Commentary

Early look at NCAA tourney sleepers

Come bracket time, Billikens, Bulldogs could cut in on Big Dance favorites

Updated: February 23, 2012, 12:28 PM ET
By John Gasaway | ESPN Insider

Last week the NCAA was good enough to host me and about 20 other members of the media at its annual mock selection exercise for the Division I men's tournament. Going through the mock selection gave me a greater appreciation for how the real selection committee goes about its work. It turns out when you're comparing dozens of teams to each other and you have a limited amount of time to do so, something as simple as "good wins" really does matter. And "bad losses" sure don't help.

But are there teams that are better than they appear under the trusty old good-win/bad-loss test? Absolutely. I've picked five.


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John Gasaway

ESPN Insider
  • ESPN Insider college basketball contributor
  • First began covering college hoops in 2004
  • Has written for Basketball Prospectus and the Wall Street Journal

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