March Madness: 10 teams that deserve your fandom

By Doug Winkey | Mar 16, 2017

Mar 11, 2017; Birmingham, AL, USA; Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders head coach Kermit Davis with Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders forward Reggie Upshaw (30) and Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders forward JaCorey Williams (22) hold the trophy after defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd for the Conference USA Tournament Championship at Legacy Arena. Blue Raiders defeated the Herd 82-73. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /

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Dec 22, 2015; Oxford, MS, USA; Troy Trojans guard Wesley Person (3) brings the ball up court against Mississippi Rebels forward Sebastian Saiz (11) at C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum. Mississippi defeated Troy 83-80. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports /

10. Troy Trojans

Location: Troy, Alabama

First Appearance since: 2003

Name to know: Jordon Varnado (16.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.4 bpg)

This is just Troy’s second NCAA Tournament appearance ever. The Trojans won the Sun Belt Conference as a 6-seed over fellow surprise participant Texas State. 15-seed Troy will receive a date with 2-seed Duke as their reward for making the tournament.

You should root for the Trojans if you like offense. The team finished with the second-best adjusted offense in the league behind Texas-Arlington. They shot 37 percent as a unit from deep on nearly 830 threes taken. The number of attempts puts them in the top 25 nationally.

6’6″ sophomore Jordon Varnado is crafty post player who finished second in the Sun Belt in block rate. The team’s other threats are Wesley Person and Jeremy Hollimon, who both shoot at or above 40 percent from deep. Troy is a big underdog against the Blue Devils, but underdogs deserve support against the nation’s true blue bloods.

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