling out plenty of my own, here are four teams that I think are dark horses to make the Final Four and play the role of the modern day cinderella in the NIL era. All Final Four odds are courtesy of DraftKings.
East Region Dark Horse: Louisville Cardinals (+1300)
Per KenPom, Louisville ranks 19th in offensive efficiency and 25th in defensive efficiency, one of eight teams to be top 25 in both areas. The Cardinals are 9th in offensive two-point percentage (59.7%) and shot nearly 36% from deep on the year (35.7%, 79th) with 76.9% from the free-throw line (34th). Louisville doesn’t force turnovers enough (16.7%, 173rd), and they turn the ball over themselves (16.4%, 159th), so that could be the downfall for the Cardinals in this tournament. I can’t forget to mention that Louisville played the 30th toughest strength of schedule this year and has the 17th-most experienced roster with an average of 2.48 years of experience.
If Louisville beats South Florida, the Cardinals will likely face No. 3 seed Michigan State in the second round before a Sweet 16 date with either UConn, UCLA, or UCF. While Michigan State and UConn are big brand-name schools, both have had offensive issues all season, and offense isn’t the problem with Louisville. No. 1 seed Duke is facing injuries that leave them vulnerable, and the Blue Devils will have to go through Kansas or St. John’s, which will be a challenge.
Louisville lost to Duke by 9 at home and by 31 on the road this season. It’s difficult to be a team three times in one season, and the Cardinals wouldn’t be facing a 100-percent healthy Duke team. Louisville has a shot in a bracket filled with experienced coaches and plenty of brand recognition.
South Region Dark Horse: Vanderbilt Commodores (+1100)
Vanderbilt surprised a lot of people, knocking off Florida and making it to the SEC Tournament title game. The Commodores landed a No. 5 seed and could have another date with Florida in the Sweet 16 if they make it past McNeese State and the winner of Nebraska and Troy. If Vanderbilt beats Florida twice in a season, not only will everyone be picking Vandy to make a run after that, but they will face a likely fatigued team in the Elite 8…