Raise your hand if you foresaw Loyola-Chicago and Sister Jean capturing the imagination and hearts of the college basketball world before their Final Four run in the 2018 NCAA tournament.
Is your hand raised? If so, you probably have the ability to predict the future. How about guessing the next Loyola-Chicago?
This is probably the year when another midmajor program could surprise and make a deep NCAA tournament run. In the regular season, Stephen F. Austin upset Duke. Evansville stunned Kentucky. Top-10 teams were as reliable as the early presidential polls.
The serious Cinderella candidates are starting to rise to the top, though, some familiar and some likely not so much to the average college hoops fan.
Dayton and San Diego State turned into midmajor powerhouses this year. They're in line for No. 1 or No. 2 seeds with one conference loss between them.
Remember the names Obi Toppin for the Flyers and Malachi Flynn for the Aztecs. Neither under-the-radar All-America likely will win NCAA player of the year (that honor typically stays within the Power Five), but the two will keep us glued to our TV screens during March Madness. Toppin is a highflier, no pun intended. And Flynn lets it fly from deep like Steph Curry. No joke, either.
When it comes to not-as-hyped NCAA tournament squads from smaller conferences, keep an eye on BYU and Northern Iowa.
The Cougars made sure former No. 1 Gonzaga didn't go unblemished in the West Coast Conference. Not many opponents made the Zags look as overmatched as they were in a 91-78 loss last month in Provo, Utah. Yoeli Childs, a versatile 6-8 senior forward, owned arguably the best frontcourt in college basketball with 28 points and 10 rebounds that night.
