1st Round Upsets That Could Ruin Your Bracket

Unless you live in a cave, or don't care about college basketball (I'm not sure which is more improbable), you've already printed out your 2008 NCAA College Basketball Tournament brackets. You'll probably spend several hours pouring over it today, changing your fickle mind over and over again (though Malcolm Gladwell says your gut instinct is your best bet).

Here's a look at the games that could ruin your chances at winning whatever pool(s) you've entered. To save yourself mental anguish, you may want to wait until you've already sent in your finished bracket.

Clemson (5) vs. Villanova (12)
Sure, the Tigers showed up to the ACC Tournament, got to the final for the first time since 1962, and hung in there with North Carolina until the end. But Villanova's won more big-time games, including victories over Temple, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and UConn. I picked Clemson after watching them scrap their way through the ACC Tourney, but won't be surprised if 'Nova pulls this one off.

USC (6) vs. Kansas State (11)
With nearly identical regular season records, I could see either team moving on. USC definitely has the advantage, fishing 4th in the jam-packed PAC-10, but KSU finished third in their conference and pulled one out over Kansas. I'm a big PAC-10 fan, so my money's still on Bob Zemeckis' alma mater.

Gonzaga (7) vs. Davidson (10)
The Ex-Cinderella and the New Cinderella. Davidson only lost to UNC by 4, Duke by 5, and NC State by 1. That was December 21st. Since then, they haven't lost a single game. Granted, they're in the dismal Southern Conference (with 7-23 Furman), but you've got to be impressed with those Out-of-Conference performances. Did I mention that the Gonzaga game is in Raleigh, NC? Home. Field. Advantage. I've got Davidson in my Elite Eight, over Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin. Go ahead, laugh. I always pick one team like this every year, and someday I'm going to strike gold, via George Mason's impossible run to the Final Four.

Michigan State (5) vs. Temple (12)
Michigan State can win, but it can also lose...like when they only scored 36 points against Iowa (who?). Temple's no Cinderella, but they did beat Xavier and Marquette earlier this year. I love the city of Philadelphia, and haven't been too impressed with Michigan State this year...this is my 5/12 upset (every bracket should have one, statistically).

Purdue (6) vs. Baylor (11)
Possible. Baylor's got to be extremely excited to be in the Big Dance for the first time ever, and they did beat Kansas State. But Purdue finished 2nd in the Big Ten, which is never a small feat.

Xavier (3) vs. Georgia (14)
I really don't think this will happen, but Georgia "shocked the world baby" with 3 wins in under 72 hours this weekend. That and their conference is a lot tougher to win in than Xavier's relatively puny Atlantic-10. Improbable, but possible given UGA's momentum.

Washington State (4) vs. Winthrop (13)
WSU's only big win this year was to Gonzaga, who wasn't as good as usual to begin with. Winthrop beat Miami earlier this year, who like Gonzaga, is a seven seed in the tournament.

As for the later rounds...

UNC - As much as I love them, I could see them getting upset by Indiana (2nd round), Notre Dame (3rd), or Tennessee (4th), even in Raleigh and Charlotte.

Tennessee - My second favorite NCAA team, but after their performance in the SEC Tournament, I'm worried about Butler (2nd Round) and Louisville (3rd).

Clemson - As per my thoughts above, I think they're capable of upsetting Vanderbilt in the 2nd Round, and possibly even Kansas in the 3rd.

Pittsburgh - Probably the hottest team in the country right now. I've got them upsetting Memphis in the 3rd Round (that is, if Memphis doesn't get upset in the 2nd by Oregon, another hot team).

Xavier - I've got them over Duke. It just feels right. And speaking of Xavier, shouldn't their mascot be the X-Men? I would've gone to school there for that reason alone.