Cinderellas Still Dancing!

Every year, there's a Cinderella story in the NCAA Tournament.

This time around, there are three teams remaining who carry that title:

• 11-seed Dayton,
• 10-seed Stanford, and
• 11-seed Tennessee

At least one will be guaranteed to move onto the Elite Eight, as Dayton and Stanford play each other Thursday 27 March. Coincidentally, that game will be played in Tennessee, as Memphis hosts the South bracket.

Tennessee is set to play last years runner-up and this years strongest 2-seed in Michigan. The Wolverines are looking dominant because ...  well... they are. To put it mildly, the Vols are in tough. Still, they're the first team to emerge from the so-called First Four to make it this far.

The match-up between Dayton and Stanford is an interesting one. The Cardinal have squeezed by both New Mexico and Kansas, quality teams that had the opportunity to win, but due to some shortcomings, were edged out. Stanford has also had moments of brilliance against quality teams like Michigan, Arizona State, and UConn, but is at its best when the score is kept low.

I also expect Dayton's experience, leadership, and revenge storyline to be the deciding factor against Stanford. They've already famously conquered 6-seed Ohio State in the second round and followed that by eliminating one of my personal Final Four picks in Syracuse. However, with the way my bracket has been going, I wouldn't be surprised if Stanford, once again, stood forth and delivered.

Yes, it may be stretching things to call two power conference teams Cinderellas, but if the shoe fits ... and the Selection Committee had them in double digits.

So keep on dancing, Cinderellas, you should be.