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

1. Seton Hall Pirates

Seton Hall had to claw their way through Big East play, through upsets of the conference’s best teams, then through most of the Big East Tournament before they could qualify for the Big Dance.

Is a little game against the Wofford Terriers really going to deter them?

Year after year, Seton Hall remains the most confounding team in the country. They couldn’t capitalize on expectations last year, then saw those expectations drop as most of the talent in the program departed. Yet Myles Powell has them in better shape than ever before.

Powell is a superstar. He averaged 22.9 points per game during the season, showing up in the biggest moments to propel his team to victory (with the occasional assist from Myles Cale – just remember that insane game with Kentucky earlier in the year).

Last year, the Pirates secured their first NCAA Tournament victory of the Kevin Willard era before stumbling against Kansas. They’re hungry for more.

Of course, they’ll have to go through Wofford, one of the mid-major darlings of the tournament. The individual matchup between Powell and Wofford’s Fletcher Magee will be one of the highlights of the first round.

If Seton Hall can get through that test, they can build up the momentum to surprise as a 10-seed sleeper.

They play the Terriers on Thursday night.