Cinderella Stories in the NCAA Tournament: A History of Underdog Magic

The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, more popularly known as March Madness or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament held annually in the United States. It determines the men's college basketball national champion at the Division I level within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played predominantly in March, the tournament, first held in 1939, currently involves 68 teams. It has become a captivating element of American popular culture, with bracket contests offering prizes for accurately predicting game outcomes. While powerhouse programs often dominate, the tournament's allure lies in its unpredictable nature and the emergence of "Cinderella" teams.

Defining a Cinderella Team

A March Madness Cinderella is a team that significantly surpasses expectations in the NCAA tournament. These underdogs, often lower-seeded teams, embark on unexpected runs, captivating fans with their resilience and defying pre-tournament predictions. Upsets are the essence of the NCAA March Madness tournament. Whether it's the 1985 Villanova Wildcats or the 2018 Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers, the lore of "Cinderella" stories are the lure for many to the NCAA tournament. Though they invariably lead to college basketball fans' brackets being busted, upsets hold a mass appeal that can turn players into folk heroes and teams into America's darlings.

The simplest way to explain an upset is when a lower-seeded team wins over a higher seed, but there are many ways to define an underdog - whether by betting odds or the first through 16th seedings of each region. Since the 1985 expansion of the NCAA tournament to 64 teams, the NCAA has defined upsets as "when the winning team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least five seed lines worse than the losing team."

By the NCAA’s definition above, the annual average is about 8.5 upsets per tournament with as few as three in 2007 and as many as 14 in 2021. According to the NCAA, there have been at least 10 upsets in 15 of the past 39 tournaments (and nine in the past 13 years, indicating a trend in favor of the underdog). There were nine uspets last season.

Landmark Cinderella Runs

Several teams have etched their names in March Madness history with improbable runs that defied expectations. Here's a look at some of the most memorable Cinderella stories:

1983 N.C. State Wolfpack

N.C. State was a 6 seed in the 1983 NCAA tournament, which may seem a bit high to be considered a Cinderella. But the Wolfpack won it all that year, taking down some mighty opponents. Jim Valvano was also one of the most charismatic coaches of all-time, and the Wolfpack won the national championship in just about the most dramatic fashion possible. ESPN made a 30 for 30 about 1983 N.C. State.

1985 Villanova Wildcats

Villanova did in 1985 as a No. 8 seed, the lowest of any national title winner to this day. As the lowest seed ever to win a national championship, the 1985 Villanova Wildcats are all but unanimously considered to be the greatest Cinderella story in March Madness history. Led by head coach Rollie Massimino, No. 8 seed Villanova claimed the Southeast Region thanks to tight wins over 9-seed Dayton, 1-seed Michigan, 5-seed Maryland and 2-seed North Carolina before defeating 2-seed Memphis State in the Final Four. This set them up for a David vs. Goliath matchup against the 35-1, No. 1-ranked Georgetown Hoyas. The Wildcats took the pressure in stride, winning the title game 66-64 and becoming the most unlikely champions the tournament has ever seen. The Wildcats entered the NCAA tournament with a modest 19-10 record and didn't win any of their first three March Madness games by more than five points. Like N.C. State, Villanova met an absolute juggernaut in the final game. That would be Georgetown, which had Patrick Ewing. The coach of that Villanova team was the late Rollie Massimino, one of the most historically beloved figures in the sport.

1986 LSU Tigers

To this day, the Tigers are the only 11 seed to beat a 1, 2 and a 3 seed in the same tournament. The Tigers knocked off Memphis State, Georgia Tech and Kentucky, in that order, in the '86 tournament.

1988 Kansas Jayhawks

Spoiler alert: this is the last national champion on this list. The irony is that the Jayhawks have bowed out much earlier in years they've been expected to go further. Danny Manning was a beast throughout March Madness, and was especially dominant in the national championship game against Oklahoma. The Jayhawks lost 11 games last season, which stands as the highest total by a national champion.

1990 Loyola Marymount Lions

The Lions made an Elite Eight run as an 11 seed that year, led by head coach Paul Westhead. This team was a blast to watch. It averaged 122.4 points per game, which led the NCAA for the third year in a row. Loyola Marymount beat Michigan by a score of 149-115 in the second round of the tournament. The next round against Alabama, though? They eked out a 62-60 win. Of course, Loyola Marymount played the NCAA tournament with heavy hearts sans Hank Gathers.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

2006 George Mason Patriots

There was skepticism that George Mason would even make the 2006 NCAA tournament, because it didn't earn an auto bid. Often looked at as one of the tournament's more improbable Cinderella runs, the 2005-06 George Mason Patriots took an 11-seeded at-large bid to the Final Four. Their wins along the way included triumphs over 6-seed Michigan State, 3-seed North Carolina, 7-seed Wichita State, and an overtime victory over the Rudy Gay-led UConn Huskies. They lost to the Florida Gators in the Final Four, but head coach Jim Larrañaga parlayed the success into an eventual job with the Miami Hurricanes, where he coached for 14 seasons. But they snagged an 11 seed as an at-large, and certainly did not disappoint. The Elite Eight win over UConn was particularly memorable.

