March Madness 2012: 7 Top Teams That Can Lose in the First Weekend

The most exciting part of the NCAA Tournament is watching the top teams go down early.

March Madness is always tough to predict, but there are usually warning signs that allow fans to to see which teams are prone to an upset.

All of these teams have had good enough seasons to earn a four-seed or better, but do not be surprised when any of the schools are watching the Sweet 16 from their couches.

3-Seed: Marquette

Marquette was one of the most consistent teams in the nation this year, finishing second in the Big East with a 14-4 conference record.

More importantly, the team has two seniors in Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder that can lead the Golden Eagles into the Final Four.

The problem is that the selection committee entered Marquette into the world of high-quality mid-majors.

Either Iona or Murray State can cause problems with great guard play and a fast-pace. In the most recent loss to Louisville, Marquette could not handle the speed of the game and ended with 26 turnovers.

Isaiah Canaan of Murray State and Scott Machado of Iona are two of the best point guards in the country and can lead surprising runs in the next few weeks.

1-Seed: Michigan State

Michigan State is a great team with a coach that always has his team peaking at the right time, but there is reason for the Spartans to be concerned.

Freshman Branden Dawson tore his ACL and will be out for the duration of the postseason. While they survived the Big Ten tournament without him, Michigan State will eventually feel the loss of its fourth-leading scorer and second-best rebounder.

The biggest thing the team loses is depth, especially if Draymond Green gets into foul trouble.

Both Memphis and St. Louis are underrated teams that can cause a scare in the second round.

4-Seed: Indiana

If Indiana could play every game in Assembly Hall, they could be a favorite to win the national championship.

Unfortunately, the Hoosiers have struggled away from home this season. Seven of their eight losses on the season were on the road or on a neutral court, including to lowly Nebraska and Iowa.

Indiana is one of only two teams to beat Kentucky this season, and the teams could face each other again in the Sweet 16, but there is no way that the Hoosiers should be looking past the games this weekend.

2-Seed: Duke

Duke seems to always be one of the top seeds in the NCAA tournament, but this year's version is not as good as recent teams.

There are a lot of players that can score, but no one is a consistent threat from game to game. When the three-point shooting goes cold, only Mason Plumlee can put up points in the paint.

Florida State was able to beat the Blue Devils twice by being the more physical team. If another team can match that intensity on the interior, Duke might be too soft to overcome its deficiencies.

3-Seed: Baylor

The teams that win championships are the ones that can remain consistently good for six (or seven) games.

A squad can get hot and cause some upsets, but a good team cannot always get by when they play poorly early.

Inconsistency has been the problem for Baylor all season long, and it might cost the Bears on the biggest stage.

Leading scorer Perry Jones III needs to be the one to carry his team late in games. Jones scored 31 points with 11 rebounds in a win over Kansas State in the Big 12 tournament. Unfortunately, the sophomore has been held to 10 points or less in five of the team's seven losses.

Jones and company can go on a deep run this month, but do not be surprised if they duck out early.

1-Seed: North Carolina

North Carolina believes that John Henson will be able to play after spraining his wrist this week, but the Tar Heels will be in bad shape if he is not able to perform to his full abilities.

Henson was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and is probably the second-best defender in the country behind Kentucky's Anthony Davis. He finished the regular season with 10.1 rebounds per game and 2.9 blocks.

More important than his numbers, Henson alters shots and is simply an intimidating force in the paint for North Carolina. Without him, the team will struggle on defense and it will turn every game into a shootout.

High-scoring games are usually not a problem for UNC, but potential second-round opponent Creighton is one of few teams that can score with anyone in the country. If the Tar Heels do not settle its defense, they could be watching the rest of the tournament from home.

4-Seed: Wisconsin

I am not picking on the Big Ten, but with so many high-seeded teams, a few of them are bound to go down.

Wisconsin could be one of those teams, simply based on the tough draw in the bracket.

If the Badgers can get past Montana, a possible matchup with Vanderbilt looms in the next round. As good as Wisconsin has been this season, the Commodores are one of the most underseeded teams in the nation.

John Jenkins is one of the best scorers in the nation and if he gets hot it might be too much for Wisconsin to handle.