College Basketball

Rutgers, TCU, San Diego State headline Andy Katz's upset tiers

Updated Mar. 12, 2022 11:09 p.m. ET

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By Andy Katz
FOX Sports College Basketball Analyst

With Selection Sunday quickly approaching, fans are beginning to scout out potential Cinderella teams poised to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. 

As of Friday afternoon, a total of 12 teams had punched their tickets to the Big Dance by winning their respective conference tournaments. That includes the likes of Murray State and South Dakota State, both of whom finished undefeated in conference play.

Heading into the final stretch of conference tournament championships, Andy Katz released his latest set of tiers, which features his favorite Cinderella picks in this year's NCAA Tournament.

Check out Katz’s thoughts on each team below: 

Rutgers, San Diego State, and TCU poised for runs?

Andy Katz discusses why the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, San Diego State Aztecs, TCU Horned Frogs, and the San Francisco Dons could pull off some upsets in the NCAA Tournament.

Tier 1

Rutgers: "Scarlet Knights certainly have the goods with Cliff Omoruyi, Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr. I don't care what seed they are, they can win a game or two and advance to the Sweet 16." 

TCU: "Had a big win over Baylor in the Big 12 tournament. They've already beaten Kansas this season. With Mike Miles they certainly could pull off an upset or two to get to the Sweet 16."

San Diego State: "Matt Bradley, that transfer from Cal, is a big shot-maker."

San Francisco: "They gave Gonzaga a really strong game In the semifinals of the WCC tournament. They have great guard play with Jamaree Bouyea and Khalil Shabazz they certainly can cause problems for teams."

Tier 2

Chattanooga: "David Jean-Baptiste with that buzzer beater over Furman in overtime [to get to the tournament.]"

Murray State: "KJ Williams. Remember that name."

South Dakota State: "They won 21 in a row to win the Summit."

Loyola Chicago: The champs of the [Missouri Valley Conference] are a very experienced team. They certainly can win a game or two."

Tier 3

Mountain West: "Out of the Mountain West, look out for Boise State and Colorado State."

Davidson: "And Davidson out of the A-10, assuming the Wildcats are in."

Tier 4

Bryant: "They may be a 16 [seed] but look out for them. Peter Kiss, former Rutgers player, is a big-time scorer. He certainly could do some damage for the Bryant Bulldogs out of the NEC."

Colgate: "Very disciplined team led by Matt Langel out of the Patriot League. They certainly could win a game and be a surprise team in the NCAA Tournament."

Andy Katz is a longtime college basketball writer, analyst and host. He can be seen on FOX Sports and Big Ten Network platforms, as well as March Madness and NCAA.com, and he hosts the podcast "March Madness 365." Katz worked at ESPN for nearly two decades and, prior to that, in newspapers for nine years.

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Rutgers Scarlet Knights

TCU Horned Frogs

San Diego State Aztecs

San Francisco Dons

Chattanooga Mocs

Murray State Racers

South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Loyola Chicago Ramblers

North Texas Mean Green

Boise State Broncos

Colorado State Rams

Davidson Wildcats

Kent State Golden Flashes

Bryant Bulldogs

Colgate Raiders

Clifford Omoruyi

Geo Baker

Ron Harper

Mike Miles

Matt Bradley

Jamaree Bouyea

Khalil Shabazz

David Jean-Baptiste

Peter Kiss

College Basketball