2012 March Madness: Programs That Will Fall Flat on Their Face

With March Madness just a few days away, it’s never too early to predict the teams that will fall flat on their face once the 2012 NCAA Tournament hits.

While teams like Murray State and Creighton are coming into this with excellent records and little experience, the same can be said for Missouri. None of these teams are college basketball powerhouses, but all had great regular seasons.

As good as their regular season was, reality is just a jump ball away. These are the teams that will flop.

Murray State Racers

I understand that the hype around the Racers is warranted with their 30-1 record this season, but they have one really impressive win on their resume, and the rest are walkovers.

No offense to the Ohio Valley Conference but to think that 30-1 there will translate to a serious run at a national title is not realistic. I don’t care how many games Murray State won.

While the Racers have gotten this far on their superior shooting, they haven’t faced the kind of defenses that will start to rise to the top of the tournament bracket. Murray State will win two games at most.

Missouri Tigers

While the Murray State Racers are an underdog that will be exposed, the Missouri Tigers will be exposed on a more national stage.

Missouri is all about the offense and shooting the basketball, but that doesn’t work when facing stellar defensive teams that take away second and third shots. With a real lack of size, Missouri and their 27-4 record will get pushed around.

Once a few seven-footers start getting physical with the Tigers the fun will be over and so will Missouri’s chances at a national title.

Creighton Bluejays

The Creighton Bluejays are another highly touted mid-major that is said to be a serious Cinderella candidate. If that’s true, why did they lose five games on what could be the easiest schedule in history?

I love the underdog as much as the next guy, but I don’t see what people are clamoring about with the Bluejays. Put up against a tough defense, the Bluejays will fold.

With stellar offensive numbers and a serious ability to rebound, I give them a chance to win in the first round, but they will flop in the second round when the real talent shows up.

Check back for more on the NCAA Basketball as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s College Basketball Page to get your fill of college basketball.

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