Busting Brackets
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NCAA Tournament: 5 deep sleeper picks to win 2019 national title

By Holden Walter-Warner

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Myles Powell #13 of the Seton Hall Pirates celebrates his shot in the first half against the Butler Bulldogs during quarterfinals of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Myles Powell #13 of the Seton Hall Pirates celebrates his shot in the first half against the Butler Bulldogs during quarterfinals of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 15: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers handles the ball in the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 15, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 15: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers handles the ball in the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 15, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

5. Purdue Boilermakers

Originally, the pick for this spot was the Villanova Wildcats. But despite their low seed, it seemed like a transgression to put the defending champions, winner of two of the last three national titles, a sleeper. So Purdue it is.

The Boilermakers opened the season with decent expectations. They lost some major contributors from last year, but retained Carsen Edwards, a legitimate contender for Big Ten Player of the Year.

Purdue faltered a few times in the first couple of months, but only a loss to Notre Dame remains problematic. In fact, that was their only loss to a team with no NCAA Tournament hopes entering Selection Sunday.

Meanwhile, Edwards has been as good as advertised, developing into the kind of player who can carry his team through NCAA Tournament battles. The junior from Texas averaged 23 points per game, the only player in the Big Ten to average even 20 points per game.

One reason to be concerned about the Boilermakers is their questionable record against elite talent. While they do have a marquee win over Michigan State, they actually have a losing record against ranked teams.

Still, championship-caliber teams have championship-caliber players. As long as Edwards remains healthy, Purdue has a chance to win their first title of the NCAA Tournament era.

The 3-seed Boilermakers start their tourney run against Old Dominion on Thursday.

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