If you were to ask us why the NCAA tournament is so exciting, we’d have to say the lower-seeded teams (also disparagingly known as “Cinderellas”) turning their worlds upside down by beating their higher-seeded rivals. Sure, that’s conventional wisdom, but what is it about them specifically? Is it the unheralded player rising to national prominence after quietly putting together a marvelous season, like Dwyane Wade did five years ago when he led Marquette to the Final Four? Or is it the schadenfreude, plain and simple, of watching teams like Duke fall to teams filled with guys who look like those we used to play pick-up games with in high school? Let’s look at the four teams who beat the odds and are heading to the Sweet 16 later this week.

• Davidson: The biggest of the dragonslayers, this team has ridden the back of Stephen Curry, the son of former NBA sharp-shooter Del Curry, to topple both Gonzaga and Georgetown over the past four days. Not bad for a team that wasn’t even supposed to get in, but let’s see if they can keep it up against a Wisconsin team on Friday that is bigger than Georgetown, but not as quick.
• Western Kentucky: This team, known as the Hilltoppers and featuring the greatest mascot since the San Diego Chicken, had the most dramatic win of the tourney so far when Ty Roberts hit a game winning three-pointer to beat fifth-seeded Drake on Friday. They followed it up with a win over 13th-seeded San Diego, which sets them up for a meeting with top-seeded UCLA, who had trouble against Texas A&M on Saturday.
• West Virginia: This is probably the most appreciated of the Davids that beat Goliath because of who they knocked off—Duke. Although as a Big East team it’s hard to call them an underdog, their seventh-seed ranking lets us do so guilt-free. So let’s see how far this Bob Huggins-led squad can take his running squad, who faces another defensive-minded, outside shooing team in the form of 3-seed Xaiver on Friday.
• Villanova: The Wildcats are another Big East team, but one that struggled to get into the dance, but don’t discount them just because they’re a number twelve seed. This is the fourth consecutive time they’ve reached the NCAA tournament, so when they became the fourth team seeded 10th or higher in the Midwest bracket to win their opening game (along with Davidson, Siena and Kansas State), there was something to explain their team strength. The road doesn’t get any easier as they face the top seed in Kansas Jayhawks on Thursday, so let’s see if the ‘Cats can continue their road to the Final Four by feasting on some birds.

So what say you, fellas? Any favorite games thus far?