NCAA Brackets 2013: Updated Look at Top Sleepers to Ruin Your Bracket

The day you've likely waited a full year for is finally here.

The "First Four" games are in the books, and the 64-team field is officially set for the remaining rounds of the 2013 NCAA tournament, set to get underway just after noon ET on Thursday.

No doubt you've already entered different pools, bragged to friends and coworkers about how many games you watched this season and how that knowledge will relate to what could be a perfect bracket at the end of the tournament.

While the No. 1 seeds (Louisville, Indiana, Gonzaga and Kansas) all have a clear path to the Final Four in Atlanta, all four likely won't make it that far. Upsets are bound to happen in the first few rounds of March Madness, and that could spell trouble if you've gone with the popular picks in your brackets so far.

Before things lock up around lunchtime on Thursday afternoon, make sure you take a look at these four teams and their tournament resumes. While they're not popular picks to make it all the way to Georgia's finale, all four of these squads have a chance to be this year's bracket buster.

No. 4 Saint Louis

If you've heard anything about the Billikens this year it's probably been about the death of legendary coach Rick Majerus and how his passing has helped new coach Jim Crews and this team channel that emotion into success on the court.

The new Atlantic-10 champions have knocked off Butler and Virginia Commonwealth (two other sleepers in this tournament) on multiple occasions this season and finished the year at No. 16 in the AP Top 25 poll.

Not only are the Billikens riding a hot streak coming into the tournament, they also have good guard play with Kwamain Mitchell and Mike McCall Jr. and employ two frontcourt players in Dwayne Evans and Cody Ellis that create matchup problems for opposing teams.

The Midwest region is tough this year, but if Saint Louis can match up with Louisville (which it does well on paper), then the path to the Final Four might lie with a matchup with either Creighton or Duke—two teams expected to battle in the Sweet 16 at the bottom half of the region.

No matter what happens in the tournament, we know that Majerus would be proud of the club he left behind.

No. 5 VCU

If you like quickness, defensive basketball and streaky scoring, then VCU should be in your Final Four.

It's been overstressed (by me, particularly) that the Rams lead the nation in steals per game and turnover differential, but they also can get hot from three at any time. They have plenty of experience this season against tournament teams (5-7 record) and are determined to prove that the A-10 loss to Saint Louis in the tournament championship was a fluke.

Look for Treveon Graham to be the catalyst for this team, but so many different guys can have an impact because of the style of ball this team plays.

Matched up with a tough Akron team from the MAC (minus point guard Alex Abreu), the potential for games against both Michigan and Kansas in later rounds is certainly there. Kansas and Michigan are both teams on upset watch because of inconsistent play on the offensive end, and those are two words (inconsistent play) you don't want to hear when facing a tough defensive team like VCU.

No. 14 Davidson

No, this team doesn't have Stephen Curry anymore, but the Wildcats of Davidson have a great chance to prove us all wrong about their No. 14 seed.

Davidson returns all five starters from last year's team that fell in the second round to eventual Final Four participant Louisville and has two guys (Jake Cohen and De'Mon Brooks) hungry to put that disappointment behind them.

The spotlight will be on Brooks against Marquette in the second round, but the Golden Eagles have struggled away from home and either Butler or Bucknell will be waiting in the third round. Those are both winnable games for this cohesive, talented unit.

Don't let the fact that Davidson plays in the Southern Conference throw you off.

This team lost to New Mexico by five, played Duke and Gonzaga tough and beat No. 13 seed Montana in overtime. They bring a 17-game winning streak into this tournament and are eager to make it 18 while getting out of the Round of 64 for the first time since 2008—when Stephen Curry lead the team all the way to the Elite Eight.

Don't sleep on the Wildcats—that's exactly what they want you to do in this second-round game and beyond.

No. 3 New Mexico

Speaking of the Lobos, is there a sneakier team in the country than Steve Alford's squad?

New Mexico is 12-4 against tournament teams, closed the regular season by winning 12 of its last 14 games and captured the Mountain West title in the process.

It might be hard to trust the Lobos at first (close wins, losses to Air Force and San Diego State), but the West region is easily the most wide open of the bracket and that puts a team like New Mexico in position to sneak in and surprise us all.

Like the other four teams on this list, make sure you check before writing New Mexico off to the likes of Ohio State and Gonzaga in its region. There's a good chance both of those teams could be going home before those matchups ever take place, and New Mexico has a legitimate chance to emerge from this region after an impressive season chock-full of meaningful games.

At least one team always surprise us in March. Check over your bracket on Thursday and make sure these four teams don't have that chance before hitting submit one final time.

Follow all the exciting NCAA tournament action with March Madness Live. Don't forget your printable PDF bracket for the tournament, and keep checking in with the live tournament one for up-to-date results and matchups for the entirety of March Madness. 

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