NCAA Tournament 2013 Bracket: Breaking Down How Far Cinderellas Will Go

With the first days of action behind us, the 2013 NCAA Tournament has entered the stage of the Sweet Sixteen. In a stunning turn of events, four of the 16 teams are seeded ninth or lower.

The question is, how far will each Cinderella go?

Everyone loves an underdog, but it's often difficult to find the balance between what our heart says and what our minds should be telling us. For that reason, we must take an unbiased approach to the coming stages of the NCAA Tournament.

For starters, we must acknowledge the ultimate underdog fact—at least one team seeded No. 9 or lower will make the Elite Eight.

At Least One in the Elite Eight

At least one Cinderella story will continue into the Elite Eight, as No. 9 Wichita State plays No. 13 La Salle in the Sweet Sixteen. This West Region battle will set up a potential showdown with either No. 2 Ohio State or No. 6 Arizona.

In other words, we could potentially see a No. 6 seed facing a No. 13 seed for a spot in the Final Four.

Regardless of what transpires, we're guaranteed at least one underdog in the stage of eight. Wichita State, a product of the Missouri Valley Conference, and La Salle, of the Atlantic 10, are your quintessential Cinderella stories.

Wichita State took down No. 1 Gonzaga in the Round of 32 and a heavily favored No. 8 Pittsburgh squad in the Round of 64. La Salle, meanwhile, was forced to win a play-in game to even enter the Field of 64.

Once there, they defeated Big 12 regular season champions Kansas State and SEC Tournament champions Ole Miss.

On other sides of the bracket, No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast will play No. 3 Florida and No. 12 Oregon will play No. 1 Louisville. Oregon, the Pac-12 Tournament champions, have overcome a disturbingly low seeding to upset No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 4 Saint Louis.

Florida Gulf Coast, meanwhile, has upset No. 2 Georgetown and No. 7 San Diego State on their way to becoming the first No. 15 seed in NCAA history to make the Sweet Sixteen.

The question on everyone's mind is simple: can any of these teams make the Final Four? Believe it or not, they can.

Unfortunately, they won't.

All About Matchups

In order for Wichita State to make the Final Four, they'll need to defeat No. 13 La Salle and either No. 2 Ohio State or No. 6 Arizona. This may seem like a tall task, but the Shockers are unlikely to be fazed.

They've already defeated Gonzaga, VCU, Creighton, Pittsburgh and Southern Miss en route to their current position. They're more than prepared for the task ahead of them.

If they can defeat La Salle, the Final Four is a reality.

For La Salle, they've defeated Butler, VCU, Kansas State, Ole Miss and Boise State this season. The task of taking down Ohio State or Arizona is hardly daunting for such an experienced squad.

As long as they can defeat the Shockers, they too have a chance at the Final Four.

Unfortunately for the top half of the bracket, No. 12 Oregon will play overall No. 1 Louisville and No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast will face No. 3 Florida. While it is hardly an impossible task for either team to achieve victory, the odds are stacked against them.

Louisville's defense is as good as they come and the Gators have to be sick of hearing about their in-state rival's Tournament success.

How It Ends

Our hearts suggest that Florida Gulf Coast will emerge victorious, but there's a reason Billy Donovan is a two-time National Champion head coach. He will have his team prepared and the Gators will put an emotional end to the Eagles' magical run.

No matter how badly my heart tells me otherwise.

Oregon's offense has been explosive and their rebounding out-of-this-world with Arsalan Kazemi on the front line. After seeing the Ducks annihilate one elite defense, however, don't expect Louisville to make the same mistakes as Saint Louis.

Legendary head coach Rick Pitino now knows exactly what to study and how to execute better than Saint Louis did in the Round of 32—expect them to do so.

When it comes to Wichita State and La Salle, both will have trouble escaping the Elite Eight. Ohio State and Arizona present manageable match-ups, but neither will view the Shockers or Explorers as walk-overs—they'll make the depth imbalance the deciding factor.

This has been an unpredictable Tournament, but the magic will come to an end during the Elite Eight. Won't it?