The greatest two days of the year are upon us. The first round of March Madness is where seniors play what could be the final game of their collegiate lives, supposedly “great” teams fall victim to stunning upsets, and heroes emerge from nowhere to lead their teams on miracle runs. And never are these qualities more evident than when a “mid-major” team takes down a national powerhouse from one of the “Big 6” conferences.
The term “David over Goliath” is used way too often for my liking, but sometimes there’s no better term for when a team like Bradley takes down Kansas and Pittsburgh in consecutive games. Raise your hand if you know what state Bradley is from? A mid-major is defined as any team not from the ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big 10, Big East, and Pac 12. Every single year, one of these mid-majors comes from nowhere to win a first round game (and sometimes more) that they have no business winning.
There is serious money involved in the science of picking brackets, so anyone that can see these upsets coming can become a very rich individual. I’m not here to tell you I have those answers, but there are certain qualities shared by past mid-major Cinderellas that are great predictors of success in the tournament. Any time a team has at least 3 of these to their name, you better think twice before penciling in that #4 seed. And while I’m here, you better belive I’m gonna tell you why Davidson could be this year’s…well, Davidson.
1. "Under the Radar"
