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While most brackets in the NCAA Tournament are likely to include some combination of Florida, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Duke, Houston, St. John's or some other blue bloods, there are a few dark horses out there that could surprise us.
It seems like every year there's a team that comes from out of nowhere to make the Final Four. Last year it was N.C. State, the year before it was FAU, the year before that it was UNC and in 2021 it was UCLA.
So who are the dark horses in this year's tournament?
According to CBS analyst Andy Katz, four teams look like they could make a serious run at the Final Four that are outside of the top seeds.
His four teams are:
- Ole Miss (No. 6, South region)
- UConn (No. 8, West region)
- BYU (No. 6, East region)
- UCLA (No. 7, Midwest region)
Don't sleep on these teams @TheAndyKatz names his dark horses to make the Final Four #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/syxLYIVEJk
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2025
UCLA and UConn should be seen as particularly dangerous given that UConn are the two-time defending champions and the Bruins managed to reach the Final Four as an even lower seed just a few years ago.
Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard knows a thing or two about the Final Four too. He took Texas Tech there back in 2019 and nearly won a national title.
As for BYU, head coach Kevin Young has had no problems making the transition from pro coaching to college coaching, leading the Cougars to a 24-9 record with three wins over top-25 teams in his first year at the helm.
Suffice it to say, they are all dangerous on paper.
But the NCAA Tournament has a habit of weeding out those that are "dangerous on paper" from those that are true championship-caliber teams.
How far will these four teams go in the NCAA Tournament?
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