Sweet 16 Bracket: Remaining Teams Who've Earned Cinderella Status

When Norfolk State upset Missouri and Lehigh upset Duke in the Round of 64, it looked like this year's NCAA Tournament was going to belong to the Cinderellas.

Alas, the ship has been righted since then. All four No. 1 seeds are still standing as we prepare to watch the Sweet 16 get underway, as are a couple No. 2 and No. 3 seeds. The Sweet 16 is not teeming with low-seeded teams.

Sadly, that means the Big Dance is quickly running out of Cinderellas. A quick count reveals there to be only three left among the 16 teams still dancing.

Here's a brief discussion of each of them.

No. 10 Xavier Musketeers

There are a couple prerequisites for Cinderella teams. They have to come from a non-power-six conference, and they have to have barely made it into the tournament in the first place.

The Musketeers satisfy both of those credentials. They failed to win the Atlanta 10 title when they lost to St. Bonaventure in the final game of the conference tournament, and that put them very much on the bubble.

Xavier managed to earn an at-large bid and has since overcome No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 15 Lehigh to get to the Sweet 16.

Victories like those make Xavier's Cinderella status a little shaky, as a true Cinderella would have pulled off a couple significant upsets by now. The Musketeers haven't, meaning they're very much at risk of receiving a reality check at the hands of No. 3 Baylor on Friday night.

If Xavier beats Baylor, however, their Cinderella quest will be alive and well, and they'll be set up for a monumental step forward if they happen to come up against Kentucky in the Elite Eight.

So keep an eye on Xavier. The Musketeers haven't fired on all cylinders just yet and things will get pretty crazy once they do.

No. 11 North Carolina State Wolfpack

The Wolfpack don't come from a power-six conference, but they qualify as a Cinderella team because it was far from a lock that they would be able to make the tournament. Their loss to North Carolina in the ACC tournament was highly controversial, and it appeared to be a killer blow.

NC State made it in as an at-large team, and has gone on to pull off two impressive upsets in a row. The Wolfpack started by unseating No. 6 San Diego State in the Round of 64 and then knocked off No. 3 Georgetown in the Round of 32.

Now comes the biggest test to NC State's Cinderella status. If the Wolfpack is going to continue their improbable run through the tournament, they're going to have to beat Thomas Robinson and the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks.

The Jayhawks are a tough team, but the good news for NC State is that it has the length and athleticism to handle them. It also helps that Kansas is not a dominant team. They've won a lot of games and made it this far in the tournament, but the Jayhawks are not nearly as loaded as they were a year ago.

NC State can beat them if it plays its best basketball. And indeed, the Wolfpack have been doing that for several weeks.

No. 13 Ohio Bobcats

Maybe it's because my father and several of my colleagues are Ohio alums, but I can't help but root for the Bobcats. They're on a fun little run at the moment.

It started with their upset of No. 4 Michigan in the Round of 64, which was impressive given the talent the Wolverines have on their roster, not to mention the fact they hale from the best conference in the country. Ohio, by comparison, hales from the Mid-American conference.

The stars are aligned for Ohio to continue its Cinderella run through the tourney. The Bobcats will be overmatched against No. 1 North Carolina on Friday, but they stand a chance of winning if Kendall Marshall can't go due to wrist surgery.

According to ESPN.com, it is still very much uncertain that Marshall will be able to play. All signs point towards him not playing, as he just had surgery on Monday and he hasn't handled a basketball since.

If Marshall doesn't play, the Tar Heels will be trying to beat Ohio without their leader on the floor and a guy who has been piling up double-doubles in recent weeks.

The level playing field will leave North Carolina very ripe for an upset at the hands of the Bobcats.

For a look at the full NCAA Tournament bracket, head over to ESPN.com.