2019 NCAA Tournament: Who will be the 2019 UMBC? 5 likely candidates

By Jacob Lane | Mar 20, 2019

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: K.J. Maura #11 and teammate Jourdan Grant #5 of the UMBC Retrievers celebrate their 74-54 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

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NEW HAVEN, CT – MARCH 17: Yale Bulldogs guard Miye Oni (25) with the ball during a college basketball game between Yale Bulldogs and Harvard Crimson on March 17, 2019, at John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, CT. (Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Yale

Seed: 14

Matchup: No. 3 LSU

It’s not very often that a 14-seed team has a potential NBA Draft pick on their roster, and it’s even less often that he comes from the Ivy League. But that is the case this year with Yale and their junior guard Miye Oni.

A big part of any low seed pulling off a big upset is their best player playing the game of his life. Looking back a few years and we’ve seen it happen with R.J. Hunter (Georgia State), Giddy Potts (MTSU) and Bryce Drew (Valpo), just to name a few.

LSU is the far superior athletically talented team, which few can argue with. But with everything that’s happened around their program and their head coach Will Wade, to say that they could be suffering from some distractions would be accurate.

Combine that with the talent and abilities of Oni as well as the other two double-digit scorers for Yale in Alex Copeland and Blake Reynolds and the Bulldogs can score the rock, coming into this contest ranked 44th in adjusted offense. Yale also boasts two players who shoot over 45 percent from three.

If Yale can limit Tremont Waters and Naz Reid, this game could be just close enough to pull off the upset.

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