DETROIT (97.1 The Ticket) -- The NCAA Tournament bracket has been revealed and everyone is searching for that trendy upset pick.
There's always a team that comes out of nowhere and shocks the world. While it's a difficult task to pick the true Cinderella story or the absolutely shocking upset, here are a few teams that could at least win their first-round matchups:
No. 13 UC Irvine over No. 4 Kansas State, South Region
The Anteaters, aside from having one of the best nicknames in the NCAA Tournament, also have one of the best player names in the tournament: Max Hazzard. He just so happens to be pretty good at basketball, too. Hazzard averaged 12.5 PPG on 39.4 percent shooting from 3-point rage. He's capable of getting hot from distance, which will be key in beating a K-State defense that ranks in the top-30 for defensive 3-point percentage.
No. 13 Vermont over No. 4 Florida State, West Region
Vermont has a good amount of experience on its roster, namely in Ernie Duncan and Anthony Lamb, who won America East Player of the Year. Lamb should have been recruited by a power conference school. He's good enough to play with the big boys on a regular basis. Averaging 21 PPG without a great 3-point shot, Lamb is the real deal. He shows up in the big games: 24 points against Kansas, 25 against Louisville and 28 in the America East championship.
Florida State has gotten hot at the right time, and just knocked off Virginia in the ACC Tournament semifinals. But back-to-back midseason losses against Pitt and Boston College showed the Seminoles' vulnerability. Florida State ranks 256th in allowing free-throw attempts, and Vermont gets to the line at a high clip and makes them at an even higher rate. This could be the kind of game that's decided at the buzzer.
No. 12 Oregon over No. 5 Wisconsin, South Region
The Ducks finished the season strong, winning eight straight, albeit in a mediocre-at-best Pac-12. Payton Pritchard (12.7 points, 4.7 assists per game) is the lone holdover from the 2017 Final Four team and he had a great Pac-12 Tournament. So too did Louis King, who averaged 16.5 points and six rebounds during the run to the tourney title. He and Kenny Wooten have a strong defensive presence in the post.
Wisconsin looked out of sorts in its loss to Michigan State on Saturday, and star Ethan Happ could struggle with the Ducks defense. Playing in San Jose, Calif., closer to home than the Badgers, can't hurt their cause, either. Any time a power conference school is seeded this low, they're a threat to pull an upset. Just ask Syracuse how being a low seed worked out last season.
No. 12 Murray State over No. 5 Marquette, West Region
Everybody knows about Ja Morant and Murray State by now. While the Selection Committee made some puzzling decisions in this bracket, they delivered a fantastic first-round matchup between Morant and Marquette's Markus Howard.
Murray State had a top-5 defense when it came to opponent's 3-point percentage. That could be huge, as Marquette lives and dies by the 3-ball, especially Howard (40 percent on 8.6 3-point FG attempts per game). It's not too often that he has an off night, but if he does, the Racers could pull the upset. There were certainly more favorable matchups out there, but still, Murray State is a trendy 5-12 upset, and rightfully so.
No. 12 Liberty over No. 5 Mississippi State, East Region
The Flames were an at-large candidate for the better part of the year, playing in a surprisingly tough Atlantic Sun Conference and ranking in the top-50 of KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency. The Flames went into Pauley Pavillion and beat UCLA in December, granted the Bruins struggled mightily this season.
But don't think head coach Ritchie McKay won't use that as fuel to tell his team they're capable of playing with a power conference school. They've already got the social media game to capture America's hearts, like UMBC did last spring.
No. 10 Seton Hall over No. 7 Wofford, Midwest Region
We talked a lot about Wofford with good reason. Fletcher Magee can fill it up, and he needs just three more 3-pointers to break the NCAA career record. But we've also given some love to the Pirates, who lost to Villanova in the Big East Tournament finals.
The Hall got hot at the right time, and just knocked off Marquette and Villanova in recent weeks. Myles Powell (22.9 PPG) and Myles Cale (10.3 PPG) make this team go and they could give a Wofford defense that hasn't seen power conference competition since December major fits.
No. 10 Florida over No. 7 Nevada, West Region
The Gators reached the SEC Tournament final and used a strong finish to the season to earn an at-large bid. Florida has an incredibly balanced attack, with six players averaging at least eight points per game. Nevada has been notorious for struggling on defense this season and is perhaps a bit under-seeded. But similar to Oregon, any time a power-conference team has a low seed, they're capable of the upset.