March Madness 2019: Top dark horse candidates from each region
By Brian Rauf
Midwest Region: (10) Seton Hall Pirates
It’s strange to have two schools from power conferences on a list of dark horses, but both Oregon and Seton Hall are deserving of the label.
Youth has led to an inconsistent for a Pirates team that was on the bubble a few short weeks ago. Luckily for them, Myles Powell stepped up and had some major moments that allowed them to pick up victories over the likes of Villanova and Marquette.
Powell is fantastic and is the kind of player capable of leading a team on a long run all by himself, à la what Stephen Curry did to Davidson. He’s a tremendous shooter, finisher, and the kind of clutch performer that has hit big shots in a handful of huge games this year.
The Pirates have struggled to find consistent threats behind Powell, yet Quincy McKnight, Myles Cale, and big man Sandro Mamukelashvili have all stepped up of late to help Seton Hall take their game to a new level.
They enter the tournament having won four of their last five games and seven of their last 11 overall. Three of those wins came over tournament teams and three of the losses were either by a single possession or in double overtime.
Their hot streak, plus Powell’s star potential, give them the feel of a team that can make a long run. The road will be tough – a first-round game against Wofford could be the game of the weekend and a victory would likely put them against Kentucky – but Seton Hall can navigate it if Powell gets hot.
After all, they’ve already beaten Kentucky once this year.