The NCAA Tournament is the great equalizer and although no 16 seed has even beaten a number one seed yet, one day it will happen, because no matter how much time goes by in sports, eventually you will see everything.
March Madness always has a number of upsets and games that come as a surprise for fans, including when George Mason upset a number of teams while making its run to the Final Four, as well as Butler, who made it to the championship game two years in a row, losing one to Duke on the final shot.
This season there are a number of potential upsets in each region, including in the West, where Harvard in the Ivy League could surprise New Mexico, as well as Ole Miss, who could ride their SEC title to an upset victory over Wisconsin.
There are also some interesting matchups in the East and South brackets, including games between Butler and Bucknell, as well as Syracuse and Montana and UCLA and Minnesota. VCU could get surprised by Akron, while North Carolina and Villanova will battle it out in the eight-nine game.
Here is a full BRACKET for the tournament and here are some of the most interesting games and ones that could turn out to be upsets:
No. 12 Oregon vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State
This pick has become a sexy one since Oregon won the Pac-12 tournament, but it also is for good reason, as the Cowboys looked a bit vulnerable in the Big 12 tournament. OK State will be tough to beat no matter what due to the play of freshman star Marcus Smart, but the Ducks have the guard play to run fast and have shown that they can play in the postseason. The next matchup would be against Saint Louis, who is tough at number four, but if the Ducks can keep Smart from scoring too much, they will be able to pull the upset.
No. 6 UCLA vs. No. 11 Minnesota
The Bruins had a solid finish to the season despite losing in the Pac-12 tournament and the team will be trying their best to get a good run in before Shabazz Muhammad declares for the draft. Unfortunately for UCLA, they are matched up against a solid Minnesota team that has played against some of the top teams in the nation in the Big Ten. Making matters even worse for the Bruins, the team could be distracted by reports from the LA Times that coach Ben Howland could be fired. A loss would likely clinch that and unless they make a run to the Elite Eight, he could be toast.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 15 Iona
There is usually a 15-2 upset in the tournament, like Lehigh did last year against Duke and although it probably won't happen, the Buckeyes should be alert. The team did a great job in the Big Ten tournament, but Iona comes into the game hot and won't be intimidated by the Buckeyes.
Other candidates:
- No. 10 Iowa State vs. No. 7 Notre Dame
- No. 14 Davidson over No. 3 Marquette
- No. 10 Colorado vs. No. 7 Illinois
- No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 Ole Miss
