March Madness: Dark horse 2018 Final Four picks in each region

March Madness feels more up in the air than ever this season with no obvious favorites, several strong double-digit seeds, and middling teams with a lot of talent. Which dark horse squads can make a run to the Final Four?

Almost every year, an unexpected team makes the Final Four. In each of the last five years, a team seeded seventh or worse has made it to the final Saturday. Only once in history have all four of the one seeds comprised the Final Four, so penciling in the top teams is not the safe way to go. Here are a few dark horse options for this year’s tournament.

East Region – West Virginia

Jevon Carter may be the player I am most looking forward to watching in the entire tournament. The two-time reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year does everything for the Mountaineers, averaging 17.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 2.9 steals per game. Senior guards willing an entire team often make for some of the best March Madness storylines.

West Virginia’s road to the Final Four seems doable. A first-round matchup with Murray State could spell trouble as all five of this year’s 12-seeds seem dangerous as usual.

After that, a date with Wichita State would await. The Shockers are good, but not quite a 30-win juggernaut like in years past.

Villanova, two years removed from a national championship, is one of the most steady and experienced teams in the nation. And a potential Elite Eight meeting with Purdue will take some elite post defense from Bob Huggins’ squad. But, the Mountaineers play style works well in the chaos of the Big Dance.

West Region – Houston

The Cougars have the defensive prowess and a star in Rob Gray that gives them a fighting chance at a Final Four run.

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Houston was handed a tough first-round matchup with a team that will not beat itself in San Diego State, but if they can survive that game they have the tools to pull off upsets over Michigan, North Carolina, and Xavier.

The Musketeers are already being positioned as the weakest one-seed, but North Carolina and especially Michigan are coming into the tournament on a hot streak.

It will take a few magical efforts from Gray, and some stout defensive performances, which are both possible.

Midwest Region – Rhode Island

Another team with veteran guards and a tough first-round matchup, the 2016-17 preseason darlings arrived a year late but with even more experience than before.

Guard play is important in the NCAA Tournament and the Rams have it in bunches. Seniors E.C. Matthews and Jared Terrell and sophomore Jeff Dowtin provide one of the best backcourt trios in the country.

Getting past Oklahoma and Trae Young in the first round will not be easy, but the Sooners have been on a downhill slide for months now.

We all know that Duke is prone to an early round upset, and potential Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight matchups Michigan State and Kansas have taken out early on a handful of occasions as well.

South Region – Cincinnati

It feels weird to call a two seed a dark horse, but the Bearcats have already been relegated to the fifth-best option to come out of the “region of death” behind Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, and Kentucky.

Yes, Kentucky and Arizona enter the tournament on hot streaks, and Virginia is probably the best team in the country, but do not count out Cincinnati and AAC Player of the Year Gary Clark.

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Clark and company just flat-out won games this season. Notching 30 wins in an almost-major conference is not a fluke, and the Bearcats can play with anyone.

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