The field at the 2013 NCAA tournament has already been whittled down from 64 to 16, with that number to be halved again later on this week.
And whilst there's been many big talking points out of that culling process, there has been no bigger topic than the runs of certain Cinderella teams this year. You know, the smaller teams (Cinderella) who have somehow managed to get themselves to the ball (Sweet 16).
Teams like Wichita State, La Salle and Florida Gulf Coast University—none of them were expected to make it this far in the tournament, and yet here they are. They've all achieved phenomenal upsets to still be alive in the tournament, but they will also face big tests to stay alive.
Can they continue their incredible winning streak or will the clock strike midnight on their NCAA tournament dreams in the Sweet 16? Read on to see which Cinderella teams won't make it through to the next round of March Madness for 2013.
No greater upset team exists in the tournament this year than that of FGCU, who became the tournament's first-ever No. 15 seed to make it through to the Sweet 16.
Having stunned Georgetown in their opening game, the Eagles then repeated the process on San Diego State in the third round. Andy Enfield's men pulled away late in that one to record a 10-point victory again, setting up a Sweet 16 matchup with the region's No. 3 seed, Florida.
Florida is a very strong team this year and has produced stunning results to back that up. According to statistics guru Ken Pomeroy, the Gators are the best overall team in the country, with the third-ranked effective defense and the third-ranked effective offense.
As nice as the Cinderella story is, there's just no way that FGCU is capable of shutting down a multi-faceted attack like Florida's. The Gators are simply too strong right across the court and can still win games with their defense should their offense find itself in trouble.
FGCU will come into this one on a huge high, and rightly so. It has achieved incredible things at the tournament this year and deserves great praise, but unfortunately, it will come to an end here.
If your hands are up, then stop cheating, for there's simply no way that anybody could have predicted this matchup occurring so late in the tournament.
The No. 9 and 13 seeds have both achieved incredible runs to get this far in March Madness, and one of them will see that run continue through to the Elite Eight.
However, in doing so, they'll bring to an end the story of their Cinderella opponent, and in this one, it's Wichita State who'll be sent packing.
The Shockers have been exactly that through the tournament so far, with their defeat of the No. 1 seed Gonzaga one of the more incredible tournament upsets. However, against a streaking Explorers team, they may just sputter and suffer a shock defeat as a result.
La Salle has earned very close wins over Kansas State and Mississippi, both of whom came into the tournament as very strong teams.
They did not have the doubts surrounding them like Gonzaga did, and whilst they didn't carry the high seeding that the Bulldogs did, the reality is that both of these teams were very strong opponents.
And yet the Explorers triumphed with clutch play down the stretch in both, which could again prove to be the difference for La Salle in this one.
Gonzaga struggled down the stretch against Wichita State, and it wasn't even tested against Pittsburgh. The Shockers haven't had the same type of close games that La Salle has had thus far, and in what would be another big upset, I think they might just go down as a result.
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