NCAA Tournament 2012: Possible Sweet 16 Upsets as March Madness Resumes Thursday

Most of our March Madness tournament brackets have already been busted, but for those who are still alive, the upcoming weekend of basketball should send most of you packing as well.

In a year when a pair of No. 15 seeds won their first-round games, nothing seems impossible anymore.

Duke's talented roster showed its youth when Lehigh came out of the box running and followed C.J. McCollum, a poor man's Dwyane Wade, to victory. Missouri now sees what the selection committee saw when it denied the team a No. 1 seed. 

Here are some Sweet 16 matchups that have upset potential.

No. 6 Cincinnati over No. 2 Ohio State

In the battle for Ohio, this game has upset written all over it. The Bearcats have beaten Syracuse, Louisville, Georgetown, Marquette and, most recently, Florida State. Playing Ohio St. will not phase this group.

Cincinnati has four players who average double-digit scoring, so it can really get the ball in the hoop from anywhere on the floor. 

The Buckeyes were 10-6 this season against teams in the NCAA tournament. They have a tendency to get into foul trouble early, especially against quicker teams.

Jared Sullinger is the biggest question mark. He can be the most dominant player on the court, but he is a liability defensively. He is so athletic, he wants to swat everything, and that can land him in early foul trouble. If Sullinger is riding the bench most of the game with fouls, Cincinnati can control the game.

I think this group of Bearcats is one of those teams that flat-out plays better when it's facing top competition. They will be focused and excited to play in this game.

Ohio St. is a talented bunch, but Cincinnati might be a better team right now. 

No. 10 Xavier over No. 3 Baylor

This game is a bit tougher than the other upsets. Rarely can you base your argument for an upset on a single player, but in Tu Holloway's case, it makes sense. 

Holloway is the star guard for Xavier, averaging just over 17 points per game. When teams play these later-round tournament games, they tend to try harder to limit their mistakes. That can lead to lower scoring, and if you have a guy who can get almost 20 points on his own, it is a huge advantage. 

When Holloway is doubled, he finds Mark Lyons on the perimeter. Lyons averages over 15 points per game and shoots over 40 percent from beyond the arc. 

Baylor is inexperienced and getting inconsistent play from its scorers. It's lost three times this year to Mizzou and twice to Kansas. I expect Xavier to be more prepared for this game and bounce Baylor back to Waco.

No. 4 Wisconsin over No. 1 Syracuse

Wisconsin is playing its best right now. Syracuse is playing near its worst and is missing the Big East's Defensive Player of the Year. Those factors equal a possible upset.

Besides losing a key player days before the tournament, Syracuse is looking emotionally drained. The season was filled with off-court drama, and all of the distractions might be catching up to the Orange at the worst possible time.

Wisconsin, on the other hand, is peaking right now.

Coach Bo Ryan is a monster in NCAA tournaments. He is a lot like Tom Izzo or John Calipari. When you see them coaching, you know their teams are going far.

Ryan will have broken down hours of game film with his players. Wisconsin will stop Syracuse from running and force it to play a half-court game. 

Unless the Orange come out focused and firing, I like Bucky in this game.

No. 4 Indiana over No. 1 Kentucky

The Hoosiers of Indiana are finding their identity offensively. Players are finding their roles, and it is resulting in an exceptionally high level of play. 

Freshman Cody Zeller is doing what he came to Indiana to do: win NCAA tournament games. Zeller's brother left the state for the Tar Heels, but Cody stayed home to bring the Hoosiers back to glory. He is a talented enough player to take them to the championship this year. 

Junior guard Christian Watford is averaging 15 points per game and shooting over 60 percent from three-point range in the tournament. Guard Jordan Hulls is also shooting just under 50 percent from three.

When Indiana is hot from three, which is a lot, it can score in bunches and build large leads. 

Kentucky is the most talented team in the tournament, with North Carolina right behind it. That said, we saw last year that if Kentucky comes out and has a bad shooting night, it can lose.

The Hoosiers like to play tough, physical defense. Wildcat stud Anthony Davis is going to get his points, but pushing him around can alter his shot selection and lead to turnovers.

Indiana has the complete roster to knock off Kentucky. They will be playing in Georgia, which is a minus, but every fan not wearing Kentucky blue will be an honorary Hoosier fan, which is a big plus.

I think we see Zeller lay his foundation for a remarkable college career. Indiana knocks Kentucky out. 

March Madness 2012

I often wonder how much better off people would be when filling out their brackets if they had someone remove seed numbers from their view. If you just saw Duke vs. Lehigh, would you pick any differently?

Something we tend to forget when picking these games is that these teams are full of players, each of whom believes their team is the best. Teams can have a bad shooting night. They can come out flat and turn the ball over 25 times. They can get into foul trouble.

We forget that besides the seeding numbers, there will be 10 guys playing a 40-minute game of basketball.

Anything can happen, as we have already seen so far in 2012. While the better teams tend to win, they don't always.

As we start the first set of games on Thursday, we will begin to see the blurriness come into focus on which teams are ready to win. The results will almost certainly surprise us. Isn't that why we watch?