NCAA Basketball: 10 potential March Madness Bracket-Busters
By Chris Kern
Georgia State Panthers
The Georgia State Panthers made the NCAA tournament last year as a No. 15 seed where they lost to No. 2 seeded Cincinnati 68-53. They return key players from that team as they look to build off last year’s appearance and pull off an upset this time around. D’Marcus Simonds is their leader and he’s one of the best mid-major players in the country. He had the chance to declare for the NBA Draft but he opted to return for his junior season instead.
Simonds has struggled a bit this season but he is still playing like an NBA prospect and a guy who can lead this team back to the NCAA tournament. This season, he is averaging 19.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists through the team’s first 13 games. He made a name for himself last season and he continues to play at a high level.
This team also has four seniors, so they know what it takes to win games. They all want to end their careers on a high note and, with so many upperclassmen, they could give a lot of teams fits no matter how much better they’re thought to be. Devin Mitchell is one of those seniors and he is a guy who can make big plays on the offensive end. He transferred from Alabama after his freshman season but he has found a good home at Georgia State.
Mitchell has missed some time this season due to injury but, after coming off of the bench in his first few games, he scored 23 points to lead the Panthers to a win over UNC Wilmington in his first start of the year. This team has three other double-digit scorers in Malik Benlevi, Jeff Thomas, and Kane Williams. They have a good group of guys who can score the ball at a high clip around Simonds which gives this team tough to defend.
This team has pulled off upsets in the past and it looks like this team is possible of doing the same. Ron Hunter always has his teams ready to play and he knows what it takes to pull off big upsets. Keep an eye out for this team when you start filling out your bracket.