Casting Cinderella: 10 teams that can be March Madness darlings

SPOKANE, WA - FEBRUARY 17: Kameron Edwards #20 and Eric Cooper #2 of the Pepperdine Waves attempt to box out Silas Melson #0 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs after a free throw in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center on February 17, 2018 in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga defeated Pepperdine 81-67. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /

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JACKSONVILLE, FL – MARCH 21: Myles Powell #13 of the Seton Hall Pirates dribbles the ball by Fletcher Magee #3 of the Wofford Terriers during the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on March 21, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

7. Seton Hall Pirates

The hype-train is on for the Pirates to be one of, if not the non-power five conference teams that shock the world with a deep run come March Madness.

Myles Powell, one of my favorite players to watch last season, decided to rock the world and come back for his senior season, cranking the hype about Seton Hall’s tournament chances, and maybe much more than that, all the way up to 11.

Powell was double-teamed more often than not last season, and still managed to produce 23 points a game, while upping his assist ratio all the same.

Head coach Kevin Willard’s team is headlined by Powell, but also still boasts Quincy McKnight after his transition to a pass-first type of guard, complimenting Powell in fantastic ways. Also in the guard position, Myles Cale looks to build upon the attention he earned after his go-ahead triple in Seton Hall’s takedown of Kentucky last season.

The Pirates haven’t made a Sweet-16 since 2000. I’m not saying they are a shoe-in to be one of college basketball’s best teams (the pre-season hype may be a bit too advanced at this point), but I will say, if they catch fire early, they could carry it all the way into a deep tournament run at the end of the year thanks to the retention of Powell and 85 percent of their total minutes from last year.