NCAA basketball: Three sleeper picks to win the National Championship

2. Wichita State Shockers

Wichita State didn’t own the AAC from the jump, as many predicted. Instead, the Shockers experienced growing pains in conference play, losing to some of the better teams repeatedly.

The injury Markis McDuffie contended with made things even more challenging, with the forward never really getting back into an expected groove.

But on Sunday, the team traveled to Cincinnati and picked up their best victory of the season, far and away. Wichita State tore up the vaunted Bearcats defense in the first half, then relied on their own defense to close the door in the second half, ending the nation’s longest home winning streak.

The win was compelling evidence that the Shockers can beat anyone on any given day, which is what the NCAA Tournament is really about.

That theory will be put to the test at least twice before the regular season ends. The Shockers travel to SMU this weekend, then host the Bearcats in their regular season finale; Cincinnati will surely be motivated for that contest.

Wichita State is surrendering 70.3 points per game, ranking in the middle of the country. They will need to improve on that end of the court if they expect to make a run for the National Championship.

There’s nobody better for that job than Gregg Marshall, though.