2008 Davidson Wildcats

This was the March Madness where Steph Curry burst onto the scene as a national sensation. Before Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry was known as the greatest shooter in NBA history, he was known as the kid who led Davidson on a miraculous March Madness run. The Wildcats were a 10 seed and reached the Elite Eight behind Curry's brilliant outside shooting. They upset Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin before falling to Kansas, but Davidson gave the Jayhawks a heck of a fight. Curry averaged 34.3 points, 3.7 assists and four steals while making an absurd 52.8 percent of his 3s in the Gonzaga, Georgetown, Wisconsin three-game stretch. The Wildcats started 2007-08 with just 4-6 record before rattling off 22 (!) straight wins, becoming Southern Conference champions, and qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Curry kicked things off with a 40-point performance in a Round of 64 upset over 7-seed Gonzaga, before Davidson went on to take down 2-seed Georgetown and 3-seed Wisconsin, extending their winning streak to 25 games. Their run came to a close with a one-point loss to Kansas in the Elite Eight with the Jayhawks holding Curry to just 25 points. He's since moved on to bigger and better as a four-time NBA champion and the only player in league history to hit 4,000 career three-pointers.

2011 Butler Bulldogs

Butler reached the national championship game in 2010 and lost on a Gordon Hayward halfcourt buzzer-beater attempt that rimmed out. After coming up literal inches away from a national championship in 2010, Butler returned to the court in 2011 without their best player in Gordon Hayward-who left for the NBA the previous spring. Expected to take a step back, the Bulldogs did anything but that, finishing the regular season with nine straight victories before winning the Horizon League and earning an 8-seed in the NCAA tournament. Hayward left for the NBA that summer, and the Bulldogs were still formidable in 2011. Butler entered the 2011 tournament as an 8 seed. It barely escaped Old Dominion in the first round, winning on a Matt Howard tip-in in the final seconds. Its win over No. With guard Shelvin Mack taking over for Hayward as the team's nucleus, Butler went on a mega-run, defeating 9-seed Old Dominion, 1-seed Pittsburgh, 4-seed Wisconsin, 2-seed Florida, and 11-seed VCU on their way to a national championship appearance against UConn. It was one of Brad Stevens' last Butler teams, and it was certainly a March Madness to remember. While unfortunately losing their second national title in a row, the prowess Brad Stevens showed as a head coach helped him ultimately get hired by the Boston Celtics in 2013.

2011 VCU Rams

VCU followed the George Mason path. The Rams didn't earn the CAA auto bid in 2011, but earned an at-large bid as an 11 seed. After finishing the 2010-11 regular season losing four out of their last five games, Virginia Commonwealth found its way to the CAA championship game. A 70-65 loss to Old Dominion, however, had them wondering if they'd even make it to the NCAA tournament. Luckily for the Rams, 2011 was the first year the NCAA expanded the tournament to 68 teams and as such, they were awarded one of the final at-large bids. After taking down USC to earn the Southwest's No. 11 seed, VCU went on to win four straight games over 6-seed Georgetown, 3-seed Purdue, 10-seed Florida State, and 1-seed Kansas to earn a spot in the Final Four. Most of these teams won squeakers against various powerhouses. But Shaka Smart's crew actually cruised at the beginning of the 2011 NCAA tournament, winning their first three games by at least 13 points. VCU was tested when it beat Florida State by one in the Sweet 16, but for the most part, the Rams were dominant. Obviously, VCU-Butler was the first double-digit Final Four matchup ever. The Rams were the first school to go from First Four to Final Four. Most of these teams won squeakers against various powerhouses. But Shaka Smart's crew actually cruised at the beginning of the 2011 NCAA tournament, winning their first three games by at least 13 points. VCU was tested when it beat Florida State by one in the Sweet 16, but for the most part, the Rams were dominant. Although their run ultimately ended with a loss to the Butler Bulldogs-who we'll get to later-this two-plus week stretch put not only VCU, but also head coach Shaka Smart, at the forefront of college basketball. Smart went on to coach the Texas Longhorns from 2015 to '21 before landing in the Big East with Marquette, where he still coaches today.

2013 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles

Florida Gulf Coast was a 15 seed in 2013 and reached the Sweet 16, the first 15 seed to ever do so. Dunk City, stand up. FGCU played an entertaining brand of basketball that earned them the nickname "Dunk City." Though they ultimately didn't advance very far, the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles took the 2013 March Madness tournament by storm thanks to two upsets and plenty of highlight-reel dunks. Like many teams on this list, the Eagles embraced small ball. This wasn't that long ago, but downsizing and playing with pace wasn't as universally accepted in 2013 as it is in 2019. FGCU became the first 15-seed in NCAA tournament history to advance to the Sweet 16 after their bracket-busting first-round win over No. 2 seed Georgetown and a subsequent victory over No. 7 seed San Diego State. Sherwood Brown was the star of that team, winning ASUN Player of the Year honors. Despite losing to Florida the following weekend, head coach Andy Enfield took advantage of the Eagles' run and was hired as USC's head coach the following season-a job he held for 11 years.

