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March Madness 2019: 5 candidates to be the Cinderella Story of the NCAA Tournament

By Mike Phillips

SPARTANBURG, SC - FEBRUARY 16: Mike Young head coach of Wofford during a college basketball game between the UNCG Spartans and the Wofford Terriers on February 16, 2019, at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, SC. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SPARTANBURG, SC - FEBRUARY 16: Mike Young head coach of Wofford during a college basketball game between the UNCG Spartans and the Wofford Terriers on February 16, 2019, at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, SC. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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EVANSVILLE, IN – MARCH 09: Belmont Bruins Guard Grayson Murphy (2) holds the ball away from Murray State Racers Guard Ja Morant (12) during the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Championship college basketball game between the Murray State Racers and the Belmont Bruins on March 9, 2019, at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
EVANSVILLE, IN – MARCH 09: Belmont Bruins Guard Grayson Murphy (2) holds the ball away from Murray State Racers Guard Ja Morant (12) during the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Championship college basketball game between the Murray State Racers and the Belmont Bruins on March 9, 2019, at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Belmont

The big stunner of Selection Sunday was the fact that Belmont made the tournament despite losing in their conference tournament. We applaud the selection committee for rewarding the fact that Belmont went 26-5 and dominated the Ohio Valley Conference, but it is worth mentioning that the Bruins are very good at basketball.

The Bruins went 2-1 in Quadrant 1 games during the regular season, including an 11-point loss at Purdue, and beat UCLA on the road for good measure. Belmont also has an elite scorer in guard Dylan Windler, who leads the Bruins in both scoring (21.4 ppg) and rebounding (10.7 rpg).

The committee sent Belmont to Dayton for a First Four matchup with Temple, but the Bruins should be able to advance out of there and into a first round matchup with Maryland. The Terrapins may be a paper tiger of a 6-seed, losing three out of four down the stretch, including a bad loss to Nebraska in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Tradition holds that at least one team to win a First Four game also wins in the Round of 64, and there’s every chance Belmont does that this year. The Bruins would also stand a great chance to upset LSU, which looked sluggish without head coach Will Wade in a loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament.

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