NCAA Tournament 2012: Vermont & Under-the-Radar Teams Sure to Bust Your Bracket

With a 51-43 win over Stony Brook on Saturday in the America East tournament, it's official: Vermont is back in the Big Dance, and it's ready to bust some brackets.

Since beating Syracuse in 2005, the Catamounts have failed to advance in the tournament, most recently failing against the Orangemen in 2010. But this year is different. Vermont is coming off a monster late-season surge in which the Catamounts have lost just one game since January 16, and since starting the season 4-7, they have gone 19-4.

Yes, this is a mid-major that certainly doesn't face the same caliber of competition as the likes of a Creighton or a Temple on a weekly basis. But the Catamounts have had their share of good wins: There were back-to-back victories against New Hampshire and Boston University, the latter of which was on the road, and the Catamounts overcame a January loss at Stony Brook to beat the Seawolves twice later in the season.

Of course, the second time was to win the conference championship, and in that contest, Vermont held off the Seawolves despite scoring just five points over the final 9.5 minutes. Teams that are disciplined enough to play solid defense down the stretch are the ones that pose a threat come tournament time. 

Vermont also proved its worth in its semifinals matchup against Hartford, a double-overtime, 77-73 nail-biter.

The teams that do well in the NCAA tournament are the ones that improve as the season progresses, the ones that save the best for last and prove they can win as the pressure mounts. That description fits Vermont to a T.

Take a look at a couple of the other under-the-radar teams poised to make a run in this year's dance.

Harvard

The Crimson have had a better regular season than a bunch of the major-conference teams in this year's tournament, but still, an Ivy League team tends to get slighted in the respect department in March.

Consider, for example, the fact that this team has lost just four games but will still likely receive a double-digit seed. With Tommy Amaker at the helm and quality wins against Florida State, Boston College and Saint Joseph's under their belt, look for The House that Jeremy Lin Built to make a quality run in its first dance since 1946.

Virginia Commonwealth

It seems like VCU is busting brackets in the tournament every year, and here it is again. Last year, the 11th-seeded Rams advanced all the way to the Final Four, and in 2007, they took down Duke in the first round. This year, the 28-6 Rams will ride a 17-1 streak (since January 12) into March Madness.