March Madness: 4 Hottest Teams Entering the NCAA Tournament

Getting hot at the right time. An adage with no basis in truth or a core component of postseason play? Would you want to be the team tasked with finding out by slowing down a winner of 10 straight games in March?

Most folks believe that recent form matters, especially in a format like the NCAA Tournament. In fact, the college basketball postseason may be one of the few scenarios in which momentum does truly carry over from game to game.

Those who believe heavily in momentum, here are your camels to ride to the oasis. For those who call poppycock, consider this your fade list.

NCAA Tournament: Hottest Teams Entering March Madness

VCU Rams (27-7, 6 Wins, 11 Seed in South)

The Rams are one of America's most popular mid-major darlings heading into this year's tournament. Coach Martelli's bunch peaked in March and ran the table in the A-10 tournament, securing a dreamy bid in the dance against a heavily banged-up North Carolina team.

Six wins in a row isn't anything to sneeze at this time of year, especially considering the Tar Heels only won 5 of 9 down the stretch without their star, Caleb Wilson.

VCU is only a 2.5-point dog right now on FanDuel Sportsbook against the 6-seed Tar Heels, as close to a 50/50 pick as you're going to get in a 6-vs-11 game. Astute bracketeers will surely be jumping on the opportunity to get a hot Rams team at a good price, while the masses will blindly overpick North Carolina due to their seed.

The Rams are the top value pick in this year's tournament for gaining ground on the rest of your bracket pool.

USF Bulls (25-8, 11 Wins, 11 Seed in East)

They call the East the "region of death" this year, and part of the reason is this red-hot Bulls team is lurking way down in the 11th position, ready to pounce on 6-seed Louisville if they show up with anything less than their A game.

USF destroyed the AAC tournament, getting a bye to the semifinals and then winning each of their 2 matchups by 15+ points. Blowing people out has been a thing in Tampa for a while. The Bulls have won 6 of their last 7 games by double digits. Their last loss was in January.

Should Louisville be quaking in their red boots? These are some scary stats we're dropping about their opponent here. We must mention that USF only played one ranked team in the year, an 11-point loss to Alabama in December. Louisville is favored by 4.5 points right now on FanDuel Sportsbook, but these Bulls are coming into the KeyBank Center with as much confidence as any team in the bracket.

Miami (OH) RedHawks (32-1, 1 Win, 11 Seed in Midwest)

We promise this isn't just a list of the "top 11 seeds in the tournament." We can't do this list and not include the team that has won 32 of their last 33.

Sure, the one loss was a bad one, and it was recent. UMass is not good. But man, did you see the RedHawks in that play-in versus SMU? They set a play-in record for the most three pointers attempted with 41 and hit 39% of them. That's hard to beat.

With a playstyle like Miami's, they can beat anyone if they hit enough 3s. That's a big if, though. Can they hit 39% on 41 three pointers for 6 more games? We say no. But can they hit Tennessee with a barrage of treys and make that streak 33 of 34 wins in a row? It's certainly well within the realm of possibility, and the buy-in is greater now than ever after that win over SMU.

Many will flock to Miami (OH) in their brackets. Even before this SMU win, they were sure to be a popular Cinderella pick with that 31-1 record. The value is higher now than ever on the Tennessee Volunteers after the RedHawks earned a statement win on Wednesday night.

High Point Panthers (30-4, 14 Wins, 11 Seed in South)

The High Point Panthers have the longest winning streak in the tournament at 14 games, but are still double-digit dogs against the 5-seed Badgers of Wisconsin in Portland, OR, on Thursday.

The Panthers rank 247th in the nation this year in strength of schedule, which is right at the bottom third percentile. To improve to 30-4 and capture the Big South title, HPU beat the likes of Winthrop, UNC Asheville, and Gardner-Webb. Not exactly the blue bloods Wisconsin has earned wins over this year, like 1-seed Michigan, 2-seed Purdue, and 3-seeds Michigan State and Illinois.

It's hot and small against the big, bad bully. A tale as old as March itself.

Which March Madness odds stand out to you this year? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest college basketball betting odds to see the full menu of options.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.