The favorites don't always win in March Madness. Among the reasons why the NCAA Tournament is incredibly enthralling is its sheer unpredictability. Seeing a Cinderella team come out of nowhere and smack higher-seeded teams in the head with a glass slipper gives college basketball fans an indescribable feeling they only get from watching arguably the best postseason tournament in sports.

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This year, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Arizona Wildcats, Baylor Bears, and Kansas Jayhawks are the No. 1 seeds, but we should definitely not forget the potential of some lower-seeded teams to wreak havoc and light our brackets on fire with stunning upsets. With that said, let's now take a look at three schools with a tasty potential to be the darlings of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

3 dark horses that could shock in the 2022 NCAA Tournament

3. Murray State Racers

You may remember the Racers as the team that Ja Morant led in the 2018-19 season that also made loud noises in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. A few years later, Murray State is back to dance in March and with some bad intentions to make even louder noises in 2022. Murray State only has two losses so far this season: one against the East Tennessee State Buccaneers (neutral site) back in November and the other at the hands of the Auburn Tigers on the road.

Since that defeat to Auburn, the Racers have not looked back, winning 20 games in a row, including in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship game against the Morehead State  Eagles. The knock on Murray State is that it only has a 2-1 Quadrant 1 record, but that win streak just can’t be ignored.

The Racers’ defense is capable of crippling opponents’ offensive game plans in the NCAA Tournament. They are 40th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency with only 95.1 points allowed per 100 possessions and will be entering the first round ranked 27th overall by KenPom – higher than the North Carolina Tar Heels (29), Ohio State Buckeyes (32), Michigan Wolverines (33), and Wisconsin Badgers (34). It’s not crazy to say that Murray State is the most lethal team outside of the power conferences.

2. Arkansas Razorbacks

Arkansas finished regular-season play fourth in the SEC with a 13-5 conference record. Eric Musselman’s team also got booted out of the conference tournament after a loss to the Texas A&M Aggies, so the Razorbacks have some bad taste in the mouth they want to get rid of in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, where they will meed the Vermont Catamounts. The Razorbacks have shown that they can rebound from adversity and go on a tear against quality competition when they went on a nine-game undefeated streak mid-conference play following an ugly 0-3 start to SEC action and a lackluster non-conference schedule that included a loss to the Hofstra Pride.

During that win streak, the Razorbacks eked out wins over the likes of the LSU Tigers, Texas A&M, West Virginia Mountaineers, and Auburn. Arkansas’ run ended in a loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide but shrugged that setback before another going on another hot stretch that saw the Razorbacks stitch together five straight wins, a span that even featured an upset win at home over the Kentucky Wildcats and their second victory at the expense of LSU.

In short, the Razorbacks have already proven they can get into a groove and bring down big teams one after another. The real question for them in the NCAA Tournament is whether they would be able to get into their rhythm.  Arkansas has a clear star in JD Notae, who is the team’s offensive powerhouse but can also get the job done defensively. The Razorbacks play with some serious speed that often capitalizes on teams not being able to set up quickly on defense, hence Arkansas being a top-10 team nationally in terms of fouls drawn per game (19.8).

1. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

We just can’t talk about insane win streaks without mentioning the Scarlet Knights, who Tony Soprano’d their way into pulling off one of the most unforgettable non-March Madness runs in recent memory.

College basketball doesn’t make sense in more ways than one, and the Scarlet Knights just seem to be the type that can go on a deep, unexplainable run just like when they somehow found a way to successively take down the Michigan State Spartans, Ohio State Buckeyes, Wisconsin Badgers, and Illinois Fighting Illini – all ranked teams at that time – in February despite being an unranked squad.

You can forget about the fact that Rutgers is just 239th in the nation in scoring with only 67.9 points per game or that it only has a 49.5 effective field goal percentage. The Scarlet Knights throttled some of the best teams in the nation in a fashion not seen before. That’s all you need to know why Rutgers is a sleeper who can take on a long pumpkin ride in the NCAA Tournament.