March Madness 2012 Picks: Syracuse and More High Seeds Destined to Fail

Syracuse is one of several high seeds destined to fail in this year's NCAA Tournament. With very few elite teams this season, there could be a great number of upsets because the gap in talent between major programs and mid-majors is as small as it's ever been.

Injuries and bad matchups are two reasons why high seeds don't live up to expectations in March Madness, so let's look at three top teams who won't live up to the hype in the tournament.

Syracuse, East Region

With Fab Melo set to miss the entire NCAA Tournament because of eligibility issues, Syracuse has lost its best player and leading rebounder.

With Syracuse not ending the season well against UConn and Cincinnati in the Big East tournament, losing its best big man will hurt the Orange's front court depth, and it makes their chances of making the Final Four much worse.

With possible matchups against challenging opponents such as Florida State, Ohio State, Kansas State and Vanderbilt, it will be tough for Syracuse to get to the Final Four without its best player.

Duke, South Region

For Duke to advance past the Sweet 16 would be shocking given the dependence it has on its three-point shooting success.

If the Blue Devils aren't shooting well from the outside, their hopes of defeating top teams severely diminish. If they meet No. 3 seed Baylor in the Sweet 16, Duke will not be able to match up with the athleticism or the guard play of the Bears.

Duke has been overrated all season and will not make a deep run in this year's tournament because it doesn't have enough talent compared defeat superior teams.

The Blue Devils also don't have a dominating scorer in the front court that can contend with teams with spectacular talent up front such as Kentucky.

Georgetown, Midwest Region

The Georgetown Hoyas are a No. 3 seed in the tournament this season, but don't pick them to advance to the Elite Eight or the Final Four.

Against teams in March Madness this season, the Hoyas were just 7-6, including a 3-3 record against those same teams in the month of February.

Against the top three teams the Hoyas played this season (Marquette, Syracuse and Kansas), they went 1-3.

With trouble against elite teams and no dominating scorers who can take over games, don't expect Georgetown to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament this year.