Sorry NBA, it’s March and everybody knows that college basketball is the king during this time of the year because of the NCAA Tournament. And yes, we’re in for another wild one this season.
There’s bound to be a lot of upsets, buzzer-beaters, game-winners and a handful of Cinderella teams to cheer for. Speaking of which, these Cinderella teams are one of the major things that actually make this tournament unpredictable and memorable.
Want to remind yourself of some of those moments? Well, you’ve come to right place as we’ve prepared this piece below that ‘ll definitely answer those cravings. So now just read on and check out our top 10 list of the best March Madness Cinderella teams of all-time.
Top 10 Best March Madness Cinderella Teams and Stories of All Time
10. Temple Owls (2001)
We start off our list with John Chaney’s Temple Owls, who gave us one hell of a run to remember during 2001.
The Owls finished the regular season with just an 18-12 and needed an Atlantic-10 tournament championship in order to qualify for the Big Dance. They succeeded in doing so and were bestowed the 11th seed in the South Regional.
From that point on, the magical run of the Owls, which featured upsets over contenders like Texas and Florida, began and the pair of guards Quincy Wadley and Lynn Greer carried the team all the way to the Elite Eight, wherein Michigan State managed to stop them from advancing further.
9. Wichita State Shockers (2013)
During this year, the Shockers were a relatively good team led by a pair of reliable seniors in guard Malcolm Armstead and forward Carl Hall. But they limped towards the entered the tournament and earned just the No. 9 seed.
The expectations were obviously low for Wichita State at that point, but who would have thought that this team would make it all the way to the Final Four and even come so close of taking down the eventual champions Louisville.
8. Gonzaga Bulldogs (1999)
The Gonzaga Bulldogs were a relatively unknown program until this brilliant Cinderella run up to the Elite Eight as the No. 10 seed. That run included a a sweet 16 triumph over sixth-seeded Florida thanks to a last-second tip-in by Casey Calvary.
7. Wisconsin Badgers (2000)
With an arguably anonymous roster led by the likes of Andy Kowske and Mike Kelley, the Wisconsin Badgers pulled of their greatest March Madness run ever.
The Badgers, who were coached by Dick Bennett at that time, made it all the way to the Final Four as a No. 9 seed. The journey included an astounding second-round victory over a favored Arizona squad full of NBA talent (Gilbert Arenas, Luke Walton and Richard Jefferson).
Also, this run proved to be a signal for the Badgers’ eventual rise as one of the major progams in the country.
6. VCU Rams (2011)
Now this was arguably one of the best or most impressive Cinderella runs ever.
VCU went dancing as the No. 11 seed after having an inconsistent regular season. They garnered a lot of criticism for even just making it into the tournament, but the Rams quickly silenced their haters by breezing through their first three opponents by an average margin of almost 20 points.
In the semi-finals, though, their run was put to an end by a well-tested Butler Bulldogs team.
5. Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (2013)
A No. 15 seed had never won two games in the NCAA Tournament until FGCU finally became the first team to do so. The Eagles, who were dubbed “Dunk City” back then, knocked off Georgtown and San Diego State before finally bowing to Gators in the Sweet 16.
4. George Mason Patriots (2006)
At this time, the George Mason Patriots became just the second No. 11 seed to make it all the way to the Final Four. But the most impressive part in this feat was the fact that they had to go through heavyweights like Michigan State, North Carolina and top-seeded Connecticut.
3. Kansas Jayhawks (1988)
Despite incurring 11 losses in the season, the Kansas Jayhawks shook the nation by completing a run towards the national title. They entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed and were coached by the infamous Larry Brown while ultimately being led by the unstoppable Danny Manning.
Manning recorded 31 points, 18 rebounds and five steals to lead the Jayhawks towards the 83-79 win in the championship round versus Oklahoma.
No wonder this team was nicknamed as “Danny and the Miracles”.
2. Butler Bulldogs (2010)
The Butler Bulldogs fell just two points short from winning national title during this season, but nevertheless they should be extremely proud of becoming the first ever team outside of the NCAA’s six major conference to reach the finals.
On their way to this feat, the Bulldogs, who were the No. 5 seed, defeated Syracuse, Kansas State and Michigan State.
1. Villanova Wildcats (1985)
We go way back into 1985 for the top spot in our list.
This was the year when the tournament expanded to 64 teams and where the Villanova Wildcats arguably pulled off the best Cinderella story of all-time.
The Wildcats, who were placed in the No. 8 seed, made it all the way into the finals with an unfavorable matchup against the Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown Hoyas. And needless to say, it was clear that the Wildcats needed to play as perfect as possible in order to beat the Hoyas.
Fortunately, Villanova did just that as the team shot the ball 79 percent from the floor which proved to be enough to help them take home the title with a thrilling 60-54 victory.
So now that you’ve induldged yourself with these incredible Cinderella stories, it’s time to create a betting account now and cash in on all the action of this year’s March Madness. Goodluck!
