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March Madness is all about the underdog. Which teams will be Cinderella in the 2016 NCAA Tournament? Loosely defined, there are dozens of underdogs in every NCAA Tournament, but it's the big upset we pine for in the first and second round before weekend games whittle the field to 16.
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We want 15th-seeded Richmond over No. 2 Syracuse (1991), or backdoor-cutting Princeton taking down UCLA in a 13-4 matchup in 1996, Hampton KO'ing Iowa State in the 15-2 game on Boise State's orange-and-blue paint job court in 2001.
Here are a few upset picks to guide you through your 2016 tournament bracket:
EAST
Florida Gulf Coast, the beloved squad known as "Dunk City," shocked the world in 2013, its first season as a Division I team. The No. 15 seeded Eagles upset No. 2 seed Georgetown and advanced to the Sweet 16. If they can make it past top-seeded North Carolina -- that would be the biggest Cinderella ever to prevail in March.
MIDWEST
The 5-12 game is a good place to start more often than not, and Little Rock is a team that could scare Purdue. The defensive-minded Trojans won 29 games in a brilliant reconstruction job by first-year coach Chris Beard, a former Bob Knight assistant at Texas Tech, and if they can adequately defend the taller Boilermakers inside, they might pull off a stunner.
Iona is a threat to Iowa State in the 4-13 matchup, particularly if Iona's defense can come up with a formula to at least slow down the high-powered Cyclones. Iowa State has been leaky on defense and the Gaels will be eager to prove they can run with one of the Big 12's top teams. And if one is inclined to go by seeding, 11th-seeded Gonzaga is certainly a candidate to dump sixth-seeded Seton Hall in Denver as long as its guard play is decent, because the frontcourt of forward Kyle Wiltjer and center Domantas Sabonis is capable of dominating.
SOUTH
No. 13 seed Hawaii has been a good story, the champion of the Big West tournament to advance to the NCAAs for the first time since 2002. The Rainbow Warriors have the size and skill to compete with Cal in the first round, and senior point guard Roderick Bobbitt (13.5 points, 5.6 assists per game) is a kid from Oakland who will have a chip on his shoulder against the Bears. Bobbitt poured in 32 in a three-point loss to Oklahoma in December. Center Stefan Jankovic (15.9 ppg) will be a tough matchup for Cal's centers, who are fouling machines.
No. 6 Arizona will get Wichita State, which just beat Vanderbilt in a play-in game. That will be a tough opening opponent for Arizona, which doesn't have the raw talent of its Elite Eight teams from the past two seasons, but the Wildcats will always be a tough out. They took West No. 1 seed Oregon to overtime after being down 17 in the second half in the Pac-12 tournament. Any better-seeded team can't afford an off day against a rugged rebounding effort with a pair of 23-year-olds on the front line.
WEST
Teams seeded fifth in the NCAA Tournament historically are vulnerable to first-round upsets, posting a modest 50-44 record against No. 12 seeds. In fact, a 12th-seeded team has knocked off a No. 5 every year except 1988, 2000, 2007 and 2015 under the current format since the field expanded to 64-plus teams in 1985. Eighteen of the 44 victorious No. 12 seeds went on to reach the Sweet 16.
Can 12th-seeded Yale turn this region into the Wild West? The Bulldogs, making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1962, could present problems for No. 5 Baylor. Yale, led by sophomore point guard Makai Mason and senior forward Justin Sears, won 17 of its past 18 games. The Bears lost three of their past four.
