March Madness Results 2012: Predicting How Long Surprising Winners Will Last

Even though there weren't many surprising results on the NCAA Tournament's first day, the south region did provide at least some excitement. After all, they can't call it March Madness unless a couple final scores make fans do a double take.

Let's examine the three most surprising teams to advance from Thursday's action and analyze how far they will go in the big dance. For a complete list of results from Day 1, visit the official NCAA web site.

Colorado

Colorado fans are probably still holding their breath after watching the Buffaloes nearly blow a huge lead against UNLV late last night. They managed to right the ship just in the nick of time, however, and will face Baylor in the next round.

The Bears didn't have an easy go of it in their opener, either. They need a late charge to put away a pesky South Dakota State squad, which exposed some of Baylor's flaws. The Buffaloes have one day to study the tape and see how to exploit them.

I expect Colorado to put up a serious fight. It has the athleticism to keep up with Baylor's high-flying stars. Ultimately, I still expect the Bears to squeak out a narrow victory.

Predicted Finish: Round of 32

VCU

Could they really pull off another Final Four run? That's the first thought to run through my head as the Rams closed out a very talented Wichita State team on Thursday. Their relentless defense makes life difficult on their opponents, no matter how battle-tested they are.

A lot of credit for the team's success goes to head coach Shaka Smart, who always has his players ready to battle for 40 minutes. They have cleared the mental hurdle of beating teams that have more storied histories or more highly-touted recruits, which is crucial.

VCU faces a team fitting that exact category in the next round. Indiana defeated New Mexico State. I have a feeling the Rams will pull off another marquee upset before a narrow loss to Kentucky.

Predicted Finish: Sweet 16

Iowa State

The Cyclones played with a chip on their shoulder against defending champion Connecticut, and rightfully so. All of the television talking heads were already talking about a potential UConn clash with Kentucky, completely overlooking Iowa State.

Maybe the Cyclones will starting getting some respect after shooting 48 percent from the field to easily dispatch the Huskies. They will need to take their game to an even higher level to knock off the Wildcats, who are the tourney's top seed.

The combination of Royce White and Scott Christopherson gives Iowa State a chance to put Kentucky on upset alert, but in the end the favorites are just too deep and too strong.

Predicted Finish: Round of 32