Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz, Isis “Ice” Young, Kevin O’Connor and 13-year NBA veteran Marcus Morris discuss teams and players who could surprise the field of 68 in the 2025 NCAA Men’s basketball tournament.

Video Transcript

Time to see which team is bringing the Cinderella energy presented by the all new Acura ADX.

We’re looking for you guys to identify which underdog teams have what it takes to be the Cinderella of this year’s tournament, and I wanna do this in a sincere way because peek behind the curtain, we’re all sitting together and we’re going over this bracket.

Uh, there are years where you look at it and say I love this 12 seat or I love this 15 seat we’re all sleeping on.

This year’s a little tougher.

I don’t know that there are as many Cinderellas just out there flying around.

So I, is there a Cinderella that you look at and say, yeah, this team could go on a run.

Uh, there, there are a few.

I feel like from some of the lower seeds, I think Akron, like Akron is a team that shoots the 3 top 10 in the country.

Uh, everyone on the floor shoots the 3 for their team, so you get into a game in which Arizona is not guarding the 3 very well or they get out in transition.

They could upset them and then the next game that they would have to win would be between Oregon and Liberty.

I think that’s possible.

So I actually feel like Akron would be my sleeper and my 13th seed to.

Get to the Sweet 16.

I’m gonna say it on the other side, I think a team that’s in the top 4 seeds, but that maybe we don’t talk about enough is Maryland.

I think I think Maryland could be very, very good, yeah, I, yeah, you like Derek Queen.

I mean he’s such a funky player he’s kind of a throwback but also kind of a modern style player with this dribble drive game.

I mean like this dude looks like he’s an NBA level player offensively.

It’s just a matter of defensively what level he reaches, but Maryland’s a lot of fun to watch in part because of Derek.

Queen’s weird style of play.

I agree with that.

I like Dare Queen, good player, really good player, really good touch, played in mid range.

He got this little one leg dirk fade away that I like.

Listen man, he can be an NBA player.

NBA, I, I think he could be an NBA All-Star.

You don’t have centers in the league moving.

He gave me that De Marcus Cousins field, right?

Just not as big.

That’s not as big, can shoot the three great hands.

I love a long t-shirt.

I hope he take that right to the NBA and keep it going, but I.

Love Derek Queen.

That’s part of the throwback.

He also looks like a throwback.

Is there a Cinderella out there that you like in this thing?

I’m gonna rock with McAneese State.

Mcneese Macneese, how you, however you, yeah, Mcneese, I like McNeees.

I like the swag, man.

I just like how they come into the gym with with the speaker, got the, the, uh, the, uh, manager coming in posting.

I, I, I love the way they just handleel.

Listen, a team that’s playing free like that, I think they have a shot.

I, I won’t the Maryland conversation is only.

Interesting to me because I won’t say that you can be a Cinderella when you’re sitting where they’re sitting, but I do think that we’re looking at a pack of big 10 schools in Maryland, Michigan that we already talked about, uh, Michigan State we’ve talked about like Wisconsin.

These are all teams that while we were all salivating over the SEC, I can see going on deep runs in this thing.

So, uh, it’s interesting.

That’s who we think will bring the Cinderella energy this March presented by the all new Acura ADX crafted to match your energy.