NCAA Bracket 2012 Predictions: Cinderellas Whose Story Will Last into Sweet 16

Without Cinderellas, March isn’t madness.

Sure, bracket pools will always draw in the masses, but it’s the opportunity for an underdog to emerge that sets the NCAA tournament apart. 

The New York Giants won the Super Bowl after just sneaking into the postseason.  No thrill of their victory stemmed from their low seeding, though.  When the eighth-seed Memphis Grizzlies shocked the San Antonio Spurs last year, the hype didn’t compare to VCU and Butler’s runs.

Why?  Because in David vs. Goliath storylines, professional teams, minus rare exceptions, fail to fill the role of David.  In college basketball, Goliath slayers wait in the wings every year.

Here are those slayers that will still be alive in the Sweet 16.

For your printable NCAA Bracket, click here.

3. Virginia Commonwealth

Who didn’t see this one coming?

Shaka Smart and VCU are back.  The Rams enter the Big Dance on an impressive 17-1 run to conclude the regular season.  The Drexel team that they beat to win the CAA Tournament had won 19 straight games before their date with Virginia Commonwealth.

Knocking off Wichita State in Round 1 won’t be easy, but the Shockers are coming off a disappointing loss to Illinois State.  Indiana is VCU’s biggest hurdle to get to the Sweet 16.  But the Rams have a 7’0”, 250-pound rotational player in D.J. Haley who will effectively be used to disrupt Cody Zeller.

2. Long Beach State

Long Beach State’s signature wins came against Pittsburgh when they were still the No. 8-ranked team in the nation and the then-No. 15 Xavier.  The 49ers only lost to Kansas by eight points and North Carolina by six this season as well.  Even more than their resume, though, Long Beach State’s makeup matches one of a Cinderella.

They have their go-to standout scorer in point guard Casper Ware.  T.J. Robinson plays the role of their beast on the boards.  Larry Anderson is their lights-out three-point shooter.

But the key to the 49ers is that five out of their seven core players are seniors. 

New Mexico failed to beat a ranked team outside of their conference.  Louisville shakily finished the regular season before they got hot.  And before last year, winning the Big East Tournament resulted in susceptibility to an early exit due to fatigue.

1. Xavier

Xavier is coming off of a tough loss in their conference tournament in which they showed vulnerability inside.  Luckily for the Musketeers, though, Notre Dame and Duke don’t boast big men who are capable of 26-point, 14-board, eight-block games like St. Bonaventure’s Andrew Nicholson.

Tu Holloway is a phenomenal scorer and surrounding him are sharp shooters from the outside in Mark Lyons and Dezmine Wells.  While that trio carries most of the scoring load, Xavier is anchored defensively by the 7’0”, 275-pound Kenny Frease.

This is a team that has fought through adversity to get where they are today.  Because of that, they'll have the mental edge over the vast majority of their opponents.

The Fighting Irish lost three out of their last five games to end the season while the Blue Devils lost two of their last three.  Xavier will pull off the pair of upsets and not just make it to the Sweet 16, but they’ll challenge for an Elite Eight berth.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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