While it’s fun to believe that every men’s college basketball team in America has a chance to win a national title and make a run in March, we all know that’s not true. Yet, the 68-team field in the NCAA tournament offers participants from every league in America a shot. That welcoming vibe of the sport’s most important postseason event is what captivates the country for three weeks every year.
The number of teams in Division I men’s college hoops is still a lot to digest (currently at 364), though. To help everyone out, ESPN’s Myron Medcalf and Jeff Borzello have separated a chunk of them into tiers. Some of these programs can survive the chaos of March and win the national title. We (mostly) know who those are. Then there are the squads that deserve more cautious projections. What about those sleepers and Cinderellas? They’re here, too.
Here’s your primer on 99 teams that might — or might not — have a postseason run in them this season.
Jump to:
The locks | Final Four contenders | Can go dancing | Potential bid thiefs | Mystery teams | Familiar names | Two outliers | Cinderellas | Sleepers
Tier I: National championship favorites
Kansas Jayhawks
Alabama Crimson Tide
UConn Huskies
