The Northern Colorado Bears drew their expected No. 15 seed in the 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket and will face the No. 2 seed San Diego St. Aztecs on Thursday, March 17, at 2:40 p.m. Mountain. Can the Bears pull off one of those rare 15 seed upsets?
The last time a 15 seed upset a 2 seed was back in 2001 when Hampton edged Iowa State, 58-57. There were three others: Coppin State over South Carolina (1997, 78-65), Santa Clara over Arizona (1993, 64-61) and Richmond over Virginia (1991, 73-69).
Can Devon Beitzel and the Northern Colorado Bears pull off what would be one of the biggest upsets in tournament history? Even if they did, they would have a tough road to advance beyond the third round of the tournament. If all the higher seeds win out in the region, the Bears would have games against No. 7 Temple, No. 3 UConn and No. 1 Duke to reach the final four. That is one tall task. So, the old saying applies here, hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
Chris Dobbertean of SB Nation, to no surprise really, has the Aztecs defeating the Bears in the second round of the West regional. The major upset he does predict is No. 13 Oakland upending the No. 4 Texas Longhorns in the second round.