Upset Alert: Winthrop Eagles Primed for NCAA Tournament Run

Every year in March, offices around America form office pools for the NCAA Basketball Tournament, which features the best 65 college basketball teams. The best conspiracy theorists participate and willingly select upsets to reign in a tournament bracket of chaos. So with the college basketball season winding down, it's time to begin considering: Who is this season's upset team? Last season, George Mason made every small school in America rejoice with hope of one day visiting the coveted Final Four. This year's surprise Cinderella team figures to be the Winthrop Eagles.

Winthrop University is a relatively small school located in Rock Hill, SC, which is a suburb of Charlotte, NC. The school is home to around 6,500 undergraduate students and an upset-minded basketball team. The Winthrop Eagle basketball team is not a newcomer when it comes to winning. The Eagles have visited the NCAA tournament five out of the previous seven seasons by winning their conference tournament. The Eagles have currently been the tournament two years running. Last season Winthrop found itself within an eyelash of earning its first ever NCAA tournament win as a #15 seed before Tennessee's Chris Lofton hit a fall-away jumper with less than a second remaining to send the Eagles home.

So why are the Winthrop Eagle deserving of respect on the national level as a legitimate tournament threat? The Eagles have bolted to an 18-4 start to the 2006-2007 college basketball season, with all four losses on their record coming to top 25 opponents away from home (see UNC, @Wisconsin, @Maryland, @Texas A&M). Of those four top 25 losses, three of the teams are predicted as #1 and #2 tournament seeds in March. The Eagles came within a half-second of beating Wisconsin in the extremely tough Kohl Center where visitors have only won five times since 2001.

This year's Winthrop squad features a Big South Conference Player of the Year candidate in Torrell Martin. Martin is 6-5 senior guard that controls Winthrop's offense with precision and leadership that can't be matched in the Big South conference. Lately, the Eagles have missed Martin due to injury and have struggled but yet found a way to win games. Torrell Martin is expected back by the time the Eagles travel to Missouri St. for their final top 50 RPI matchup in ESPN's Bracket Buster Saturday event in mid-February.

When March rolls around, expect the Winthrop Eagles to be flying high with a #12 seed in the NCAA tournament. The seed would be Winthrop's highest ever and give them a great chance to upset an unknowing #5 seed. Winthrop coach Greg Marshall has his team believing in their tough schedule and team-first approach. The Eagles share the basketball and will most likely create match-up problems for any program they play. Winthrop has been persistent in their rise to mid-major glory and this year may finally be the year. So for major college programs with middle seeds in the tournament: you are now on upset alert for the Winthrop Eagles.