NCAA Bracket 2012: Power Ranking the Coolest Team Names in This Year's Field

In the 2012 NCAA tournament, you're going to see a lot of Wildcats, a lot of Tigers, a few Bulls and even a couple of Crimson teams.

To the teams that bear nicknames like these, I have one word to say, one that must be expressed in all caps:

BORING.

The problem with college team names is that they're awfully repetitive. I like the ones that are a little more unusual. They're more awesome than the run-of-the-mill nicknames by default, and that makes them easy to appreciate.

In this year's NCAA tournament field, there are five team names that stand out as being more awesome than the rest of the rabble.

5. South Dakota State Jackrabbits 

If you've never heard of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, that's probably because they've never made the NCAA tournament before. These Jackrabbits are going dancing for the very first time.

One thing we know for sure is that the Jackrabbits aren't going to intimidate any of their opponents with their team name. Jackrabbits just aren't as scary as, say, Tigers and Wildcats.

But Jackrabbits is nothing if not original, so I give South Dakota State points for that. It gets additional points for reminding me of the Jackrabbit Slim's scene in Pulp Fiction (a $5 milkshake sounds amazing right now).

Does South Dakota State actually stand a chance of winning? Well, the university gave us Adam Vinatieri, and he's a winner, so why not?

If not, at least we can all have fun going to public places talking about Jackrabbits and Big Dances. Eavesdroppers will be flabbergasted.

4. Creighton Bluejays

There's a Major League Baseball team north of the border called the "Blue Jays," so Creighton's moniker isn't quite as original as South Dakota State's.

Then again, Creighton did see fit to make "Bluejays" one word despite the fact there is no (recorded) species in the world known as a "bluejay." It's two words.

Creighton forced the two words together just because it felt like it, apparently. Like a boss.

Unlike South Dakota State, Creighton does have a rich history when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays have gone dancing 16 times already, losing in the "third place game" (whatever that is) three times between 1941 and 1974.

I'd wager the Bluejays are more famous for producing a guy who went on to play for another bird-oriented team: former St. Louis Cardinals great Bob Gibson. He played basketball at Creighton, and would go on to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.

If Creighton's athletic department can produce a player like that, one wonders why it doesn't attract more high-profile athletes. Don't kids these days want to be just like Bob Gibson?

3. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

The NCAA tournament certainly is not uncharted territory for the Hilltoppers. They've already made 21 tourney appearances, making it as far as the Final Four in 1971.

Western Kentucky earned the right to play in-state rival Kentucky in the Round of 64 with its comeback win over Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday night. As much as I'd like to see an upset, my gut tells me the Hilltoppers are going to get owned.

I'll say this, though: as far as team nicknames go, the Wildcats don't have [bleep] on the Hilltoppers.

Listen, it's easy to sit back and name your team the Wildcats. It's much harder to climb a hill and feel inspired, which I assume is exactly how the Hilltoppers got their name. 

Maybe it was Romeo Crennel, who played at Western Kentucky and got his coaching career started there as a grad assistant in 1970. The only problem with that theory is that it looks like Crennel has never climbed a hill in his entire life.

2. Vermont Catamounts

The Catamounts aren't quite in the NCAA tournament just yet. They'll have to beat Pat Knight's Lamar Cardinals on Wednesday night, and then they'll be faced with a matchup against top-seeded North Carolina.

We'll just have to enjoy the name "Catamounts" while we still can. It's definitely a fun one to say.

But what in the heck is a Catamount anyway?

I'm told (by Wikipedia, he admitted ashamedly) that it's the same thing as a cougar, a puma, a mountain lion, a panther and, presumably, a wildcat.

I imagine the genesis of the Catamounts nickname involved a guy with very little time on his hands and an encyclopedia of the animal kingdom. All he had to do was find an alternative to "Wildcats," a nickname that is overly rampant in college sports.

Hats off to that guy, if he's even out there. Goodness knows there are too many Wildcats out there already.

1. Saint Louis Billikens

Go ahead. Say it.

Billikens. 

Now say it five times really fast, preferably in front of your loved ones. They'll think you've gone mad and the next thing you know you'll be wearing a straight jacket. 

Yeah, it's kind of a freaky word. And, in an odd way, a funky word. I like it.

When you look at Saint Louis' mascot (pictured), it's easy to sit there and ask yourself, "Is this a joke?" It's just plain weird looking, and it looks like it was blatantly designed for photobombing opportunities.

But the Billiken is no joke. Per the university's website, it's a "good-luck figure who represents 'things as they ought to be.'"

Whoa. 

I daresay Saint Louis' team name does something that few other team names can make you do. It makes you think.

For your printable NCAA bracket, click here.