This week marks the start of March Madness, the NCAA Tournament that is annually filled with major programs falling to mid-major universities that are unknown to the masses. At Sports World News, we will profile the potential bracket busters this year, so that you know what you're getting into when you plug in your Cinderellas.
We'll start with the Albany Great Danes, a No. 14 seed representing the America East conference.
When Albany's America East title game was plodding along at 4-2 more than eight minutes into the first half, viewers couldn't have been impressed that these two teams represented the best the conference had to offer.
Don't be fooled though. Both Albany and Stony Brook have better defenses than fans might realize, and Albany is a threat to pull off an upset.
Defensively, Albany is tough. They may not have faced upper echelon competition too often this season, but they limited opponents to 60.2 points per game, 33rd in the nation. Opponents shot just 42 percent from the field against the Great Danes, and Albany limited their fouls; opponents attempted just 486 free throws this season, the 20th-best mark in Division I.
On offense Albany doesn't score a whole lot (65.5 PPG), but they can knock down 3-pointers. Peter Hooley was all over the highlight reels with his game-winner vs. the Seawolves on Saturday; he is a 35 percent shooter from deep on 5.3 attempts per game.
His teammate Evan Singletary is the real bomber though, knocking down 40 percent of his long-range shots while attempting 4.6 per game.
The No. 3-seed Sooners have the talent to make a deep run in this tournament, but have also been so inconsistent at times that it appears they don't belong in the field. They rely heavily on junior guard Buddy Hield, who will no doubt be the focal point of Albany's tough defense.
Finally, the Great Danes won't fear this stage. This is their third straight season in which they've reached the Big Dance, and they might be finally primed for a shocking run.
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