Murray State was the most popular Cinderella choice among the members of past March darlings I polled. (US Presswire)

In addition to asking past March heroes to share the ingredients they think mid-majors need to make a Cinderella run, I also had them pick a team capable of such success in this year's NCAA tournament.

There was only one repeat among the teams they chose.

Butler coach Brad Stevens listed a team that nearly knocked his Bulldogs out of the NCAA tournament two years ago. Ex-VCU point guard Joey Rodriguez picked a team that turned out to be his alma mater's opening-round opponent. And former Gonzaga coach and current Long Beach State coach Dan Monson selected a team that beat his 49ers this year.

Most picks were made prior to the unveiling of the brackets on Sunday, and each of the former players and coaches were asked to select a team besides their current or former school. Here's a look at who they chose and why:

Butler coach Brad Stevens: Murray State

"There are a few top teams in the tournament, but I think there are 30-40 teams that could probably go to the Final Four after that. I would never put that on anybody because it's really hard to do it and there's a lot of things that have to go your way to do it. I will say this: The Murray State team we beat two years ago was the real deal, and the most impressive person in that game was Isaiah Canaan. He was 4 for 4 from three as a freshman in the NCAA tournament. I don't know if there's ever been a freshman who went 4 for 4 in the NCAA tournament before or since. He's really good, really, really good. I've heard a lot of people say this team reminds them of that team, and we beat them by two and went on the national championship game."

Can Kim English and his fellow Tigers deliver the Missouri program its first Final Four appearance? (AP)In recent years, several Cinderella stories have made their first NCAA tournament trips thanks to storybook runs and victories over the nation's elite programs along the way.

Butler … George Mason … VCU … someone could do it again his year.

There are a few of those candidates in the field, plus some more prominent programs that have never tasted the NCAA tournament's final weekend in the modern era.

Here's a closer look at who could open next season by hanging that first Final Four banner in program history …

Missouri, No. 2, West Region

These teams are listed in no particular order, but Missouri would be the odds-on favorite from this group to make a run to its first Final Four. It's almost hard to believe that they've never made it that far, though the Tigers have seen the Elite Eight three times since 1994. What might hold them back is the Tigers' draw, which includes potential meetings with Florida and Marquette down the line — teams that play a similar style and can trade blows with them in an uptempo game. Plus, No. 1-seed Michigan State, should the two meet in the Elite Eight, might present a tougher challenge than Missouri's thin front line can handle. Still, when Missouri is shooting the ball like it did last weekend in three games at the Big 12 tournament, they can beat just about anyone.

Wichita State, No. 5, South Region

The Shockers enter the tournament off of an, um, shocking loss in the Missouri Valley tournament semifinals to Illinois State, but don't let that diminish what they did leading up to it. Plain and simple, they match up well and can present difficulties to anyone put in front of them. They have great shooters, and have legitimately one of the nation's most versatile rosters. First-round foe VCU isn't a great shooting team, and they're more than capable of beating either Indiana or New Mexico State after that. And once you reach the second weekend, anything can happen. Picking Wichita State to emerge from a region that contains the nation's top team — Kentucky — is gutsy, but it can certainly happen.

Did red-hot Memphis deserve better than an 8-seed? (AP)We live in an age where everything is criticized. Everyone has a voice. Everyone has an opinion.

That's what makes this year's NCAA tournament field of 68 so tough.

There's not all that much to criticize.

The selection committee pretty much nailed it in terms of who should be included, where everyone was placed and who they were matched up against.

But, again, everything must be criticized to some extent.

[ Related: NCAA tournament bracket | Print it | Play Tourney Pick'em ]

Therefore, allow us some time to simply nit-pick here. These aren't things that are necessarily wrong with this year's bracket, but instead five things that, when forced to criticize, are the easiest targets.

1) Shouldn't the No. 1 overall seed not have the toughest journey to the Final Four?

Kentucky certainly wasn't done any favors. The Wildcats have easily the most talented squad in the nation, and will be a trendy pick to win the national title in bracket pools everywhere. But the potential pitfalls are more numerous for them than any of the other No. 1 seeds. By far.

The 8-9 game alone features the underachieving-yet-still-loaded defending national champs in UConn against Iowa State — the fourth-place team from the Big 12 which has one of the few big men in the country, Royce White, who could physically match freakish freshman star Anthony Davis.

