Men's NCAA Tournament 2022: Teams with Potential to Be Bracket-Busters

Who's ready for another March of angrily tearing up your bracket before the dust has settled on the first day of the NCAA men's basketball tournament?

The dreaded bracket-buster comes in many shapes and sizes.

Sometimes it's a mid-major team that pulls off an upset as a double-digit seed.

Other times, it's a major conference team that gets hot at the right time to reach the Sweet 16 despite being seeded outside the top four lines.

We highlighted seven teams that could fill the role of bracket-buster in this year's tournament based on their projected seeds at Bracket Matrix.

These squads are capable of winning games they shouldn't, whether it's a low-seeded team coming out on top in the first round or a high-seeded team upsetting one of the top four seeds to reach the Sweet 16.

Projected Seed: No. 6

An 82-76 loss to No. 11 seed Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament speaks to just how maddeningly inconsistent Alabama has been this season.

That gave the Crimson Tide a third Quadrant 2 loss to go with a pair of Quad 3 losses to Missouri (NET: 147) and Georgia (NET: 224), but they also have one of the most impressive resumes of quality wins in the country.

With victories over Gonzaga, Houston, Baylor and Tennessee, Alabama has knocked off four of the top 10 teams in the NET rankings, though all those wins came before the calendar flipped to February, and three came in December.

There are some clear red flags, including the fact that the Tide shoot a ton of three-pointers (30.1 per game, eighth in Division I) at a fairly low rate (30.8 percent, 313th) and rank 93rd in KenPom.com's adjusted defensive efficiency.

Still, this team has proved capable of beating anyone, and that'd be a high ceiling coming from the No. 6 seed line.

Projected Seed: No. 8

Boise State is going to be a headache because of its length.

The Broncos' seven-man rotation is made up of Marcus Shaver Jr. (6'2"), Max Rice (6'5"), Abu Kigab (6'7"), Tyson Degenhart (6'7"), Naje Smith (6'7"), Emmanuel Akot (6'8") and Mladen Armus (6'10"), and that group includes five seniors and one junior.

Not surprisingly, that has helped them rank 19th in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency, and their extremely slow tempo adds another wrinkle as an uncomfortable matchup for opponents who want to run.

Kigab (14.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG) and Shaver (14.0 PPG, 37.1 3PT%) lead four players who score in double figures, though the Boise State offense is middle-of-the-road across the board.

As a No. 8 seed, the Broncos would have an uphill battle with a No. 1 seed looming in the second round, but they shouldn't be taken lightly.

Projected Seed: No. 14

All it takes is one hot performance by a double-digit seed that shoots the three-ball well, and your bracket is ruined.

The Patriot League champion Colgate Raiders have the potential to be that team after averaging nearly 10 threes per game while connecting at a 40.3 percent clip that ranks second in the nation.

Jack Ferguson (12.6 PPG, 2.6 threes per game), Tucker Richardson (12.6 PPG, 2.1 threes per game), Nelly Cummings (14.5 PPG, 1.9 threes per game) and Ryan Moffatt (10.0 PPG, 1.6 threes per game) can all dial it up from distance, and that could spell disaster for a top-seeded team.

On top of their shooting ability, the Raiders also have a ton of momentum as winners of 15 in a row, and they won their three conference tournament games by a combined 64 points.

Their resume isn't loaded, but they did beat Syracuse in a 100-85 shootout in November when they buried 18 threes. That performance alone should be enough to make teams think twice about looking past Colgate.

Projected Seed: No. 10

Between a four-game losing streak in non-conference play and a three-game American Athletic Conference losing streak in January that included losses to UCF and East Carolina, the Memphis Tigers seemed like they would be lucky to finish .500.

However, they are 11-1 in their last 12 games, picking up a pair of victories over Houston, and they look like the team they were expected to be when they began the year at No. 12 in the Associated Press poll.

Freshman Jalen Duren is living up to his 5-star billing of late, averaging 13.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 62.0 percent from the field in his last 11. The 6'11" forward is a tough matchup because of his athleticism and ability to run the floor.

With a rotation that goes 10 deep, the Tigers can run with anyone, and they're playing their best basketball at the perfect time.

Projected Seed: No. 12

North Texas still needs to punch its ticket to the NCAA tournament after losing to Louisiana Tech 42-36 in the Conference USA tournament semifinals. The Mean Green are by no means guaranteed an at-large bid at No. 39 in the NET rankings.

However, they won 15 in a row before suffering a two-point loss at UTEP in the regular-season finale, and they bounced back with an 18-point win over Rice in their conference tournament opener Thursday.

North Texas spreads the ball around on offense with five players who average at least eight points per game, but the defense is what gives it an intriguing NCAA tournament outlook.

With 55.4 points allowed per game, the Mean Green feature the stingiest defense in the country, and they also rank among the leaders in three-point defense (27.8 percent, fourth) while playing to KenPom's slowest adjusted tempo.

Until Friday, North Texas was 24-0 when holding opponents to 65 or fewer points.

Projected Seed: No. 9

San Diego State has a lot in common with last year's Loyola-Chicago team, which upset No. 1 seed Illinois in the second round.

The Aztecs are one of the best defensive squads in the nation, checking in at No. 2 in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency, and they play at a deliberate pace that can frustrate opponents with more up-tempo styles.

They have a go-to star in Matt Bradley, who is averaging 17.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, though no one else averages double digits in points. Similarly, the Ramblers' only double-digit scorer last year was Cameron Krutwig (15.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG), and they had a solid cast of supporting players.

San Diego State is 11-1 in its last 12 games, and that loss came by one point to Boise State on the road. The Aztecs can present a huge matchup problem to any team without the patience and discipline to handle their defense and slow pace.

Projected Seed: No. 12

We mentioned earlier that Colgate is No. 2 in the country in three-point shooting with an impressive 40.3 percent.

The top team is South Dakota State at a blistering 44.9 percent.

The Jackrabbits ran the table in the Summit League and then secured the automatic bid with a 75-69 win over North Dakota State on Tuesday. They've reached six of the last 10 NCAA tournaments.

Baylor Scheierman was the conference Player of the Year, averaging 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and he leads the way for a high-scoring offense that ranks second with 86.7 points per game.

It can't be ignored that the Jackrabbits rank No. 223 in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency, but they are capable of hanging with anyone in a shootout.

Stats courtesy of Sports Reference unless otherwise noted and accurate through Thursday.