Even with the early barrage of upsets in the first round, three of the four 1 seeds are still in play. In the first round we experienced the madness with early upsets as 7 double-digit seeds won their opening games. Since then only three of those teams are left, with two playing each other (Dayton vs Stanford). 

What will the story be for the Sweet 16? Who will emerge victorious? Can Dayton continue their Cinderella story? Let's see if I can't help break down some of the big time match ups. And as always, I'll make a BOLD/maybe dumb prediction.

1 Virginia vs 4 Michigan State
The sweetheart of the experts, Michigan State, takes on their first big challenge facing the number 1 seed in their bracket, Virginia. So far Michigan State's road to the Sweet 16 hasn't been the most daunting, but could that play to their favor? Having played two games that weren't as emotionally taxing, maybe Michigan State is primed for a big game. Virginia, on the other hand, faced a quality opponent in the second round and handled Memphis with ease. The Cavaliers have looked very impressive so far and this is set to be a blockbuster game pitting the Big 10 champs vs the ACC Champs. I see this one coming down to the wire. Look for the stifling defense of Virginia, which ranks number one in the nation, to set the tone for this game. I see a low scoring affair with Virginia coming out on top, possibly even in overtime. 

4 Louisville vs 8 Kentucky
I think this is one of the most intriguing matchups we've had all tournament. Reigning champs, Louisville, take on the Jekyll and Hyde Wildcats of Kentucky. No team this season has received as much attention or media scrutiny as Kentucky has. And for good reason! When you start five highly touted freshman and have the reputation of sending almost all of your starters to the NBA each of the recent years, I think you've earned the right to be scrutinized when things don't go the way you'd hoped. On the other hand there's Louisville, led by Rick Petino, that has been one of the most consistent teams all year. Do you go with the consistent Cardinals or the wild card Wildcats? Do you roll the dice or play it safe? I'm playing it safe. Despite getting hot at the right time, Kentucky's run ends here. If Louisville can get past Kentucky then they may have an outside chance of going back-to-back this year. I'm picking Louisville.

1 Florida vs 4 UCLA
I've been particularly hard on Florida thus far in the tournament. Maybe they heard I went against them in my bold prediction last week, fueling them past Pitt (you don't think Billy Donovan reads The Crimson Slate, do you?). They've proved me wrong and I think it's time to jump on the Gator wagon. UCLA has been impressive in the first two rounds, but all they've seen so far is Tulsa and Stephen F. Austin. Not quite a good preparation for the number one overall seed in the tournament. Defense wins again here and Florida is as good as they come on defense. 

10 Stanford vs 11 Dayton
Ah yes, the age old classic matchup of the 10 vs 12… what? Wait. Stanford and Dayton? Did anyone have this matchup in their bracket? If so, please hit me up on Twitter because I could use some mentoring in bracket selection. My guess is this matchup has provided at least a little red on each of our brackets. None the less, this matchup will provide us with at least one double-digit seed in the Elite 8. And because I'm a sucker for glass slippers, I'm going Dayton here. Keep the dream alive Flyers!

2 Wisconson vs 6 Baylor
This is going to be a fun game to watch. Baylor is red hot and catching stride at the right time, but so is Wisconsin. I think this is going to be a high scoring affair and wouldn't be surprised if both teams hit 80 points. I'm taking the upset in this one, Baylor 84 Wisconsin 80.

2 Michigan vs 11 Tennessee
Michigan displayed some first round jitters against Wofford, but found their rhythm in the second round handling Texas. I think the Wolverines can win at least one more game, but don't count out Tennessee. The Volunteers have been putting up points at a frantic pace averaging 84.5 points through the first two games. Michigan 75 Tennessee 70.

BOLD Prediction
The only game left is 3 Iowa State vs 7 Connecticut. Iowa State has been on a tear in the tournament putting up a tournament high 93 points in the first round and beating North Carolina in the final seconds of the second round. The Cyclones have been drawing a lot of attention from the national media, but my BOLD prediction is that UCONN will win by at least 10 points. Connecticut held off a really good St. Joe's team who came in to the tournament with a lot of momentum and then upset the 2 seed Villanova by 12 points. The Cyclones better not come in flat to this game because the Huskies are not a team to sleep on. They shoot the three ball as well as anyone left in the tournament and can get on a run and put up points fast. The Huskies take this one in impressive fashion, 89-75. 

No matter what goes down in the Sweet 16, we're in for a show. Gotta love March Madness!

