NCAA Bracket 2012 Predictions: 6 Teams Guaranteed to Fail Miserably Today

The 2012 NCAA tournament kicks off this afternoon, and 32 teams will lace up their sneakers in hopes of hoisting the national title trophy three weeks from now.

Unfortunately for many of those teams, those hopes will be gone by tonight.

Some teams are doomed by matchup problems, others are doomed by their style of play or comparative lack of talent.

Here's a look at six teams who are guaranteed to fail miserably today.

Loyola (MD) Greyhounds

An impressive run in the MAAC tournament propelled the Loyola Greyhounds to the Big Dance.

Jimmy Patsos' squad relies primarily on Erik Etherly's inside game and the blistering outside shooting of Robert Olson, but they'll need a truckload of help against Ohio State today.

The Buckeyes are a battle-tested product of the rugged, defensive-minded Big Ten, and Jared Sullinger didn't return for his sophomore season for nothing.

He will personally make sure Ohio State wins convincingly.

Prediction: Ohio State 70, Loyola 57

South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Summit League champion South Dakota State mowed down most of its conference competition throughout the winter, notching a 15-3 mark in league play.

But the Baylor Bears are a whole different animal to deal with. It will be extremely difficult for the Jackrabbits to contain all the explosive athletes that Baylor has.

SDSU won't be able to keep Quincy Acy and Perry Jones III off the offensive glass, and as a result, the Bears will wear down the Jackrabbits throughout the game.

Prediction: Baylor 78, South Dakota State 64

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

After its stirring comeback win against Mississippi Valley State Tuesday, you would think the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers would be ready to take on anything, right?

Not so fast. John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats await.

I doubt the Hilltoppers would be ready for the Wildcats even if they had a week to prepare.

A team that already has difficulty with shot selection and execution will have even more trouble against Anthony Davis and company.

Prediction: Kentucky 83, Western Kentucky 59

Colorado Buffaloes

Colorado just won the Pac-12 championship, but here are three simple reasons why that doesn't matter and it won't help them win today:

1. This year's Buffaloes are the same or worse than last year's bubble Buffaloes that missed the tournament.

2. They will struggle to keep pace offensively with UNLV.

3. UNLV is a better team from a better conference (at least for this year).

All signs point toward an early exit for Tad Boyle's crew.

Prediction: UNLV 77, Colorado 65

New Mexico State Aggies

Alright, this one's not a complete lock, but the Aggies are still huge underdogs.

Carried by the production of forward Wendell McKines, New Mexico State lit up the scoreboard on its way to the WAC championship.

They'll face a team that also enjoys keeping scorekeepers busy. Indiana's combination of Cody Zeller in the post with an assortment of outside shooters is tough to manage.

Zeller vs. McKines will be an intriguing matchup, but the Aggies will fail to cover the Hoosiers' wealth of perimeter options.

Prediction: Indiana 74, New Mexico State 65

Harvard Crimson

Harvard seemed quite promising in the early going this season, but the Crimson's Ivy League run didn't turn out to be as dominating as we thought it would be.

Losses to Pennsylvania and Princeton were accompanied by several too-close-for-comfort wins against mediocre conference opponents.

If you couple Harvard's recent struggles with Vanderbilt's recent surge, it doesn't look good for Tommy Amaker's boys.

Prediction: Vanderbilt 70, Harvard 60

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