Top 10 Most Surprising Teams In March Madness 2022

Saint Peter's, congratulations, you are the school nobody has heard of and quickly won over America's heart. Yes, the Peacocks may have been a 15 seed, but they are here to remind us that seed is just a number and means nothing. They did the unthinkable and beat Kentucky in the first round.

Not only that, but they would advance all the way to the Elite 8, becoming the first 15 seed to advance that far. With their Cinderella story, the Peacocks have enshrined themselves in March Madness history forever, joining the likes of George Mason, VCU, Loyola Chicago, UMBC, Florida Gulf Coast, Middle Tennessee State, Oral Roberts, and Davidson, as well as many others.

If you had told me at the start of the season that this team would make the tournament, I would've thought you were crazy.

Honestly, beating Duke at Cameron Indoor was the significant momentum swing they needed. Their hopes of a tournament bid were somewhat reliant on that game. They had been defeated badly by Miami, Wake Forest, and Duke earlier in the season, but they fought hard.

Not only did they make the tournament, but they also played in the championship game and gave Kansas a tough challenge. It feels strange to label a blue-blood program like UNC as a Cinderella, but they had an exceptional run. Hubert Davis had the daunting task of replacing the legendary Roy Williams, but I believe Carolina is in good hands. Davis also spoiled Coach K's retirement tour not once, but twice!

The championship game had a bittersweet ending, but there's much to be proud of, and I have nothing but respect for that team.

The Kentucky Wildcats boasted a strong team as usual, and many people thought Big Blue Nation would make another deep run. It's been a decade since they won a national championship. They boasted Oscar Tshiebwe, who racked up several individual accolades for his performance this season.

Turned out none of that mattered. Easily the Wildcats' most embarrassing loss since Robert Morris in the 2013 NIT. The rest of America laughs hysterically as one of the all-time great powerhouse programs got humiliated. And to add further insult to injury, you lost the all-time wins lead to Kansas, who just so happened to win the national championship and take the lead by four games.

If you want to talk about one of the best turnarounds for a program in just one year, you have to look at Iowa State. Last year was their worst season in a very long time, perhaps the absolute lowest point in program history, with a pathetic 2-21 record and 0-18 in Big 12 conference games. It's as low as you can possibly get.

TJ Otzelberger single-handedly turned the program around in his first season, going 22-12 and making it all the way to the Sweet 16. This team won the same number of games in the tournament as they won in the entirety of last season. That's incredible, and as a fan of a longtime conference rival, I tip my hat to them for that.

What a difference a year makes, and what a difference a coach makes when he knows what he's doing.

Miami has been coming up aces recently with the Dolphins landing Tyreek Hill and getting plenty of business because of spring break. The Hurricanes basketball team has always been mediocre. They won't embarrass themselves, but they are no championship contenders.

The Hurricanes did the unthinkable and knocked out Auburn, who a lot of people thought could go the distance. They made it to the Elite 8 for the first time in school history until the clock struck midnight in the second half of that game. Still a good season, though.

The Wolverines did not deserve to be here. I argue that Texas A&M or Oklahoma was more deserving. Yet somehow they beat Colorado State and Tennessee to make the Sweet 16.

It doesn't matter how they did it. The fact they got in and made it that far is a surprise.

For a mid-major team, Gonzaga does a lot of things right. They can recruit and have kept Mark Few for a long time. Here's the problem with Gonzaga. They look good early in the season and beat some quality teams when they aren't in their peak yet.

Then they get to conference play and coast to a #1 overall seed while everyone else plays real teams. Gonzaga feasts on cupcakes. They look good in the opening weekend and then proceed to collapse. People may point to their recent championship appearances, but what do they have to show for it?

Gotta win it when you have the chance to erase the labels thrown on you. For being runner-up a year ago, people kinda expected more. This is why I say do not trust Gonzaga until they win the championship or join a real conference that isn't full of NAIA-level teams.

Iowa, congratulations, you were the media's pick to go deep in this tournament. A lot of people picked them over Kansas. I mean, the Hawkeyes are decent, but they're a 5 seed - they aren't that good.

They couldn't even beat 12 seed Richmond, who wouldn't have made the tournament if not for winning their conference unexpectedly. Watching that game, Iowa's offense struggled against a scrappy team. Talk about underachieving. This team didn't even make it out of the first weekend.

All these clowns thought they would beat Kansas are pretty quiet now, aren't they? I better not hear another word about you guys supposedly making a deep run. You lost your chance to say anything.

Baylor comes into the tournament as a #1 seed and the defending champions. Still feels weird to say that, to be honest. They were without one of their best players, but still, the fact they couldn't make it out of the opening weekend is a bit disappointing for the defending national champions.

The refs even let you back in the game against UNC, and you still lost. Anyway, hope you enjoy that Mickey Mouse championship.