2013 Wichita State Shockers

Wichita State shocked the college basketball world in 2013 with an unforeseen run to the Final Four. Led by guards Ron Baker and Fred Van Vleet, the No. 9 Shockers took down No. 8 Pittsburgh in the Round of 64 before a shocking 76-70 upset of No. 1-ranked Gonzaga in the Round of 32 truly sparked their run. Wichita would go on to beat 11-seed La Salle and 7-seed Ohio State before losing to the eventual national champion Louisville Cardinals in the Final Four. The following season, the Shockers entered the tournament with an incredible 34-0 record. With a target now on their back, however, they were bounced by No. 8 Kentucky in the Round of 32.

2018 Loyola Chicago Ramblers

Despite entering the postseason with a 28-5 record, Loyola Chicago was given just an 11-seed in the 2018 NCAA tournament after winning the Missouri Valley Conference. The Ramblers quickly made the committee pay, taking down 6-seed Miami on a last-second buzzer-beater in the Round of 64 before using that momentum to get themselves all the way to the Final Four. The Ramblers are fresh in our minds. The Ramblers played a pretty style of basketball, moving the ball from side to side constantly and playing as unselfishly as any team in the tournament. While their run unfortunately came to an end with a 69-57 loss to Michigan, it put Sister Jean on the map. The then-98, now 105-year-old team chaplain was seen courtside cheering on the Ramblers and became an overnight sensation. Still reportedly in good health, perhaps she'll make an appearance in 2025 if Loyola Chicago finds itself dancing again.

2022 St. Peter's Peacocks

Led by the mustache man in guard Doug Edert, the MAAC champion St. Peter's Peacocks started the 2022 NCAA tournament out with a bang by taking down the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats in overtime. They not only became the 10th 15-seed to upset a No. 2 seed in tournament history, but also the first to advance to the Elite Eight-an honor they still hold today-after subsequent wins over 7-seed Murray State and 10-seed Purdue. Despite losing to North Carolina by 20 points with a chance to advance to the Final Four, the run landed Peacocks head coach Shaheen Holloway his dream job, as he was hired as his alma mater Seton Hall Pirates' next head coach the following season.

2023 Florida Atlantic Owls

Florida Atlantic finished Conference USA play with an 18-2 record in 2023 before winning the conference tournament with wins over Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, and UAB. The title gave them an auto-bid into the NCAA tournament where they were granted a No. 9 seed in the East. Although they did luck out with a Round of 32 matchup against No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson, the Owls won their region thanks to wins over No. 4 seed Tennessee and No. 3 seed Kansas State. While a one-point loss to San Diego State in the Final Four ended their national championship hopes, head coach Dusty May benefited from their accomplishments, as he landed the University of Michigan job two seasons later.

Defining Upsets: Numbers and Seedings

The NCAA tournament is synonymous with upsets, where lower-seeded teams triumph over higher-ranked opponents. Defining an upset can vary, but the NCAA generally considers it when a team seeded at least five lines lower than its opponent wins.

16 vs. 1 Seed

It's happened twice. On March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina, University of Maryland-Baltimore Country stunned top-ranked Virginia 74-54 in a game that never was close despite the Retrievers being 20-point underdogs. (The Cavaliers would rebound to win the national championship in 2019.) On March 17, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio, Fairleigh Dickinson beat Purdue 63-58. It was the second consecutive victory for the Knights, who won 84-61 over fellow No. 16 seed Texas Southern in the First Four.

15 vs. 2 Seed

It's happened 11 times: Richmond over Syracuse in 1991; Santa Clara over Arizona in 1993; Coppin State over South Carolina in 1997; Hampton over Iowa State in 2001; Norfolk State over Missouri in 2012; Lehigh over Duke in 2012; Florida Gulf Coast over Georgetown in 2013; Middle Tennessee State over Michigan State in 2016; Oral Roberts over Ohio State in 2021; Saint Peter's over Kentucky in 2022; Princeton over Arizona in 2023.

Double-Digit Seeds in the Final Four

It's happened seven times, most recently last year with 11th-seeded North Carolina State, which tied the mark for the lowest seed to reach the NCAA tournament semifinals. The other 11 seeds to reach the Final Four: LSU (1986), George Mason (2006), VCU (2011), Loyola Chicago (2018) and UCLA (2021). Syracuse made the 2016 Final Four as a No. 10 seed.

The Impact and Allure of Cinderella Stories

Cinderella runs contribute significantly to the excitement and unpredictability of March Madness. These underdog stories capture the imagination of fans, transforming players into overnight sensations and creating lasting memories. The possibility of witnessing an improbable journey to the Final Four or even a national championship keeps viewers engaged and invested in the tournament.

Why is it Called March Madness?

According to the NCAA, the term originated with Illinois high school basketball in 1939.

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