The 2012 NCAA Tournament officially gets underway on Tuesday, when the first two games of the First Four round tip off. The initial round of the tournament pits the final at-large selections against one another to determine the final four teams into the Round of 64 and the tournament proper.
One of those teams involved in the First Four is the Houston area's very own Lamar Cardinals, who will face off against the Vermont Catamounts for their chance in the dance. David Coleman has a nice overview of the Catamounts up at SB Nation Houston, so you should go check that out.
Should Lamar pull off the win and advance to the second round of play on Friday, they will face off against the North Carolina Tar Heels. At that point, the Cardinals will have an opportunity to make history.
Mike Rutherford at SB Nation alerts us to some numbers that were crunched by Ken Pomeroy, who believes that this might be the year a No. 16 seed defeats a No. 1 seed -- something that has never happened before in the NCAA Tournament's history. Should Lamar advance, they will enter the tournament as the highest-ranked No. 16 seed in Tournament history.
Time will tell whether Lamar will be able to pull off the ultimate Cinderella story, but you can be certain Houston fans will be cheering them on either way.
Click here for a full, printable NCAA Tournament bracket.
For more on this matchup and the impending March Madness season, check out SB Nation's SB Nation Houston for more Lamar recaps, previews and news updates.
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