March Madness 2012: 5 Games Nobody Could Have Predicted Correctly

In the epic quest to complete the perfect March Madness bracket, we are still no closer than we were at the start. In the decades that the tournament has spanned, no man, woman or child has correctly laid how the Big Dance will play out from start to finish.

Even the best researcher, pattern-predictor or analyst gets snared on one or two games that just went a remarkably different path than anyone could have projected. It is for these few matchups that we curse the madness that occupies March every single postseason, falling humbly to its power.

Now that the first two major rounds have been completed, leaving us with a extremely exciting Sweet 16, we take a look at back at which games completely screwed over our precisely made picks that had held such promise a mere four days prior.  

(7) Gonzaga over (10) West Virginia

When West Virginia received the No. 10 seed in the East region, I truly believed that they had gotten undercut just a bit by the selection board.

Enjoying a strong year in the Big East with victories over USF, Cincinnati and Georgetown, not to mention some close tough losses to Syracuse, Louisville and Baylor, the Mountaineers were seemingly much better than a lowly No. 10 seed.

Then, I realized that the committee seemingly had given them a breather in the first round with West Coast Conference powerhouse Gonzaga. While the Bulldogs are historically a breakout kind of team, they were extremely unimpressive to me during the entirety of the regular season and, to me, were the perfect No. 10-over-No. 7 pick.

Even amongst my competition, followers and family members, the Gonzaga-West Virginia game belonged to the Mountaineers many times over. Then reality met my prediction in one of the most stunning forms of destruction I had ever seen. The Zags trampled WVU by a depressing 23 points.

In the whole spectrum of what classifies as an upset, this obviously doesn't fit the bill. As for predictability, however, it more than covers it. I couldn't think of a single person I knew who chose Gonzaga and for a good couple reasons, but that led to having each and every one of our brackets busted in just the first round.   

(12) USF over (5) Temple

This is probably just me spit-balling here, but I see a ton of the same qualities that VCU brought to the table last year in this Southern Florida squad. The Rams played some inspired basketball last postseason, rampaging their way into the Final Four in a stunning display of strategy, talent, and even some luck. 

As the Bulls fell just short of the Sweet 16, we have to respect the kind of play they had up to the round of 32. They're an underrated squad led by two young men in sophomore forward Victor Rudd Jr. and freshman guard Anthony Collins, who make a potent combination when each gets going. 

Their strong upset over A-10 regular-season champ Temple twanged my interest in them just enough for me to continue watching their run at a national title. A tough loss to Ohio ruined that as I was looking forward to a UNC-USF matchup.

Some more fun comparisons between Southern Florida and VCU (even though USF lost): 1. Both started out in the First Four; 2. USF would have had a high probability of playing Kansas in the Elite Eight, just as VCU did; and 3. VCU and USF both have catchy three-letter acronyms. 

(11) Colorado over (6) UNLV

When the Buffaloes secured an outright bid into the field of 64 following their first Pac-12 tournament title, no one thought much of it. If anything, many people believed that they received too high a seed considering how depressingly horrible their conference was this past season.

When matched up against the obviously superior UNLV Rebels, I personally considered it one of the easier picks of the first round. The No. 6 seed had placed third in the MWC regular season, losing to a tough New Mexico team in the conference tournament championship. 

Colorado showed up to that game, however, with something to prove. At some point during the game, CU led by 20 points, shutting down the Rebels' three-point attack in a stunning display of offensive and defensive prowess. After a scary comeback attempt, the Buffaloes secured the win and stunned the South region.

Just due to the fact that the entire Pac-12 looked undeserving of a slot in the Big Dance all year, with Colorado coming placing a despairing fifth in the conference, this matchup's outcome seemed extremely obvious beforehand.

Another bracket buster in the books.   

(15) Lehigh over (2) Duke

When it comes to upsets, there is almost nothing more fantastic than a No. 15 seed toppling a powerful No. 2 seed. Considering it's the closest this tournament has ever gotten to the unfathomable 16th seed over a top-tiered squad, we must enjoy the rare occasion when it occurs.

On the second day of the first round, we saw an unprecedented victory as Lehigh took down Duke in stunning fashion. The Mountain Hawks hadn't beaten anyone inside the RPI Top 50 till then, disposing of the historically deadly Blue Devils by a score of 75-70.

While Duke was the worst No. 2 seed in the bracket and, in my opinion, the highest seed with largest chance of being upset, I never expected such a shocking loss. The Blue Devils' lack of size and experience on the court was their downfall, but such a low seed taking advantage in the first round was, as I said, unbelievable.

All the credit, however, certainly goes to the once-in-a-lifetime performance by Lehigh. Playing at the top of their game and beyond, the Mountain Hawks were the perfect kryptonite for one of college basketball's most historical programs.  

(15) Norfolk State over (2) Missouri

When it comes down to upsets this season, this has to be right up with the best of them. The Big 12 tournament champion Missouri was the overall No. 2 seed in the Dance, set to make a much anticipated run at the National Title.

Instead, their dreams were crushed by the lowly 15th-seeded Norfolk State, losing 86-84 in the biggest tournament upset of the past decade. The Tigers were actually my favorite to win the whole thing, basically destroying my entire bracket on only the second day after they fell.

Mizzou's experience was what set them apart in my eyes as seniors Marcus Denmon, Ricardo Ratliffe and Kim English all contributed extensively to this team's dangerous talent pools. Next to them, junior Michael Dixon and sophomore Phil Pressey were also major factors in the Tigers' success.

It was the extremely impressive play of Spartan senior forward Kyle O'Quinn that doomed Missouri, however, as his size, strength and pure drive to win ended the Tigers' journey before it even began.