What makes March Madness so enjoyable is watching the occasional small school take down high-profile programs and make improbable runs deep into the NCAA Tournament. While we all remember Butler, Florida Gulf Coast, and most recently Dayton, this year’s Cinderella could be UC Irvine.

If Friday is the first time you plan on watching UC Irvine, your initial reaction while watching the team prepare for the tip-off will probably be, “How tall is that guy?” The answer is seven feet, six inches – and the guy is Mamadou Ndiaye.

The sophomore center from Dakar, Senegal is about everything you’d expect from a 7-foot-6 player. Ndiaye is a rim protecting presence, averaging 1.7 blocks per game, although he alters plenty more shots as the anchor of Irvine’s 2-3 zone. He isn’t ultra-skilled offensively, but can catch lobs at the high point and dunk without leaving the floor. He adds 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Ndiaye gives the Anteaters unusual size for a 13 seed and after missing 19 games this season, he could be ready to put together a strong postseason performance.

Next to Ndiaye in the frontcourt is UC Irvine’s leading scorer, Will Davis II. The 6-foot-8 senior is averaging 12.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and was named the Big West Tournament MVP after posting three consecutive double-doubles. He averaged 15.0 points and 11.7 rebounds in the tournament while shooting an exceptional 66.7% (20-30) from the floor. Davis II is an effective low post scorer that can also face up and attack.

While the Anteaters have enough size up front in the starting lineup, the height doesn’t end there. UC Irvine brings in reinforcements with the 7-foot-2 Ioannis Dimakopoulos and 6-foot-10 Mike Best for a combined 22.8 minutes per contest. If the bigs get into foul trouble, head coach Russell Turner has enough depth off the bench to compete inside.

But while the interior size is unusually talented for a smaller program, the guard play can often decide games in March. An underdog typically needs to knock down the outside shot, and UC Irvine does just that. The Anteaters are shooting 39.0% this season from three-point range, which is tied for the 21st best percentage in the country.

UC Irvine features a three-guard lineup to start, with Luke Nelson, Alex Young, and Travis Souza in the backcourt. Nelson, a 6-foot-3 sophomore from England, averaged 10.5 points and a team-best 4.0 assists per game. He’s been streaky, but has turned it on lately. While Nelson is shooting 35.1% from the field and 29.8% from three-point range this year, he was 48.4% (15-31) from the floor and 36.8% (7-19) from deep in the Big West Tournament. He could be the X-Factor for the Anteaters in the NCAA Tournament.

Souza is the sniper for UC Davis, hitting 2.0 three-pointers per contest. He’s shooting 46.4% from distance this season while averaging 7.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. When he comes out of the game, sophomore Jaron Martin is hitting 48.4% of his three-point attempts off the bench. Young has been an all-around contributor, adding 9.6 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per contest.

This will be UC Irvine’s first NCAA Tournament appearance, but the Anteaters have played three teams in the field – all on the road. They went 0-3, but when you dig deeper, there’s some promise.

The toughest test on Irvine’s schedule was a 71-54 loss to Arizona, a two seed in the West. The score shows a blowout, but it was actually much closer than it may appear. Irvine led 29-26 at the half before the Wildcats went on a 15-0 run in the second half. Even Arizona head coach Sean Miller admitted the game was closer than it may have seemed.

“The outside world looks at the final score of this game and probably thinks that we had it in hand and had a really solid 18, 20-point win” Miller said in his postgame press conference. “But that’s the furthest thing from the truth. We were tested tonight in a really big way. That is not a function of us not playing well, that’s a function of the quality of UC Irvine.”

After falling to the best Pac-12 team, Irvine lost in overtime to Oregon, a squad that finished second in the conference. The Anteaters were without two starters in Ndiaye and Nelson, but led by as much as 11 points in the second half. They couldn’t close, but were tough on the road without two starters.

UC Irvine was also without Ndiaye and Nelson in a loss at New Mexico State, where a three-pointer with 4.6 seconds left handed the Anteaters a loss. While UC Irvine was unable to close against the three tournament teams, there were some signs of potential. The key this time around will be shutting the door.

When looking at the matchups UC Irvine may see, the Anteaters seem to stack up pretty well. Louisville, the first round matchup, has a dominant big man in Montrezl Harrell, but the team shoots just 30.4% from three-point range as a unit. This plays perfectly into Irvine's 2-3 defense. The only player that shoots better than 33% from distance and averages more than six minutes per game, Chris Jones, was dismissed from the team earlier this season. Irvine will also have a seemingly home court advantage, as the region will be played in Seattle. Stopping Harrell will be key, but there’s a chance Irvine can pull the upset.

If the Anteaters advance, they would play the winner of Northern Iowa and Wyoming. Northern Iowa would present the tougher matchup, as the Panthers hit 39.7% of their threes and their best player is 6-foot-8 forward Seth Tuttle, but Wyoming hits just 32.3% of its shots from deep. Wyoming has been hot and could pull the classic 5-12 upset, which would set up for an unexpected matchup in the Round of 32. If not, Northern Iowa would need to miss some shots for Irvine to advance with another upset.

Will UC Irvine make a run into the Final Four, Elite Eight, or even Sweet 16? Who knows. Rick Pitino is an incredible coach and picking against Louisville could backfire. But the Anteaters show promise as a potential Cinderella this year and will be an Elite Eight team in my bracket. Then again, being an Elite Eight team in my bracket could single handedly lead to their demise.