Below that, there's mid-major powerhouse Wichita State, run-and-gun threats Indiana and UNLV, then blue-chippers Baylor and Duke. Oh, and in the lower portions of the bracket, you get some pretty intense double-digit seeds in the form of VCU, über-athletic New Mexico State and a one-time top-10 Xavier squad.

[ South Region bracket busters video: UNLV may be ready for a Sweet 16 run | Predictions ]

In terms of talent, this team might be John Calipari's best bet to deliver him his first national title. But, man, that's quite a road to traverse. Good luck, fellas.

2) The 8 seeds that shouldn't be 8 seeds

Memphis and Creighton fit that bill.

Yes, Memphis struggled to win big games in nonconference play, but it tore through its league schedule, losing only three games by a combined total of six points, and just won three games in its conference tournament by an average of margin of 25 points. The Tigers had a top-20 RPI and schedule strength, and only two losses outside of the RP top 50.

[ West Region bracket busters video: Watch out for Memphis | Predictions ]

Creighton's schedule wasn't as strong, but its RPI (25) is up there, too. Outside of a three-game skid in Missouri Valley play in early February, blemishes are hard to find. They were as consistently strong as a rising mid-major program could be.

Simply put: Both deserved better. Not much better, but better.

Long Beach State and star Casper Ware are a team no one wants to be lined up against when brackets are announced Sunday night. (AP)Some might look at Long Beach State's Big West tournament title game win on Saturday night and wonder if it was really necessary for Dan Monson to go out and schedule the nation's strongest non-conference schedule.

The 49ers notched what at the time were very impressive victories over Pitt and Xavier, while hanging tough before falling in games at North Carolina, Kansas, Louisville, San Diego State and in Hawaii against Kansas State.

They went 7-6 against that schedule that included seven teams expected to be included in the NCAA tournament's field of 68. They earned loads of respect along the way for not only scheduling those games, but playing well in every one of them. And they set themselves up for a Big West season with little room for error.

Long Beach didn't lose a league game until the regular season finale and dropped its BracketBuster contest at Creighton, and entered Saturday's title game having not only lost to UC Santa Barbara on that stage each of the last two years, but needing to win to leave themselves without a reason to sweat on Sunday night.

And now, all of the talk of whether they're worthy of an at-large bid or not is moot.

Long Beach State finally exorcised its Big West title game demons with one of its finest performances of the season, squashing the Gauchos, 77-64.

The driving force, as has been the case for much of the season, was star senior point guard Casper Ware, who scored 33 points to go with his six assists. The game was tied at the half, but he hit a slew of early 3-pointers in the second half to gradually help the 49ers pull away. He had a four-point play and another one of his eight 3-pointers during a crucial 12-0 second half run that lit the fuse. Not much later, a wild celebration erupted on the Honda Center floor in Anaheim, Calif.

Immediately afterwards, too, Long Beach State became the team that no 4-, 5- or 6-seed wants to see itself lined up against when the brackets are announced.

Fueled by a conceived snub for postseason Mountain West honors, Drew Gordon, right, left New Mexico to a league tournament title. (AP)LAS VEGAS — After about the game's first five minutes, it became pretty clear that New Mexico was playing for something bigger than a Mountain West Conference tournament title.

On the game's first possession, sophomore sniper Tony Snell curled off of a screen on the right wing and cashed a contested, fading jumper. Then he hit a 3-pointer. Then Drew Gordon completed an old-fashioned 3-point play. The Lobos were up 8-1 early, dominating on the glass and winning just about every hustle point available.

They were fresher, deeper and, above all, hungrier. Thus, the 68-59 triumph over San Diego State on Saturday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center.

For years, Lobos coach Steve Alford has been one of the league's more vocal coaches when it came to the supposed advantage MWC power UNLV has of holding the conference tournament in its home gym.

But Alford left Las Vegas this weekend with a 27-6 record, a share of the MWC regular season title, his first conference tournament title and his second NCAA tournament berth in three years. In other words, he had nothing to be upset about.

"To come here and play the way we did for three days is a remarkable feat for our young men," he said afterwards. "I couldn't be prouder of a group of guys. I've said it all year long, I think they've gone under appreciated."

There was a reason for that.

After being picked as the preseason favorite in a stronger than expected Mountain West, unspectacular early season losses to New Mexico State and Santa Clara, then a 1-2 start in conference play, kept them from getting much love in the national polls. Then, after they won seven straight, capped by back-to-back victories over San Diego State and UNLV in late February, they finally cracked the Top 25 rankings.

