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5 dark horse candidates for the 2022 Final Four

It’s never too early to start looking ahead!

Check below for our list of 5 dark horse candidates that could reach the 2022 Final Four.

In no particular order:

USC: The Trojans are a combined 47-17 over the past two seasons, which was highlighted by last March’s run to the Elite Eight. Don’t expect the trajectory of this program to change much in 21-22. USC lost its two best players from a year ago in Evan Mobley and Tahj Eaddy, but six of this team’s top eight scorers — Isaiah Mobley, Drew Peterson, Isaiah White, Ethan Anderson, Chevez Goodwin, and Max Agbonkpolo — return. Memphis transfer Boogie Ellis should add some major offensive pop on the perimeter and Isaiah Mobley seems primed to emerge into an All-Pac-12 caliber player as a junior after quietly putting together a strong sophomore season with averages of 9.9 points and 7.3 rebounds. Andy Enfield has USC again in position to be one of the best teams in the Pac-12. 

Auburn: Bruce Pearl took Auburn to the Final Four for the first time in school history in 2019 thanks to the dynamic guard play of Jared Harper and Bryce Brown. If the Tigers go back to college basketball’s most hallowed showcase in 2022, the makeup of their team could be the polar opposite of what it was three years ago. Auburn’s three-four-five could be the best in the sport with the troika of Allen Flanigan (out until December with an achilles injury), five-star freshman Jabari Smith, and North Carolina transfer Walker Kessler. Will this team’s perimeter play be good enough for the Tigers to be considered among the nation’s elite? TBD. Georgia transfer KD Johnson has the chops to be an All-SEC caliber player as a sophomore averaging 13.5 points as a freshman, but Pearl needs the combination of Wendell Green (Eastern Kentucky) and Zep Jasper (Charleston) to be capable at point guard. If that happens, look out.

Illinois: Ayo Dosunmu is gone, but Illinois still possesses two All-Americans in Andre Curbelo and Kofi Cockburn. Those two players anchored wins last season at Michigan and at Wisconsin without Dosunmu in the lineup. Trent Frazier, Da’Monte Williams, and Jacob Grandison also return as key members of the Illini’s rotation. Brad Underwood is bullish on sophomore forward Coleman Hawkins and a troika of transfers — Austin Hutcherson (Wesleyan), Omar Payne (Florida), and Alfonso Plummer (Utah). Plummer is expected to fill the outside shooting void left behind by Adam Miller, who is now at LSU. Most preseason chatter in the Big Ten will focus on Purdue and Michigan, but it would be foolish to discount Illinois. The Illini don’t have what they had when they earned a number one seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, but they still have enough to win multiple games in the bracket in 2022.

Virginia Tech: Four players are back — Keve Aluma, Nahiem Alleyne, Justyn Mutts, and Hunter Cattoor — who averaged 8.5 points or more on last season’s team that reached the NCAA Tournament. The Hokies may appear to be a guard short on paper, but Mike Young went back to his Wofford roots to secure Storm Murphy as a grad transfer. The 6-foot veteran should be a starter for Virginia Tech, as he’s coming off a season where he averaged 17.8 points and shot 40 percent from three-point range while drilling 70 shots from long distance. There’s not a lot of flash surrounding the Hokies, but Young is one of the top offensive minds in the sport and made Virginia Tech a national factor last season when his team upset Villanova early in the year at Mohegan Sun. With Murphy, Cattoor, and Alleyne, this team has established shotmaking and with Aluma, it possesses one of the best players in the ACC. Remember this nugget: Virginia Tech returns three players who started last March’s NCAA Tournament loss against Florida while Virginia — last year’s ACC regular season champion — only returns two starters from its NCAA Tournament loss against Ohio. 

Memphis: Penny Hardaway has never been to the NCAA Tournament in three years as Memphis’ head coach. If that changes in 2022, the Tigers will be a team that no one wants to see in the bracket. With the addition of five-star freshmen Jalen Duren and Emoni Bates, Memphis now boasts one of the most talented rosters in college basketball. The Tigers’ wing combination of Landers Nolley and Miami transfer Earl Timberlake is as capable as any in the sport while DeAndre Williams returns as this club’s indispensable Glue Guy up front. Veterans Alex Lomax and Lester Quinones are set to anchor the point of attack in the back court along with Bates — all three will be significantly better thanks to the addition of Hall-of-Famer Larry Brown as an assistant coach. There’s not a team in the sport that will look forward to playing Memphis this season — especially in March. 

Leftovers