NCAA Tournament Preview: Cinderellas

With the 2008 NCAA Tournament Bracket announced last night, every sports fan is trying to figure out who will be this year`s Cinderella squad? The biggest Cinderella of all was George Mason in 2006 when they went to the Final Four, so we ask the question: Who will be this year`s George Mason? Here are a list of possibilities:

1) #13 Siena (22-10) - The Saints are the champions of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and take on #4 seed Vanderbilt of the SEC in the 1st round as part of the Midwest Region. The Saints are a dangerous team because of their suffocating pressure defense and their ability to shoot from the outside. Senior Tay Fiser, juniors Kenny Hasbrouck and Josh Duell and sophomore Edwin Ubiles all can shoot the 3-pointer well and forward Alex Franklin can dominate in the paint. For a young Mid-Major team, they play with a lot of poise and will not be scared of Vandy come Friday. Look for a potential upset here.

2) #12 Temple (21-12) - The champions of the Atlantic 10 Conference finished the season strong winning 7 straight games. They take on the #5 seed in the South, the Michigan State Spartans, in the 1st round. The Owls have a balanced attack with lethal guard Dionte Christmas, guard/forward Mark Tyndale and point guard Chris Clark. The Owls have 7-foot center Sergio Olmos to clog up the middle. The Spartans of Michigan State need to come well-prepared to this one or they will be another victim of the annual 5-12 upset.

3) #10 Davidson (26-6) - The Davidson Wildcats ran through the Southern Conference going 20-0 in conference play in the regular season. And although the Wildcats did not have any big non-conference wins, they played North Carolina, Duke and UCLA all very tough. Davidson plays #7 seed Gonzaga in the 1st round, with the Zags being another potential Cinderella. But I have to like the Davidson Wildcats and sharp-shooting Stephen Curry, who averages 25 points per game this year.

4) #5 Drake (28-4) - The Drake Bulldogs of the Missouri Valley Conference had a terrific season. They were awarded with a #5 seed in the West region and take on a tough Mid-Major team in Western Kentucky. So why would Drake be considered a Cinderella if they are a #5 seed? Probably because no one is picking them to get past the Sweet 16. But these guys are for real and I would not be surprised at all if they made a Final Four run like George Mason in 2006. Led by point guard Adam Emmenecker, who has been deemed as the Mid-Major`s version of Steve Nash. Josh Young leads the team in scoring and Klayton Korver (Kyle`s little brother) is deadly from 3-point range.

OTHER POTENTIAL CINDERELLAS:

#10 Saint Mary`s (25-6)

#10 South Alabama (26-6)

#12 George Mason (23-10)

#12 Western Kentucky (27-6)

#13 San Diego (21-13)