2024 March Madness Betting Odds: Don’t overlook Indiana State or McNeese State to play spoiler at the NCAA Tournament

With about three weeks to go before the opening tip-off of the 2024 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, we’re taking a deep dive into some lesser known teams that have a legitimate chance to go on a Cinderella run.

2024 March Madness Odds

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Indiana State Sycamores

The Indiana State Sycamores have taken over as the top team in the Missouri Valley with 17-3 conference record and 26-5 overall record. They’ve made four previous appearances in the NCAA Tournament, finishing as runners-up against Michigan State in 1979. The Sycamores have a combined 5-4 overall record in the tournament, but they haven’t punched their ticket to the Big Dance since being bounced in the first round as a No. 14 seed in 2011.

Indiana State boasts one of the best offences in college basketball, ranking 11th in the nation in points per game (84.5). That offensive success largely comes down to their third-ranked field goal percentage (50.4 per cent) and their ninth-ranked three-point shooting percentage (38.4).

It’s fair to question how this team will hold up against elite level competition given they have lost against Alabama and Michigan State this season, but it’s worth noting both those matchups were true road games, so a neutral site venue could play more to their strengths.

We’re banking on the trio of Robbie Avila (17.6 ppg), Isaiah Swope (16.6 ppg) and Ryan Conwell (16.0 ppg) to lead Indiana State to at least one upset victory in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

McNeese State Cowboys

McNeese State has dominated the Southland Conference with a 16-1 record this season and they sit 27-3 overall. They’ve only made two previous trips to the NCAA Tournament, losing in the first round in both years. As a 16-seed, they fell to top-seeded Illinois in 1989 and they haven’t made a trip back to the Big Dance since they were a 14-seed in 2002.

Although he was suspended for the first 10 games of the season because of recruiting violations, Will Wade has completely revamped a Cowboys program that suffered 11 straight losing seasons before the former LSU head coach took over this year. The team managed to snag leading scorer Shahada Wells (TCU) and DJ Richards (UTSA) out of the transfer portal while filling out the roster with other solid transfer or junior college additions.

Nationally, McNeese ranks 21st in field goal percentage (48.8 per cent) and fifth in average steals per game (10.4). The team boasts four different players who are hovering right around 40-plus per cent shooting from three-point range on three-plus attempts per game in Wells (39.6 per cent), Richards (44.1), Javohn Garcia (45.7) and Antavion Collum (40.2).

The Cowboys are poised to enter the tournament as roughly a No. 12 or 13 seed, which could set them up for at least one early tournament upset win.