Cinderella has arrived: Our favorite unforeseen men’s NCAA Tournament runs

At long last, March Madness has finally arrived. The unpredictable nature of the NCAA Tournament makes it one of the most exciting events in sports, and allows underdogs to shock well-known basketball powerhouse schools. We’ll take a look back at some of the most memorable tournament runs made by teams that most fans never saw coming. All statistics are sourced from Sports Reference.

Sports Illustrated called St. Peter’s upset of the heavily favored Kentucky Wildcats the “peak” of the March Madness experience. The small school based out of New Jersey defeated a Wildcats team led by star big man Oscar Tshiebwe. The Peacocks would advance to the Elite 8 as a 15 seed, punctuating their best season in school history.

The Rambles will live on in NCAA infamy, as their run to the Final Four came as an 11 seed. Perhaps the most memorable figure from that run wasn’t a player or a coach. It was the then 98-year-old team chaplain, Sister Jean, who made national headlines. The nun led the team in prayer before every game, and she was viewed as their good luck charm and biggest fan.

Bleacher Report argued that Florida Atlantic’s run to the Final Four was the most “true to Cinderella” streak ever. They pointed out that the Owls had only ever been to one other NCAA Tournament in their history, so the program as a whole was completely new to the experience. Florida Atlantic was one of the best rebounding teams in the tournament that year, which propelled their run.

Head coach Gregg Marshall put the Shockers on the map with a disciplined style of play. They made it all the way to the Final Four that season, led by a freshman backcourt spearheaded by Ron Baker and NBA All-Star Fred VanVleet. The ninth seeded Wichita State flipped the script the following year, entering the 2014 tournament as a number one seed.

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Despite finishing fourth in the regular season in their own conference, VCU got hot at the right time in 2011. Head coach Shaka Smart was just getting his career off the ground, and brought a ton of energy and passion to the sideline. That spring, the New York Times called Smart “VCU’s brightest star.”

The 11^th seeded George Mason Patriots had an iconic performance in 2006. The little-known basketball program toppled heavyweights such as Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut on their way to the Final Four. The roster had a bunch of senior leadership, anchored by players like Jai Lewis, Tony Skinn and Lamar Butler.

It doesn’t get as much attention as some other NCAA Tournament runs, but Fox Sports paid attention to LSU’s achievements back in 1986. They chronicled the adversity the program had on their frontline due to injury and suspension. Despite a lack of size, the Tigers managed to overcome those deficiencies to make it to the Final Four.

Villanova might not be the respected basketball program it is today had it not been for the 1985 run to the national championship. Head coach Rollie Massimino helped the team navigate a rough and tumble Big East schedule to make the NCAA Tournament and shock the world. They defeated the mighty Georgetown Hoyas in the title game, which Sports Illustrated called “a very shiny moment.”

It’s perhaps the most thrilling finish in March Madness history. The Wolfpack needed a basket to defeat the Houston Cougars for the championship. Lorenzo Charles caught a Derrick Whittenburg jump shot out of mid-air, and dunked the ball through the hoop right before the buzzer. Head coach Jim Valvano infamously ran around the court, looking for someone to hug in the hysteria.

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The Hoosiers were an average team heading into the NCAA Tournament. They had one versatile, future NBA player in Jared Jeffries, and surrounded him with a bunch of shooters. That formula worked well for Indiana, who spread out defenses all the way to a national title game appearance. Tom Coverdale, Dane Fife and Kyle Hornsby were some of those long range marksmen.

While some might point to the 2023 Huskies as the most improbable national championship in school history, the 2014 edition might have eclipsed the surprise factor. As a seven seed, the Huskies beat a Kentucky team in the championship that featured current New York Knicks star Julius Randle. UConn guard Shabazz Napier was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

Any team led by Hall of Fame head coach Jim Boeheim is likely not considered an underdog, but they were overlooked heading into the NCAA tournament in 2016. The 10^th seeded Orange had athletic players on the perimeter like Malachi Richardson and Michael Gbinije. USA Today believes Syracuse was a Cinderella that year because they shouldn’t have even made the tournament.

The Bruins’ sprint to the Final Four in 2021 was the start of a nice stretch for the program. Led by sophomores Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Johnny Juzang, UCLA gutted their way to the national semifinal as an 11^th seed. They might have gone even further, had it not been for a miraculous shot made by Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs to take the Bruins down.

South Carolina basketball has only made the NCAA tournament twice in the 21^st century. One of those instances came in 2017, when they made it all the way to the Final Four. Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell paced the team in scoring, averaging over 21 points per game.

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The Badgers only had one player averaging over 10 points a game in 2000, and yet, they were able to make it all the way to the Final Four. No team scored more than 60 points against Wisconsin during their NCAA Tournament run, as they successfully shortened the game and reduced the number of possessions in each contest.