NCAA Basketball: 5 mid-major squads with early 2022 Cinderella potential

Mid-Major basketball is always a good place to look when it comes to finding squads that are looking to play spoiler in the month of March. Take a look at five early contenders with Cinderella potential in this year’s NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (Summit)

Oral Roberts was last year’s Summit League Tournament champions and a bracket-buster in last year’s NCAA Tournament as a No. 15 seed under head coach Paul Mills. They return in 2021-22 with some new blood looking to make waves once again this upcoming March.

Senior guard Max Abmas is the star name to know with Oral Roberts basketball with his ability to score the ball in a hurry and efficiently from all over the floor. Abmas is posting 23.1 ppg, 3.8 apg and 3.4 rpg in the Golden Eagles’ backcourt while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 41.6 percent from 3-point range.

Sophomore guard Issac McBride (10.9 ppg) and junior forward DeShang Weaver (10.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg) are coming along as well. McBride is shooting 41.2 percent from 3-point land and Weavers is at 40.5 percent. Sophomore sharpshooter Trey Phipps is shooting 46.1 percent from behind the arc and averaging 2.0 3-point makes per game off the bench.

At 15-7 on the season, Oral Roberts basketball got off to a bumpy start before finding their footing in conference play. The Summit League’s “other” Cinderella darling could see itself receive an at-large bid, if need be, given the Golden Eagles’ resume, so far. With a 9-2 record in conference action, they’ll need to remain perfect going forward if they hope to make some waves in March.

With Abmas leading the charge, it’s hard not to foresee them making a splash as an early Cinderella candidate. Their offense ranks sixth in NCAA basketball in scoring at 83.0 ppg, and third in 3-pointers made per game (12.3). BracketBusters should circle Feb. 24 on their calendars, that’s when the Golden Eagles face South Dakota State.