Then, they lost back-to-back road games at Colorado State and TCU, thus squandering a two-game lead in the conference standings.

And now they're officially back on the radar just in time for the big stage.

They started their weekend by smashing an overwhelmed Air Force squad, then outlasted UNLV on Friday night in an epic, hard-fought semifinal. To end it, they had enough left in the tank to dominate San Diego State.

New Mexico led the Aztecs from start to finish, and everyone contributed, as Alford flexed every piece of his 10-man rotation.

Missouri triumphed in its final Big 12 tournament. Will the Tigers be further rewarded with a No. 1 seed on Sunday? (AP)Earlier this week, Missouri senior guard Kim English called Kansas City, Mo., 'our city' as the Tigers headed an hour west for the program's final jaunt through the Big 12 tournament.

Their comfort level at the Sprint Center was clear all weekend, and a relative sweat-free jaunt through the field ended with a dominating 90-75 title game victory over Baylor on Saturday evening.

Is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament the residual prize?

Well, what North Carolina and Michigan State do on Sunday in their respective championship tilts could have plenty to do with that. Their case is strong, and Saturday's result may have vaulted them ahead of rival Kansas in the No. 1 seed pecking order. They had an undefeated non-conference season, won 30 games and were as consistently dominant as anyone in America this year.

But whether the Tigers get a No. 1 or No. 2 seed for the upcoming NCAA tourney, they appear to be as dangerous as ever.

Saturday showed just how good Missouri is when it's playing to its potential.

As has been the case several times this season, the Tigers' lack of depth and size on the interior meant they gave up quite a bit on the glass to the long, athletic Bears.

But they compensated for it in so many other ways.

Missouri was 28-of-52 from the floor, hit nine of 21 3-point tries and was able to draw all kinds of whistles with its bevy of quick, shifty guards.

And when they got to the free throw line, they were 25-of-31.

Frank Haith's club controlled the tempo and simply won by being more prolific on the offensive end.

And that's what the Tigers will have to rely on moving forward.

VCU's Shaka Smart appears to be the early frontrunner for the now-vacant Illinois job. (AP)The inevitable happened at Illinois on Friday morning, as Bruce Weber was fired after nine seasons at the helm.

His run with the Illini started with a bang, as he took the program to the doorstep of a national title in his first season, but a frustrating decline came to a humbling end on Thursday, when Illinois was bounced in the first round of the Big Ten tournament by Iowa, 64-61.

The Illini now stand at 17-15 overall and went 6-12 in Big Ten play this season after a promising 10-0 start. Now, it's likely on to the NIT. Signs of severe cracks in the foundation came a couple weeks back, when he had some cryptic comments following a loss to Purdue, sounding like a man who knew what was coming at season's end.

This could be the most high-profile gig available this offseason, and here is a quick look at six potential candidates who could fit the bill …

Shaka Smart, VCU head coach

This is the obvious top candidate, and the name is already being thrown out left and right. Smart's name was tossed around for several jobs that came open after last season, when he took VCU on a Cinderella run to the Final Four. The job he's done this season is maybe more impressive, as he's taken the Rams on a 28-6 run after losing his top three starters off of last year's squad. Last week, they won the CAA tournament title and will be dancing again in a week. But this season showed some signs that sustained success at this level at VCU might be tough. After the Final Four jaunt, he wisely turned down several high-risk, maybe-high-reward gigs. Illinois might be pretty tempting, though, as it'll pay big money and offer the opportunity to not only coach in the Big Ten, but to take a shot at dominating the fertile recruiting ground that is Chicago. He did sign an eight-year extension at VCU after last season, but if both Smart and Illinois want it to happen, it will happen. A kicker worth keeping in mind: New Illinois AD Mike Thomas was at Akron while Smart was an assistant coach there from 2003-06.

Gregg Marshall, Wichita State head coach

Another mid-major coach who signed a massive extension after last season, Marshall followed up an NIT title with a seven-year deal that includes the coveted automatic one-year rollover after each season. For some reason, though, it feels like Marshall might feel like he has a permanent home at Wichita State, where it could be argued that the Shockers are truly becoming a major program. The Shockers are 27-5 this season, and despite losing in the Missouri Valley tournament semifinals, are a lock to not only make the NCAA tournament field, but have the balance and depth to make a decent run. Heck, you could argue that Marshall's program is just as strong as the two other Division I programs in Kansas. That sounds tough to leave, but you never can know. It's clear that the man has the coaching chops, but, would his name resonate with recruits in Chicago?