March Madness Betting Odds: It’s time to start looking at Grand Canyon and UC Irvine as possible NCAA Tournament Cinderella teams
One of the reasons the March Madness NCAA Tournament is so popular is the chance of upsets. Just last year, Fairleigh Dickinson became the second No. 16 team to knock off a top seed when they upset Purdue and the last three Big Dances have seen a 15-seed take out a No. 2 seed.
With a few weeks to go before the 2024 NCAA Tournament tips-off, let’s take a look a couple of long shots that could be worth backing as a Cinderella team.
2024 March Madness Odds
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Grand Canyon Antelopes
Grand Canyon made the jump to Division I basketball ahead of the 2013-14 season. Since then, they’ve made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament, but they’re still searching for their first tournament win. The Lopes lost to Iowa as a 15-seed in 2021 and they fell against Gonzaga as a 14-seed last year.
Grand Canyon currently leads the WAC with a 14-3 record. Sitting at 24-4 overall this season, they can match their school record of 27 wins if they beat UTRGV (last place in WAC), SFA (sixth) and CA Baptist (seventh) to close out the regular season.
With NCAA Tournament appearances in two of the last three years, head coach Bryce Drew has completely revamped the program since taking over in 2020. This is a team that always seems to get to the free throw line and they’re solid shooters from beyond the arc. It’s a deep eight-man rotation that can expand as high as 10 when healthy, with three players averaging over 13 points per game. Tyon Grant-Foster leads the way with 19 ppg, Gabe McGlothan is second at 14.7 ppg and Ray Harrison is third with 13.5 ppg. The Lopes also have a balanced defence that rebounds strong, generates steals and is solid in transition.
UC Irvine Anteaters
UC Irvine sits first in the Big West standings largely thanks to a perfect 11-0 home record this season. They’ve made two NCAA Tournament appearances, both times as a 13-seed. The Anteaters bowed out against Louisville in the first round in 2015, but they managed to upset Kansas State in 2019 before falling to Oregon in the second round.
The biggest strength for UC Irvine is their depth. They have 11 players who have played 20-plus games this season, with each of those players averaging at least 10 minutes of playing time. If the ‘Eaters get the right matchup, those fresh legs could be the difference maker.
The concern critics tend to focus on is UC Irvine’s shooting from beyond the arc. Overall, the team is efficient from the outside, but they don’t attempt many triples, with their three-point attempt rate below 30 per cent. This team wins on it’s depth and defence, so again, the right matchup is critical to UC Irvine becoming a dark horse candidate.
