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

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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LAS VEGAS, NV – NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Russell Turner of the UC Irvine Anteaters gestures during the 2017 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks at the Orleans Arena on November 24, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /

2. UC Irvine Anteaters

Five teams ended the season with at least 30 wins. Three of them reside in the AP poll (and did for most of the season). Four of them earned at least a 12-seed in the NCAA Tournament or better.

And then there’s the ugly stepchild of the group, the UC Irvine Anteaters.

The Anteaters don’t have a ton of big wins on their resume, but they do have a ton of wins, period. In fact, they enter the NCAA Tournament on a 16-game winning streak.

They’re also one of the best defensive teams in the nation. They surrendered just 63.3 points per game, good for 19th in the country.

Interestingly, the Anteaters can’t claim to have one player who dominates the game from start to finish. Nobody on the team averages more than 12.5 points per game. No Anteaters appear on the list of Big West scoring leaders until Max Hazzard checks in at tenth place.

UC Irvine also has the luck of the draw on their side. Their first game will be against a team severely handicapped by a major injury. If they make it to a second game, they’ll either play a good, not great Wisconsin team or Oregon, who have dealt with their own share of injuries this year.

Sometimes, a little bit of luck is all you need this time of year.

The Anteaters begin their quest as a 13-seed against Kansas State on Friday afternoon.

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