Taking on the NCAA basketball perennial power house that is Duke, I surely didn't give the Bears a second thought when filling out my bracket. But did you know that this is the second time in three years that the Blue Devils have been bounced in the first round by a double-digit seed? I guarantee you Mercer did. The Bears jumped on the opportunity by scoring 20 of the final 25 points of the game. Let's get to know our front-runner for the Cinderella title a little bit better though. 

Winners of the Atlantic Sun Conference, as previously stated the same conference that brought us Florida Gulf Coast last year, Mercer boasts a starting roster of five savvy seniors. In fact, seven of their nine man rotation are seniors.

The Mercer Bears rank in the top 25 in the nation in points scored per game as well as top 10 in assists per game. They're led by their 6'4" guard, Langston Hall, who averages a career high 14.7 PPG and 5.7 APG. Along side Hall is their 6'10" enforcer inside, Daniel Coursey, who pulls in almost 7 RBP, averages nearly 10 PPG and sends back 2.2 BPG. 

There's something to be said about a team with a solid group of seniors in the "one-and-done" age. Mercer is no stranger to the big game stage either as they upset Mississippi earlier this year and nearly knocked off Texas. Talk about a rematch if those two met in the Sweet 16!

The question from here will be: Can the Mercer Bears keep it rolling? 

Their road to the Final Four doesn't look quite as daunting as others such as Dayton (potentially having to face Syracuse, Kansas and Florida) or Harvard (Mich St, Virginia and Villanova). But if anyone can do it, I'd put my money on the only team that started five seniors all year long.

Come on Mercer, we're all rooting for you!

Highs or Lows (Depending on your perspective)
HARVARD! Who would have guessed that for the second consecutive year Harvard has a tournament win. The only Ivy league school who can say that. They didn’t just win, but they won in very convincing fashion. Then again, in 27 out of the last 30 years at least one 12 seed has beat a 5 seed.

Speaking of 12 seeds upsetting 5 seeds. For the first time since Blake Griffin, I actually believed in Oklahoma coming into the NCAA Tournament. With Lon Kruger at the helm, I was convinced that this year we'd make a dent in the tournament. But when you shoot 35% from the field and commit double digit turnovers like the Sooners did, there are not many teams that could come back from that. Despite Cameron Clarks' 25 point performance, North Dakota State just proved to be too much for the Sooners as they fell victim to the 5-12 curse in overtime. You hear that? I believe that's the sound of my bracket going down the toilet.

Ohio State has reached the Sweet 16 the last four years in a row, but in another big upset, Dayton decided to spoil the Buckeyes dreams of another Sweet 16. Squeaking out a last second victory over Ohio State, Dayton advances to face Syracuse. Can they ride the lightning past the Orange men? In the words of my favorite TV Uncle, Si, “Nah”. But then again, who doesn’t love a good ole Cinderella story? Except for Ohio State fans right now.

Michigan State looked healthy as they cruised past the fighting Blue Hens of Delaware. But with a mascot like "Blue Hens" one might even wonder how they got into the tournament. From Blue Hens to Ducks, Oregon made a statement with beating BYU by 19! Michigan also looked good, trouncing Wofford by 17. Three teams that are looking very good for the round of 32.

Last year, as a 4 seed, Saint Louis lost in the second round. This year, as a 5 seed, they tried to lose again in the first. NC State was up by 14 points with nearly eight minutes left. FOURTEEN! But Saint Louis found a way to take it into overtime where they sealed the victory. 

Staying with the overtime theme, UCONN went down to the wire with St. Joe’s in a thriller that had me on the edge of my seat (seeing as though I have UCONN in my Final Four). But they escaped the upset and kept my tournament hopes alive with a 82-77 victory over St. Joe’s.

In the late games, Texas edged out Arizona State with a last second layup from Cameron Ridley to steal the victory. Villanova easily handled Milwaukee, winning 73-53. And San Diego State topped New Mexico State University, 73-69. 

BOLD Prediction
Pittsburgh looked very impressive against Colorado winning by nearly 30 points. Their margin of victory alone would have made it a game had they been playing American who only put up 35 points against Wisconsin. But unfortunately the Pittsburgh Panthers will fall to the Florida Gators next round, right? Wrong! BOLD prediction of the day: Pittsburgh will take down the #1 overall seed Florida Gators. Call me crazy, I may be. The NCAA tournament is all about momentum and I can guarantee, with that heavy victory, Pittsburgh is riding as high as anyone right now. Couple that momentum with a seriously talented team and you've got a recipe for upset. But, you probably think I'm crazy and that's what makes it a BOLD prediction.

Plenty of basketball left to play and plenty of upsets to be had. Hold on tight. If there's anything that we can be sure of, it's that the NCAA Tournament is going to be a wild ride this year.