March Madness 2012: Low-Seed Matchups and Upsets to Watch for in Round of 32

Let's play a bit of word association: write down the first thing that come to mind when I say "March Madness."

You may have written down "brackets." Some of you may have opted for "Cinderella" or "upset."

For those of you in the latter group, there's nothing better than watching double-digit seeds advance to the Round of 32 (and beyond) and go head-to-head against one another. Last year, No. 12 Richmond and No. 13 Morehead State tangled for a spot in the Sweet 16 before No. 11 VCU and No. 10 Florida State battled on the way to the Elite Eight.

Of course, for you "brackets" folks, these matchups are no good, as they tend to bust things up.

In any case, let's have a look at a few potential tilts between double-digit seeds this weekend.

No. 12 VCU vs. No. 13 New Mexico State

VCU will begin its road back to the Final Four against fellow mid-major Wichita State, which, while an excellent squad out of the Missouri Valley Conference, will have a tough time containing Bradford Burgess and his new supporting cast.

Those two will meet Friday afternoon/night in Portland, just before fourth-seed Indiana and 13th-seed New Mexico State get down to business. As strong as the Hoosiers' resume looks on paper, don't forget that all three of their wins over top-five teams came at Assembly Hall, with Verdell Jones III in the back court.

IU will have neither of those factors working in its favor at the Rose Garden, thereby giving Wendell McKines and the Aggies a clear path to the "third" round.

No. 12 Harvard vs. No. 13 Montana

Fifth-seed Vanderbilt has the talent and experience to reach New Orleans out of the East Region. The Commodores also come saddled with expectations similar to those faced in each of their last three trips to the Big Dance, all of which ended in losses to double-digit seeds in the opening round.

Harvard at the 12th-seed has the skill, the discipline and the superior SAT scores to make it four-for-four for Vandy, as does 13th-seed Montana against fourth-seed Wisconsin in the early game in Albuquerque. The Big Sky champs have won 14 games in a row while the Badgers, a strong team, have been rather inconsistent all season.

In other words, make way for another 12-vs.-13 tilt, hoops heads!

No. 11 North Carolina State vs. No. 14 Belmont

Mosey on over to Columbus in the Midwest Region on Friday, and you'll find another low-seed scrimmage in the works. First up will be 11th-seed North Carolina State, which will have its hands full with sixth-seed San Diego State.

No more full, though, than with North Carolina, whom the Wolfpack nearly (and probably should've) upended in the ACC Tournament.

Assuming CJ Leslie, Lorenzo Brown and Scott Wood take care of business against the Aztecs, they may well await 14th-seed Belmont. The Bruins have been to the Big Dance in five of the last seven years, though they've yet to break through with a "W." An overachieving Georgetown team should provide perfect fodder with which long-time coach Rick Byrd can add to his resume, so long as Kerron Johnson and Ian Clark hold up their end of the bargain.

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