Bruce Pearl names ‘dark horse’ team that could make a run in NCAA tournament originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
We are now less than two weeks away from Selection Sunday, when the official 68-team NCAA Tournament field will be revealed. While the top seeds and potential Final Four favorites — including Duke, Michigan, Arizona, and likely Florida — are fairly clear, there’s always a team that catches fire at the right moment when nobody’s expecting it.
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On Monday, longtime college basketball coach and current CBS and TNT analyst Bruce Pearl appeared on Fox Sports’ Wake Up Barstool to discuss the upcoming tournament and reveal his “dark horse” team that could make a legitimate run to the Final Four.
While Pearl didn’t make an especially bold pick, he named a team that has flown under the radar this year: the Michigan State Spartans. Currently ranked No. 13 in the country, the Spartans are coming off four straight wins.
“Right now, Michigan State is playing pretty well, and I know it’s hard… like they’re not anybody’s radar to make the Final Four because those other teams are so strong,” Pearl said. “But teams that could get hot — Alabama, Michigan State — are two teams right now that I don’t think people have in the Final Four that could potentially get there.”
MORE: Michigan’s Morez Johnson Jr. reveals unbelievable fan resentment before Illinois road win
Whenever you have Tom Izzo at the helm, you have to take the Spartans seriously. Michigan State last made the Final Four in 2019, ultimately falling to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 61–51.
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As for Alabama, they sit at 22–7, ranked No. 17, and have been playing some of their best basketball of the season recently, winning their last eight games — four of which came on the road.
According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, whose bracket was last updated Friday, both Alabama and Michigan State are slated as No. 4 seeds in March Madness. Both teams secured wins over the weekend, which could further boost their placement heading into the final week of the regular season.
