NCAA Tournament 2012: Sweet 16 Poised for More Upsets

The second set of Sweet 16 games could supply yet more upsets to an already hectic, never-before-seen, bracket.

On Friday, we will see the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, the Kentucky Wildcats, face off against the Indiana Hoosiers. If you recall, the Hoosiers are one of the two teams that beat Kentucky this season thanks to a last second three-pointer by Christian Watford.

That will be in the back of the Hoosiers' minds and serve as a reminder that their great perimeter shooters and stifling team defense has fueled them to victory before and can do it again.

Combine that, with Kentucky's offensive struggles of late and Indiana has a good chance to pull of the upset. Kentucky's Darius Miller and Doran Lamb combined to shoot 3-of-16 from long range against Iowa State. Forcing Kentucky to shoot from outside, while covering Terrance Jones and Anthony Davis tightly, should make this game come down to the very end.

And Indiana knows that if it should come to that, well, they have done it before.

The Ohio Bobcats take on number one seed North Carolina on Friday as well. UNC has played well so far in the tournament but will be without star point guard Kendall Marshall. Marshall averaged 9.8 assists for the Tar Heels and without him, North Carolina's potent transition attack is severely diminished.

The Tar Heels are far more talented, but without Marshall, they will be forced to play more of a on-on-one type game, which bodes well for the Bobcats.

Do not be surprised if Ohio continues its Cinderella run and upsets North Carolina to move on to the Elite Eight.

Finally, let's look at North Carolina State vs. Kansas. About now is usually when Bill Self's team stumble and fail to reach their potential. The Jayhawks were close to losing against the 10th seed Purdue on Sunday when they came out flat on both ends of the floor.

If the Jayhawks come out slow again, NC State will put them in a hole early and the Wolfpack's strong defense will make it extremely difficult for Kansas to climb their way out.

If Kansas starts slow, or NC State can keep the game low-scoring, the Jayhawks will be in trouble and find themselves in the similar situation of on the outside looking in.