Cinderella Story

One of the most intriguing parts about March Madness is trying to pick which lower-seeded team is going to upset a higher-seeded team.  It's going to happen.  It does every year.  2009 was the only time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in the mid-80's that all four 1, 2, and 3 seeds made the Sweet 16.  Not convinced?  According to people that are smarter than me, there are 147.57 quintrillion possibilities for predicting the possible winners in a 68-team bracket.  How confident do you feel with your bracket picks now?!

Now before you pick UC-Santa Barbara to go to the Final Four, remember this: The lowest seed to ever reach the Final Four?  George Mason (2006) and LSU (1986)? Only twice.  Villanova (1985) was the lowest seeded team to win a National Championship as a #8 seed.  But there is still going to be a team or two that is going to make you think that this year has to be another exception to the rule.

Will the slipper fit Tai Wesley
and Utah State this year?

Another case for Cinderella: A #12 seed has beat a #5 seed four years in a row and in 9 of the last 10 years.  This is not too surprising because the 5-12 game always seems to match up at least one #5-seeded team with glaring flaws (or else they'd be a higher seed) usually from a "power" conference against an underrated team from a mid-major conference that somehow didn't earn the respect of the Selection Committee.  Utah State is a #12 seed this year in the Southeast Region and is a veteran group of players that are tough defenders and do not allow a lot of second-chance points.  And they don't appreciate the way their invitation to the ball was delivered.  Cue Senior Power Forward Tai Wesley: "Our seed is a slap in the face.  We could have won three more games, then we probably could have gotten a 10 seed." (If Utah State had won three more games this year, they would have been 33-0)  Oh really, tell me how you really feel...I like it.  Upset.  Cinderella?  Maybe.

A similar scenario seems to be playing out in that same part of the Southeast bracket between another 30-win team, Belmont, and Big Ten "power" Wisconsin.  No slaps in the face here, but the result is the same: Upset.  Wisconsin has been iffy away from Madison this year and the #13-seeded Belmont Bruins can play.  The Bruins are second in the nation in 3-pointers per game and they have only lost once since Christmas.  It would set up a Second Round game between a #12-seeded Utah State and #13-seeded Belmont to go to the Sweet 16.  Is that crazy?  It's actually happened eight times, which is more times than I would have guessed.  One of these teams will go home on Saturday as a team that only pulled a First Round upset, while the other team will go on to be this year's Cinderella story going into the second weekend.  Unfortunately, Utah State should expect midnight to strike well before the Final Four.  LSU's and George Mason's records are safe.

Cinderella is a huge fan of
the NCAA Tournament...and Utah State.

Book it.  Fill in your brackets.  It's gotta be one of the 147.57 quintrillion possibilities, right?

"So, you're saying there's a chance!"  - Lloyd Christmas

Yes, Lloyd, but there is more than a chance for the Aggies this year.