Xavier or S Carolina: New Cinderellas?

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Thanks, Michigan. It was fun while it lasted.

So who’s going to be the lovable underdog in the NCAA Tournament now?

Take your pick: Xavier or South Carolina.

The Musketeers are a No. 11 seed after losing their starting point guard to a knee injury in late January and finishing seventh in the Big East. They stomped No. 3 Florida State by 25 points to make the Sweet 16 and are in a regional final for the third time since 2004.

The Gamecocks might merit a little more love than Xavier, even though they’re seeded four rungs higher as a No. 7. Unlike Xavier, which has been there, done that when it comes to the Sweet 16, the Gamecocks are in new territory.

They not only won their first game in the NCAA since 1973 when they beat Marquette last week, they knocked out love-’emor-hate-’em Duke in the round of 32 for their first win over the Blue Devils since 1970. They take aim at Baylor on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

Michigan, that all-sports powerhouse from the Big Ten, doesn’t usually endear itself to anybody but its own fans. In some corners (Ohio, for example) the Wolverines are the team everyone loves to hate, no matter the sport.

For the last two weeks, though, college basketball fans kind of fell for the Wolverines – if not the team, then its story.

The script: Plane skids off runway as the bubble-team Wolverines try to fly to the Big Ten Tournament in Washington. Team hitches ride on Detroit Pistons’ plane, arriving a couple hours before game time. Wearing practice uniforms because game unis are still on the other plane, Wolverines beat Illinois to begin four wins-in-four days run that ends with conference tournament championship. Dispatches Oklahoma State in the first round of the NCAAs and No. 2 Louisville in the round of 32 before losing to Oregon Thursday.