NCAA Tournament 2012 Picks: Underdogs You Must Take in Round of 64

With the NCAA Tournament round of 64 ready to begin Thursday, the time has come to look over our brackets for the seventh time and second guess ourselves once more, trying to decide if that No. 5 seed really has a chance to go all the way.

Every March, double-digit seeded teams make improbable runs and favorites exit early, either making casual bracketeers look like geniuses or idiots, and there are some underdogs to watch in this year's tourney.

Colorado

The Pac-12 Tournament champion Colorado Buffaloes have upset potential, as they will play sixth-seeded UNLV on Thursday. CU had no chance of earning a tourney bid unless they won the conference tourney, and they did just that.

They're playing their best basketball of the season, led by double-double machine Andre Roberson and leading scorer Carlon Brown. Although they lost five games by 14 or more points in Pac-12 play, they were unstoppable down the stretch and look better in person than they do on paper.

Montana

Thirteenth-seeded Big Sky champions, the Montana Grizzlies have major upset potential over Wisconsin. They've won 14 straight games, and the Badgers don't have anyone who can match up well with seven-footer Derek Selvig.

Wisconsin will be forced to pick up their sluggish pace against Montana, who scores nearly 71 points per game, 18 points more than Wisconsin allows on average. It's a stretch, but look for the Griz to knock off the Badgers early.

Long Beach State

The 49ers will challenge New Mexico, and it should make for a highly entertaining and close game, one of the best in the second round. LBSU narrowly lost to four tournament teams, including powerhouses North Carolina and Kansas.

Their points per game and points against per game numbers are very similar to New Mexico's, and the inside game should be quite a battle. If Long Beach can get to the foul line 24 times as they've averaged, they'll win in a close one in the No. 12 vs. No. 5 seed contest.

Purdue

Picking a No. 10 seed over a No. 5 isn't incredibly bold, but the two teams in those games are usually very evenly matched, so they present a problem.

The Boilermakers play in a much more challenging conference than St. Mary's (Big Ten against West Coast), and Robbie Hummel has managed to stay healthy, knock on wood.

Both teams can shoot from the outside and avoid sloppy play, but they also each can be lackluster defensively. This should be another nail biter, but in the end Purdue's veteran leadership will propel them to a W.