Looking for a surprise NCAA champ? How about Butler?

Once a week USA TODAY Sports asks its network of college basketball experts to analyze the biggest topics.

This week: Which sleeper team could win the national championship?

Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports: Just about any team in the Big 12. It's the best conference in college basketball and though its best team, Kansas, isn't as lethal as some of the other projected No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, the teams chasing the Jayhawks all could be categorized as dark horses that could turn on the jets in UConn-like fashion during the Big Dance.

But Fred Hoiberg's Iowa State Cyclones jump out based on how his remodeled teams have fared in the last three NCAA tournaments — two third-round finishes and a Sweet 16 finish last season.

It was Iowa State that narrowly fell to the Huskies with the Elite Eight on the line. Watching this team storm back from a 17-point deficit against Oklahoma highlighted its potential to go on a deep tournament run and as well as the parity and depth of a conference with top-tier teams beating up on each other night after night. Big 12 teams will be battle-tested, and that's one ingredient pivotal to this discussion.

Aaron Carrara, Horn Sports: Though they are no stranger to success in the NCAA tournament, I'll take the Butler Bulldogs as a dark horse candidate to make a deep tournament run and even win the national title. After a disappointing 2013-2014 season in which the Bulldogs finished with a losing record and were 4-14 in the Big East, Butler has turned the corner. In preseason polls Chris Holtmann's team was picked toward the bottom of the conference, but Butler has beaten ranked North Carolina, Seton Hall and Saint John's teams. The Bulldogs are second in the Big East, behind Villanova with a 21-8 overall record.

Bennet Hayes,Rush the Court: Ohio State. The biggest reason is D'Angelo Russell. There is no player more capable of carrying his team to six consecutive postseason wins than the Buckeyes freshman. Russell, a combo guard, who can grab 15 rebounds or score 35 points, has rarely sacrificed efficiency in becoming a nightly triple-double threat in the Big Ten. His supporting cast will have to string together its steadiest stretch of basketball to date for the Buckeyes to make a March push, but the senior trio of Shannon Scott, Sam Thompson and Amir Williams has been to the Final Four before. If Thad Matta — an accomplished tournament coach — can squeeze production out of that trio and sophomore Marc Loving, he has a freshman star capable of delivering Ohio State an unexpected national championship.

David Aldridge, Duke Report: Because of its pedigree, it almost seems strange to consider Michigan State a dark horse, but that's exactly what it would be this season. Tom Izzo's team has no wins against Top 25 RPI teams, and the Spartans have been inconsistent throughout the year. In order for a team to make a championship run like UConn's, it needs playmakers capable of getting hot and carrying a team through the grind of the tournament. Michigan State has that in Travis Trice, Denzel Valentine and Branden Dawson. Trice and Valentine have the ability to knock down tough shots and Dawson can be a legitimate presence in the paint. Michigan State still hasn't guaranteed itself a spot in the tournament, but if the Spartans can get there, they have the experience and coaching to be a threat.

Paul Gotham, Pickin' Splinters: Getting hot at the right time is a key ingredient to success in the NCAA tournament, and Maryland is that team. The Terrapins, left off the preseason rankings, have won five in a row and six of seven to move into the top 10 of this week's Coaches Poll. Maryland can match the athleticism of any other team in the country, and the Terrapins make plays. It starts with Dez Wells, who plays his best in the biggest games — see his 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists in a victory last week against Wisconsin. The 6-5, 215 guard hits better than 50% (23-for-44) behind the arc and is nearly impossible to contain off the dribble. Melo Trimble creates for teammates and himself. Maryland's leading scorer (16.2 ppg) also hands out a team best 3.1 assists. Trimble opens the floor with 48 three-pointers (second on the team) and makes plays in the paint. Add 6-9, 205 pound Jake Layman (13.2 ppg/6.2 rpg), and the Terrapins have the weapons needed for a run. The Terps are 9-0 in games decided by six points or fewer. They will not crumble come crunchtime.

Jeremy Simon, Blue Gold Sports: Going deep into the NCAA tournament, and potentially winning it all like UConn stunningly did last year, revolves around three variables: good matchups, great guard play and tough defense. There has been no better poster child for those variables this season than West Virginia. Not exactly considered a dark house (currently projected as a No. 6 seed) the Mountaineers play a special kind of defense that quite frankly watching on film does not do justice. With a defense that leads the NCAA in steals with 11.3 a game and a turnover margin at +7.5 a game the Mountaineers can easily make a run deep in the tournament based solely on their press. West Virginia has six players with more than 30 steals with season including Jevon Carter with 52. Mismatches in the paint could potentially be a problem for the Mountaineers but with the physical play of Devin Williams and Jonathan Holton who leads the team with 26 blocks the Mountaineers will be able to hold their own against most opponents underneath.