Sweet 16 2012: Florida Gators and Underdogs Most Likely to Reach Elite 8

With only 16 teams still in contention, the NCAA Tournament's field will soon be whittled down to the elites. The eight winners in Thursday and Friday's games will advance to the Elite Eight, leaving them a mere victory away from the prestigious Final Four.

There have already been some shocking upsets in the tourney, and it's highly unlikely that things will go the way of chalk moving forward. Every team that has made it this far has proven that it's in the Sweet 16 for a reason, but there are a few squads that still aren't being given much of a chance.

Here are three Sweet 16 underdogs that will keep their title dreams alive by pulling off upsets to reach the Elite Eight.

Florida Gators

Say what you will about the No. 7-seeded Florida Gators lucking out by having to face No. 15 Norfolk State in the round of 32, but Billy Donovan's squad has been incredibly impressive to this point. Not only did the Gators rout the Virginia Cavaliers by 26 in the round of 64, but they disposed of Norfolk State by 34 as well. Despite that, Florida is a 1.5-point underdog against the No. 3-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles in the Sweet 16.

Florida struggled a bit down the stretch during the regular season, but it is playing its best basketball right now. The triple-guard attack of Kenny Boynton, Bradley Beal and Erving Walker is tough to contain, while bigs Erik Murphy and Patric Young are quality players as well. No team strokes the three better than the Gators, so when they're on like they were against Norfolk State, they can beat anyone. Marquette is a physical defensive team, so Florida's guards will be met with some resistance, but the Gators are on fire right now.

Wisconsin Badgers

When it was ruled that center Fab Melo would be ineligible to play in the NCAA Tournament, there was some thought that No. 1-seeded Syracuse could be an early out. No. 16 UNC-Asheville gave the Orange all they could handle in the round of 64, while No. 8 Kansas State hung around for the majority of the game in the round of 32. Even without Melo, Syracuse was clearly a better team than Asheville and Kansas State. The same can't necessarily be said of their Sweet 16 opponent in the No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers.

The Badgers aren't a particularly explosive team as they average just 64 points per game, but they played great down the stretch in the difficult Big Ten and have been solid in wins over Montana and Vanderbilt thus far in the NCAA Tournament. Syracuse's zone defense could obviously pose a problem, but the Badgers have several players capable of hitting long jump shots. If they continue to play the way they did in the first two rounds, the Badgers have a great chance to knock off the Orange.

Xavier Musketeers

Much like Florida, the No. 10-seeded Xavier Musketeers have been the beneficiaries of some advantageous matchups thus far. They managed to squeak by an overachieving Notre Dame team in the round of 64 and had extremely good fortune when No. 15 Lehigh upset No. 2 Duke in the round of 64 as well. That doesn't mean that the Musketeers shouldn't be taken seriously, however, as they have the pieces necessary to go even deeper in the tourney.

Not only do they have a legitimate superstar in Tu Holloway, but center Kenny Frease has made his presence felt in recent games as well, and he could provide the muscle needed to beat No. 3 Baylor. The Bears are among the most athletic teams in the nation and they won't be easy to beat, but they also tend to lose focus and play as individuals at times on both ends of the floor. If Xavier is able to play a team game and Holloway is at his best, then a Xavier win is quite possible.