March Madness 2012: High Seeds That Will Destroy Your Bracket

Every season, there are a couple high seeds that end up getting eliminated much earlier than most people anticipated, and plenty of brackets proceed go up in flames. After all, it's called March Madness for a reason. Upsets are the name of the game.

Let's examine some top seeds that won't live up to expectations this year, ultimately destroying plenty of otherwise tremendous brackets.

Syracuse

Syracuse's tournament will be decided by the team's ability to overcome the loss of Fab Melo. The star center played a major role on defense, and replacing him will be a tall task for Jim Boeheim. In fact, it's probably impossible.

Adding to the Orange's problems is a tough region. Ohio State, Florida State, Vanderbilt and even Wisconsin have strong enough teams to survive the tournament journey. Having to beat two of those squads just to reach the Final Four makes Syracuse a long shot despite the No. 1 seed.

I expect Syracuse to bow out in the Sweet 16, which would be terrible news for anybody who selected them to make it to New Orleans.

Georgetown

Georgetown has had its fair share of big dance failures over the past couple years. Unfortunately for fans of the Hoyas, it appears destined to happen again. They face an underrated opponent in Belmont right away in the opening round.

The Hoyas don't have one player who can take over the game, which means that, in key moments, they tend to make bad decisions because nobody wants to take charge. In a tournament where there's plenty of narrow games, that's a fatal flaw.

Don't be shocked if the Bruins end up sending the Hoyas back home right away. They have enough senior leadership to make it happen.

Duke

The Blue Devils were riding high entering their season finale against North Carolina. The Tar Heels crushed them in that game, and Duke eventually lost in the ACC Tournament semifinals. So they don't enter the tourney with any positive momentum.

Duke's biggest problem is its porous defense. The Blue Devils struggle to get key stops, and they'll need plenty of those to reach the Final Four. Austin Rivers and Seth Curry must step up their games on the defensive end to avoid an upset.

They might be able to do it for a round or two, but Baylor's athleticism will be too much to handle. Duke won't make it past the Sweet 16.