Guessing who will qualify for the upcoming tournament this March is difficult. Trying to figure out which teams will make it to the end is even harder.

The NCAA tournament that is set to begin on March 18th is shaping up to be very exciting. With several teams still undefeated, it is hard to determine who will be favored and who will be the underdog. Going into January 17, there were ten teams that had either one or no losses. This may leave many fans pondering over which clubs will succeed all the way through the bracket.

It would be hard to imagine #1 North Carolina getting eliminated any time before the Final Four. With a strong starting lineup and much depth on the bench, head coach Roy Williams has every reason to believe that his organization has what it takes to compete. Though the team has struggled recently against both Georgia Tech and Clemson, throughout the season they have demonstrated nothing but dominance. There is no question that the heart of their club centers around junior Tyler Hansbrough, who has been able excel defensively in the post (10 rebounds/game) and serve as a scoring threat (21.6 points/game) at the same time. Sophomore guard Ty Lawson as also made significant offensive contributions, and expecting this team to play in the national championship would not at all be considered outlandish.

The Memphis Tigers also have much to look forward to, as their performance this season has been nothing short of superb. Many critics believe that the Tigers would not be doing so well if it wasn’t for their easy schedule; so far, they have only competed against two ranked clubs. Needless to say, they have manhandled the opposition, winning by less than 5 points on just one occasion. Freshman Derrick Rose out of Chicago, Illinois, has been a surprise superstar for the team, and watching them progress through the tournament could be very entertaining.

Though Kansas and UCLA are the next two ranked teams, the March tournament gives everyone a fresh start, which is why Duke may be the club to emerge as the next participant in the Final Four. Their only loss came in overtime against the Pittsburgh Panthers, but other than that the Blue Devils have shown that they are capable of succeeding. Coach Mike Krzyzewski knows that he has much to look forward to in Greg Paulus, Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer, DeMarcus Nelson, and Gerald Henderson. However, the Blue Devils are young, so experience may hurt them down the stretch.

The sleeper pick for the Final Four has to be the Texas Longhorns. Surprisingly, the Longhorns were stunned by Missouri earlier this week when they were defeated by a score of 97-84. Though this loss was unfortunate, keep in mind that Texas has still been able to contend even after losing superstar Kevin Durant. Both A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin have exceeded beyond their expectations, and it would not be surprising to see these two athletes carry the Longhorns to the Final Four.