Underdogs In Sweet Sixteen Are Anything But Pushovers

The underdogs in the Sweet Sixteen of this year’s NCAA Tournament would make for a good story in any other year.

But this isn’t like any other year, and the low seeds that have fought their way into the final 16 teams remaining vying for the title are more than a feel-good story — they’re all legitimate Final Four contenders.

The biggest Cinderella of them all is No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast University, which made short work of No. 2 Georgetown and then followed up the historic upset by beating No. 7 San Diego State.

But unlike the handful of other No. 15 seeds that have won on the strength of lights-out three-point shooting, FGCU’s wins are no fluke. Instead the team from “Dunk City, Florida” is running opponents out of the gym with their athleticism.

While conventional wisdom would say No. 3 seed Florida is a heavy favorite in the Sweet Sixteen matchup with FGCU, there is nothing conventional about this No. 15 seed and a trip to the Elite Eight wouldn’t be a shock.

At least one of the Sweet Sixteen underdogs is assured a trip to the Elite Eight. In the West Regional semifinal game, the No. 9 seed Wichita State faces No. 13 La Salle. After winning a play-in game even for the chance at advancing in the tournament, La Salle has outmuscled its opponents in pulling off two straight upsets.

Just don’t tell the players they’re a Sweet Sixteen underdog.

“I mean, absolutely, we want to get praised for what we’re doing, but we also don’t want to get caught up into that,” La Salle senior guard Ramon Galloway said. “It’s not really our job to say we should be on TV or we should be doing this.”

No. 12 Oregon is an underdog only because of a bit of misplaced seeding. The Ducks enjoyed a strong season in the Pac-12 and likely deserved a No. 8 or No. 9 seed, but now face a bit of an uphill battle facing the tournament’s top team, No. 1 Louisville.

With performances so strong, it might not be a surprise to see any of the Sweet Sixteen underdogs advance to the Elite Eight — or even further.