With Championship Week rolling on and Selection Sunday finally arriving tomorrow, it’s time for schools to make a name for themselves. As some teams battle for one last opportunity to be in the field of 68 this weekend, a number of programs have already punched their ticket to the Big Dance with conference tournament victories. Here are five double-digit seeds that you shouldn’t sleep on when filling out your bracket in the coming days. Happy Madness!
1. Drake
After back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, head coach Darian Devries departed for West Virginia with his son Tucker. The Bulldogs were expected to take a step back. Instead, Ben McCollum helped Drake outperform last year’s win total, going 30-3 and winning their third straight MVC Tournament title. McCollum won four national championships at D-II Northwest Missouri State and has easily translated his success to the mid-major level this season. Drake has won 18 of their last 19 games.
This team looks nothing like the one you might remember from last season. The Bulldogs were 41st in scoring offense and 123rd in scoring defense in 2023-2024. Drake is all about defense this year. They rank second in the nation with 58.4 points against, while being 282nd in scoring. In the MVC title game, the Bulldogs held Bradley to just two points in the first 8:41 of the second half. A defense like that could give a high-powered offense fits in the first round.
McCollum brought four players from Northwest Missouri State who all play key roles on this Bulldogs squad, including MVC Player of the Year Bennett Stirtz. The 6-foot-4 junior does everything for Drake, averaging 19.1 points, 5.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds. When Stirtz has an off night, his team is in trouble, so there is a risk that this team won’t score enough to stay in a tournament game. But McCollum has a proven track record of success this time of year.
2. High Point
After falling short as the No. 1 seed in the Big South Tournament last year, Alan Huss and the Panthers got over the hump this season and will make their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance since becoming a D-1 school in 1999. On Sunday, it looked like they were going to come up short again, trailing by 15 in the second half to Winthrop in the Big South title game. From there, High Point proceeded to outscore the Eagles 48-21 in the final 15:53 to secure the automatic bid and move to 29-5 on the year.
High Point possesses a dynamic offense that averages over 82 points a game, a top-20 mark in the nation. That output is rooted in the team’s exceptional depth. Ten players average at least 13 minutes a night, and their bench scores 28.5 points per game. Huss left his bench unit in the game during the title game comeback, and they combined for 50 of the team’s 81 points. The Panthers have many different avenues of success offensively, often a key trait for a Cinderella team.
As demonstrated by Winthrop’s offensive explosion early, the Panthers’ defense can put them in some huge holes. They are 81st in scoring defense and are even worse on the perimeter, ranking 124th in three-point percentage defense. A fast start is vital against a high-major opponent, where a double-digit comeback in the second half is highly unlikely.
3. Lipscomb
On their home floor Sunday, the Bison earned their second-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament with an Atlantic Sun Tournament title win over North Alabama, avenging a loss to the Lions earlier this season. It is their first tournament appearance since 2018.
Lennie Acuff’s squad loves to shoot the three, averaging just under 10 threes made per game on 27.5 attempts. This makes them subject to more shot variance, but a hot night could spell disaster for a high seed. Lipscomb is led by versatile big man Jacob Ognacevic, a double-double threat every night. Ognacevic is 17th in the country with 20.1 points per game and averages over eight rebounds per game, while shooting 57 percent from the field and 40 percent from three.
The Bison are by no means a one-man show on offense, capable of winning on an off night from their best player. Four other players are double-figure scorers, including Joe Anderson, who dropped 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the ASUN title game.
Another huge plus about Lipscomb is their outstanding free-throw shooting, often a huge hurdle for double-digit seeds in closing out games. They are sixth in the country in free-throw percentage, shooting 79 percent from the stripe as a team. Their top-four scorers all shoot 80% or better at the line. In a close game, the Bison have a massive tool at their disposal.
4. McNeese
When Will Wade was hired in 2023, he said, “We’re going to go from 23 losses to 23+ wins this year. Remember I said that.” The former LSU coach who was terminated due to NCAA violations in 2022 has fulfilled his promise and then some. After a 30-4 season last year, the Cowboys are going back to the Big Dance for the second consecutive year after winning the Southland tournament. They have a combined 36-2 record in conference over the last two seasons and finished the campaign on an 11-game win streak.
Javohn Garcia, Christian Shumate and DJ Richards Jr. returned from last season, and all of them are scoring in double figures. Saint Louis transfer Sincere Park is averaging over 12 points per game in 20 minutes. McNeese employs a lockdown defense that ranks 16th in the country, allowing only 64 points a game. Their hyper-aggressive unit forces over 14 turnovers a game, and the Cowboys’ turnover margin is 15th in the nation.
The chaos McNeese creates can produce the kind of messy game that results in an upset. It also means games can get ugly in a hurry. Gonzaga beat McNeese 86-65 last year in the tournament and were up 35 in the second half. That tournament experience should better prepare Will Wade’s group for March Madness this time around.
5. UNC Wilmington
The Seahawks took down back-to-back champion Charleston in the CAA semis before holding off upstart Delaware 76-72 in the title game, who had won four straight games in the conference tournament. UNC Wilmington finished the season winning 17 of their last 19 games, including separate win streaks of nine and six during that stretch.
Takayo Sittle’s group has an efficient offense, averaging over 79 points a game while shooting 47 percent from the field. A former Kevin Keatts assistant both at UNC Wilmington and NC State, Sittle has led the Seahawks to four consecutive 20-win seasons, including a CBI title in 2022.
UNC Wilmington is an excellent rebounding group that ranks top-30 in the country. Second-chance opportunities can be a huge problem for low-majors and mid-majors in close tournament games, but the Seahawks have great size with eight players on the roster that stand at least 6-foot-7. They also have remarkably balanced scoring with 10 players averaging at least seven points per game.
Like High Point, having that kind of versatility is a major asset when the game might not go according to plan. The Seahawks may not get as much attention as an upset pick, but they have as good a chance as any of making a statement.
