March Madness 2012: Best Sleeper Final Four Threat from Each Region

This NCAA tournament may not see a true Cinderella win it all, but there will be a healthy amount of upsets. From those upsets, a true sleeper could emerge to reach the Final Four in New Orleans.

For the sake of this article, I'll define sleeper as any team seeded sixth or lower.

Each region has a strong candidate. Here is a breakdown of the teams most likely to break hearts and bust up brackets across the country.

South Region: UConn

Kentucky is the obvious favorite in the South, but the Wildcats may have to go through the defending champions to pull it off.

The eighth-seeded UConn Huskies have tremendous talent, but they have battled inconsistency all year. They still have holdovers like Jeremy Lamb from the team that won it all last season, plus a possible No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, Andre Drummond.

Most importantly for the Huskies, they have a healthy Jim Calhoun on the sidelines to guide them.

With Calhoun present, these Huskies have high potential.

They must knock down free throws, as they shoot only 66 percent as a team. They must also avoid long scoring droughts by getting the ball inside.

If they can do those things, they can play with and beat anyone in the country.

West Region: Memphis

The Tigers are seeded eighth as well, but this team is playing great right now. They have won 11 of their last 12 and during the Conference USA tournament, no team stayed closer than 12 points.

The Tigers have a big-time scorer in Will Barton and they shoot almost 50 percent from the field as a team.

They play an uptempo style and if they pull off the upset over the Michigan State Spartans in the round of 32, look out, as this team will reach New Orleans.

They are peaking at just the right time.

East Region: Texas

Honestly, this region has the smallest chance of producing a sleeper that advances deep. Of those teams in the running, the Longhorns are the best bet. They have quality guard play, and we all know that is huge in the tournament.

J'Covan Brown and Myck Kabongo are smallish, but they are explosive. Kabongo is the pure playmaker, while Brown is the team's leading scorer.

If they can consistently get stops and control the defensive glass, this team has the scoring to pull off upsets. This will get them into transition where they can run with any team.

They are the least likely of this group, but don't sleep on the Longhorns.

Midwest Region: NC State

The Wolfpack are a very talented team. They can score with anybody and they have the size to contend inside. C.J. Leslie looks primed to have a solid tournament and Richard Howell does the dirty work on the inside.

NC State should have beaten North Carolina in the ACC tournament. The Wolfpack were victimized by a coaching gaffe that allowed Leslie to foul out in a tight contest. They had won four in a row before that loss.

The Wolfpack are a top-50 team in scoring, rebounding and assists.

They must lock down on defense to create transition opportunities. This team will surprise people over the next two weeks if they can put it all together.