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2022 NCAA Tournament: 5 teams that will bust your March Madness bracket

By Mike Phillips

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 12: Tyger Campbell #10 of the UCLA Bruins handles the ball against the Arizona Wildcats during the Pac-12 Conference basketball tournament championship game at T-Mobile Arena on March 12, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 12: Tyger Campbell #10 of the UCLA Bruins handles the ball against the Arizona Wildcats during the Pac-12 Conference basketball tournament championship game at T-Mobile Arena on March 12, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 11: Storm Murphy #5 high-fives Justyn Mutts #25 of the Virginia Tech Hokies during the second half against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2022 Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament – Semifinals at Barclays Center on March 11, 2022, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Hokies won 72-59. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 11: Storm Murphy #5 high-fives Justyn Mutts #25 of the Virginia Tech Hokies during the second half against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2022 Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament – Semifinals at Barclays Center on March 11, 2022, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Hokies won 72-59. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

1. March Madness teams that will bust brackets – Virginia Tech Hokies

It feels rare to see a bid-thief come out of a power conference but Virginia Tech pulled off the feat in Brooklyn. The Hokies were not going to make the field before they showed up at the Barclays Center last week and beat Notre Dame, North Carolina and Duke on three consecutive days to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

That performance isn’t surprising to anyone who follows predictive metrics, which have consistently rated Virginia Tech higher than their record and resume would warrant. A slew of bad losses early in the season and a middling performance in a down ACC left the Hokies in need of the auto-bid to get in, which they grabbed in scary fashion.

The selection committee set up Virginia Tech as an 11-seed in the East Region and they will start off against a Texas team that has had trouble delivering consistent performances away from Austin all season long. Big Ten runner-up Purdue would be waiting for the Hokies in the Round of 32 in a track meet since the Boilermakers have had tremendous issues on defense all season long.

That path is a viable one for Virginia Tech to reach the Sweet 16, an outcome no one saw as remotely possible just seven days ago. Do plenty of homework on the Hokies as they are the top team that could ruin brackets this March.

Next. 20 biggest upsets in the history of March Madness. dark

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