NCAA Tournament 2011 Play-in Games: Which Teams Are Real Threats?

If we exclude the teams that will play for a chance to be destroyed by No. 1 seeds Kansas and Ohio State, there are still four teams that have to play their way into the field of 64—USC, VCU, Clemson and UAB.

Now, many experts believe that these teams shouldn't be in the NCAA Tournament, and that in the old format, they wouldn't even matter. Well now here's a chance for the teams that are classified normally as the "First Four Out" to prove to everyone that expanding the field was a good idea.

Looking at the USC Trojans, a program that has been surrounded by controversy over the past couple of years, but still keep producing teams that get to the tournament. This year, they have had a very inconsistent year, with wins over Tennessee, Texas, Arizona and Washington, all tournament teams. Also, they have had close losses to teams such as Kansas, that have also proved that they can hang with the "big boys" of college basketball.

Their star, Nikola Vucevic, a 6'10" junior who averages 17 PPG and 10 RPG, is complemented by Alex Stephenson, a 6'10" senior who averages 10 PPG and 9 RPG to give them that "Twin Tower" look. This is what they will need if they advance to make it difficult for teams to stop them, but also to stop teams such as Kansas who dominate teams with their inside presence.

The VCU Rams have made some headlines in the NCAA Tournament over the last couple of years with upsets of Duke, and close games to Pittsburgh (84-79 in OT) and UCLA (65-64 on a buzzer beater). Now they don't have many quality wins this year, but they beat George Mason, who many believed to be the favorite to win the Colonial Athletic Association Conference Tournament.

They also defeated Old Dominion, a nine seed, so VCU has proved that they can beat tournament teams. They are a team that depends on the three-point shot, as four of their players have about 175 three point field goal attempts, so the old saying, "live by the three, die by the three," will be a key factor as to if VCU will advance.

The Blazers of UAB are barely hanging onto their season. After winning the regular season title in the Conference USA, they were upset in the first round of their conference tournament by East Carolina. Now many people are thinking, well why did they barely get into the tournament? Isn't that the same conference that Memphis is in?

Well, for one, Memphis has had a down year and got into the tournament because they won the C-USA Conference Tournament. Secondly, UAB doesn't really have any quality wins this year, though their schedule didn't really give them that opportunity. However, they were still able to compromise a 20-win season, but I don't really see them making much noise.

Finally, the Clemson Tigers out of the ACC Conference, who I have as making a serious threat in the NCAA Tournament. Now while their resume may not be the most impressive, they are playing really inspired basketball these last few weeks and have played their way into the tournament.

They essentially knocked Boston College out of consideration for the tournament with a convincing 23-point victory, and followed that up with a heartbreaking 92-87 loss to North Carolina where the Heels had to make a 19-point comeback in the second half. They are led by Demontez Sitz, who is their all around best player averaging about 15 points a game, while also leading the team in many other categories (steals, assists and free throw percentage).

The team also relies on sharp shooter Andre Young, who averages about 10 points per game, but is a three-point specialist, so if he catches fire, watch out. The Tigers are led down low by Jerai Grant (6'9"), Milton Jennings (6'9"), and Devin Booker (6'8") who give the Tigers some bulk down low and depth that will make it hard for teams to match up with them.