Every March, there are upsets.
Because they are so common, isolated upsets don’t usually feel that special. They’re quickly forgotten. But in rare years, you have a team that, despite being counted out by fans and analysts at NCAAB betting sites, pulls off upset, after upset, after upset.
These are the teams that are most especially worth remembering for being Cinderellas.
Here, I rank the top five Cinderella runs in history, accounting for factors such as seed, opponents faced, surprise factor and tournament outcome.
5. VCU (2011)
VCU’s starting lineup was a small-ball group of no-names with modest-at-best scoring numbers. Its center Jamie Skeen, who was all of 6’9, was the team’s leading scorer at 15.7 points per game.
This group had to rely on receiving an at-large bid. It participated in the first-ever First Four, making it all the easier to dismiss. It won its First Four game, defeating USC. The Rams then beat six-seed Georgetown by 18 points.
They then had to face three-seed Purdue, a team that had defeated the likes of eventual one-seed Ohio State in the regular season. VCU beat Purdue by 18 points.
Florida State was VCU’s next victim in a tight overtime game.
Then, with a mixture of strong three-point shooting and forced turnovers, the Rams took down top-seeded Kansas, a blue-blood that was arguably the best team left in the tournament.
All in all, VCU made it this year as an eleven-seed to the Final Four.
4. George Mason (2006)
A lot of people hadn’t even heard of this school. On the day of its Final Four game, “George Mason” was the term searched for the most on Google.
After all, the team had zero NCAA Tournament wins in its history. Analysts vociferously declared that the team, an eleven seed, should not have been granted the at-large bid that it received.
But once George Mason made it into the Big Dance, it wasn’t going to exit quietly. The Patriots’ first game came against March legend Tom Izzo and his Michigan State Spartans. The underdog won by ten.
Then, they faced three-seed North Carolina and pulled off what was an even more surprising upset. In the Sweet 16, they beat seven-seed Wichita State.
Their Elite Eight game was legendary.
UConn, a one-seed, was its opponent. The talent disparity was huge – UConn had four players drafted in the first round later that year – but the play on the court was a different matter.
George Mason eventually won in overtime. The Patriots made it to the Final Four where they lost to Florida.
3. Wichita State (2013)
Wichita State was not supposed to be good.
The team entered its season with five of its six leading scorers having departed in the season. It was predicted to finish fourth in its conference.
Nevertheless, the Shockers earned a nine seed. They were viewed as being on the bubble, so a selection was something that they must have felt grateful for.
Their first-round victim was eight-seed Pitt. In the second round, they shocked top-seeded Gonzaga. Their third-round victim was LaSalle.
In the Elite Eight, they achieved another shocker, upsetting a two-seeded Ohio State that had, for example, defeated top-seeded Indiana on its home court in the regular season.
Louisville, who eventually won the national championship, was its Final Four opponent.
It was looking like the Shockers would really win this game. They were up twelve in the second half. But they lost in a close one.
2. Saint Peter’s (2022)
Saint Peter’s deserves the number two spot in our rankings for being a 15 seed.
This was a school that, in the regular season, had lost to teams like St. Francis NY and Rider despite facing them at home. In the NCAA Tournament, nobody gave this team a chance.
Two-seed Kentucky was the Peacocks’ first opponent. Kentucky was really good this year, having won at eventual national champion Kansas by 18 points.
But the Peacocks defeated Kentucky in overtime. They then defeated Murray State before upsetting three-seed Purdue in the Sweet 16.
1. LSU (1986)
LSU had a rough season that was ridden with season-ending injuries and an outbreak of chicken pox.
Its lack of depth was so bad – especially in the front court – that it had to have players switch positions. Ricky Blanton had never played center before.
It limped its way into the Big Dance as an eleven-seed and eventually became the first eleven-seed to make it to the Final Four. The Tigers are number one on this list primarily because they’re the only team to defeat a one-seed, a two-seed and a three-seed.
