March Madness 2011 Predictions: Which Cinderellas Will Go the Furthest?

Every year the slipper changes foot. With all the parody in this year's NCAA Tournament, making predictions about which Cinderellas will go the furthest can seem like madness.

But I'll give it a shot.

Xavier

After they beat Marquette (Marquette won't be able to guard), Xavier will likely face Syracuse. To beat the zone the Musketeers have two of the strongest guards on any team in the tournament.

Tu Holloway is the team's leading scorer at 20.2 points per game. But he also adds 5.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. At 6'7", averaging five rebounds a game shows toughness. Getting to the line about eight times a game shows that Holloway is not afraid to mix it up with the bigs.

Meanwhile, Mark Lyons at the off guard scores 13.8 points per game. He is one of the more fearless players I have seen. Lyon's and I played together on an AAU team with Jimmer Fredette, Talor Battle, Dele Coker of the St. John's Red Storm—even Brandon Triche on occasion. Lyons was as tough, if not tougher, than any of them.

Xavier will cut up Syracuse's zone, and Holloway and Lyons will get into the gaps and cause mayhem for Rick Jackson early and get the big man in foul trouble.

If Xavier can keep Harrison Barnes in check against the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, who haven't been a reliable team almost all year, then their big men (seven-foot Kenny Frease and six-foot-eight-inch Jamel McLean) can shut down UNC's big men Tyler Zeller and John Henson.

Xavier can make the Elite Eight, maybe even a Final Four if Ohio State gets upset.

Belmont

A lower seed with a chance at winning a couple of games is Belmont.

Wisconsin is a good team, but Belmont proved early in the year that they can play against top conference teams, losing their only non-conference games to Tennessee and Vanderbilt by less then 20 points in those three games combined. Plus, the Big Ten has been weak this year.

Belmont scores a lot of points, they shoot the three-point shot very well as a team (over 38%) and they play a lot of people. Quick and constant substitutions can be hard to adjust to for a team that hasn't seen it before.

Belmont has won 30 games this year, so they must be doing something right.

If they get past Wisconsin, they can beat the unpredictable Kansas State, depending on which Wildcats team shows up. They can also can beat Utah State, because the Aggies haven't been tested this year and Belmont could catch them sleeping.

This year's tournament will be full of upsets. I can't wait to see what happens.