NCAA Tournament 2017: 5 dark horses that could go far

Mar 11, 2017; Birmingham, AL, USA; Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders guard Aldonis Foote (45) and guard Tyrik Dixon (0) and forward JaCorey Williams (22) and guard Giddy Potts (20) lead the celebration after defeating Marshall Thundering Herd for the Conference USA Tournament Championship at Legacy Arena. Blue Raiders defeated the Herd 82-73. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /

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Rhode Island Rams

For our final dark horse candidates, we present the Rhode Island Rams. Dan Hurley’s squad emerged victorious from the Atlantic 10 conference tournament, sealing up the autobid and avoiding any agita on Selection Sunday. They ride into the NCAA tournament on an eight-game win streak and are one of the more intriguing and (slightly) under the radar dark horse candidates.

Much like Middle Tennessee State, the Rams’ dark horse bona fides are a combination of squad strength and bracket opportunity. Rhode Island makes its hay on defense, where it’s currently ranked as the 32nd best in the country. Anchored at the back by a combination of Hassan Martin and Kuran Iverson, the Rams swat more shots than just about any other team in the country. The security of that combination on the back line lets them extend to the perimeter, too, as opponents hit just 29 percent of their 3s against this team. Paired with an offense that’s more than adequate (currently ranked 64th in the country), the Rams are a potent team on their own.

But the meat of their dark horse case is just how well the bracket set up for them. As an 11-seed, they’ll be going up against a Creighton squad that has the resume — but not the strength — of a 6-seed. During an 18-1 start to the season, Creighton was a legitimate top-10 team. However, since the season-ending injury to point guard Maurice Watson Jr., the Bluejays have been adequate at best. The finished 7-8 in games where Watson wasn’t available and lost some real clunkers to Georgetown and Providence. The Bluejays run to the Big East finals served as solid redemption for the Bluejays, but they’re on much shakier ground than your typical 6-seed. If they can’t get their shots to fall, the Bluejays don’t have an outstanding defense to rely on, and they could struggle against Rhode Island’s stout squad.

Next: Printable 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket

Waiting for Rhode Island, should they break through, would be an Oregon squad that just lost Chris Boucher to a season-ending injury, or a 14-seed in Iona. While I don’t particularly love the tournament record of teams with strong defenses and weak offenses, Rhode Island is good enough on the offensive end to overcome that. With injury-riddled top seeds ahead of them, they stand a decent chance of breaking through to the Sweet 16.

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