Last year's NCAA tournament was one of the craziest in the history of the tournament. It featured Buddy Hield defying the odds of shooting, upsets all over the place, dreams both crashing and being fulfilled and, of course, what is likely the greatest championship game ever played in the tournament. Villanova and the University of North Carolina took it down to the wire, and just when it seemed like it was over, UNC's Marcus Paige hit the shot of his life, seemingly levitating and twirling around a pair of defenders. Then, with three seconds left, Villanova's Kris Jenkins hit the shot to win it all, giving Villanova the title. College teams like Villanova, Kansas, Kentucky and Duke seem to always be on the edge of greatness and are perennially seeded high, but who are the teams that have a chance of becoming the Cinderella and pulling off an unlikely trip to the final four.
1. Butler
Likely going to be a number thre or four seed, Butler is no pushover, and that is well acknowledged, yet people still seem to be underestimating what they can do. What other team can claim to have beaten the number two team in the country (Villanova) twice this season? Not a single one. They have veteran experience and the youthful excitement to go far in this tournament. Their leading scorer, Kelan Martin, averaging 16 points per game, has paced this team into contention, and behind the back of brilliant coach Chris Holtmann, other teams should be afraid of how good this team can be. Butler has also been spared by the injury bug, with all but three of the players on their roster playing over 20 games in the season. Butler will rely on Kelan Martin and Avery Woodson to light it up, especially from deep, if they want to have a chance to possibly make it into the final four, but if this duo gets hot, there's no team they can't keep up with.
2. Florida
Not many teams have beaten the Kentucky Wildcats this season and Florida was one of the few to have done so. With the loss of big man John Egbunu to injury, Florida, a team that was already on the edge, was left for dead as a team with no chance to get far in the tournament. That was before they ripped off 9 straight wins, coming into the close loss to Kentucky. With a 13 to three record in the SEC, Florida has once again become an elite team in the southeastern conference, on the back of mastermind coach Michael White. A team that averages only one more assist than turnover per game doesn't really jump off the page statistically, but Florida puts their heart into every game, and led by leading scorer KeVaugh Allen, they are a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming tournament.
3. Iowa State
Once, on the bubble to make the tournament, they've since beaten Kansas and Baylor while winning five in a row to end the regular season and surge into second place in the Big 12, an extremely competitive conference. Quietly, they have become one of the more dangerous teams to play. Led by experienced senior point guard Monte Morris, who's averaging 16.3 points per game and six assists per game this season, and coach Steve Prohm, this team has a shot to contend with anybody, no matter their seeding. Iowa state is going to be a dangerous team for anyone it plays.
