SI senior writer Luke Winn and college basketball editor David Gardner dive deep and look at which lower seeded teams can advance.
Ranking the No. 11-or-higher seeds with the best odds of advancing—and identifying the 16 seed with the best shot at making history …
1. Northern Iowa (West No. 11, vs. Texas)
Northern Iowa’s entire body of work makes them the 71st-ranked team in efficiency on kenpom.com, while their first-round opponent, Texas, is ranked 41 spots higher. But there’s one big reason to have faith in the Panthers: Their performance against high-level competition has been remarkably good.