{"id":15144,"date":"2014-01-28T22:49:07","date_gmt":"2014-01-28T22:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/?p=15144"},"modified":"2014-03-04T00:15:21","modified_gmt":"2014-03-04T00:15:21","slug":"how-to-spot-a-march-madness-cinderella-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/how-to-spot-a-march-madness-cinderella-team.html","title":{"rendered":"How to Spot a March Madness Cinderella Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Finding a Cinderella team in the NCAA Tournament can be just as tricky as in the fairy tale: sure, you might find someone whose foot fits the glass slipper, but that doesn&#8217;t mean their a princess nor that they&#8217;re worth banking on through tournament time.<\/p>\n<p>The truth is there\u2019s no fool-proof formula to determine who this year\u2019s Cinderella in the NCAA Tournament will be. But that doesn\u2019t stop Prince Charming (in this case, everyone armed with a bracket) from desperately continuing to search for Cinderella, even if the little minx ultimately eludes his grasp.<\/p>\n<p>However, some very recent Cinderellas \u2013 \u201908 Davidson, \u201910 Butler, \u201911 VCU and \u201913 Wichita State and FGCU \u2013 have given some clues, which at the very least could just point poor Prince Charming in the right direction to great tournament picks and betting riches.<\/p>\n<h2>How to Spot a March Madness Cinderella Team<\/h2>\n<h3>A Low Seed<\/h3>\n<p>The first and most obvious criterion a would-be Cinderella has to pass is that it needs to be a low seed. There\u2019s a reason the runs of double-digit seeds like VCU, FGCU and George Mason are so memorable: they don\u2019t come around very often. Only 20 double-digit seeds have made it past the Sweet Sixteen since 1985, and no team ranked below 8<sup>th<\/sup> has ever won the National Championship.[sc:NCAAB240banner ]<\/p>\n<p>Usually, the low seeds are reserved for teams outside the so-called \u201cpower conferences\u201d (Big 10, Big 12, ACC, Pac-12, etc). But according to the latest version of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/espn.go.com\/mens-college-basketball\/bracketology\">Joe Lunardi&#8217;s bracket<\/a>, the ever popular North Carolina Tar Heels \u2013 <a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/sportsbook\/basketball\/2014-ncaa-championship\">currently +7,000 to win the National Championship<\/a> \u2013 could possibly end up a double-digit seed and a Cinderella candidate despite toppling two top 3-ranked schools already this year.<\/p>\n<h3>NBA-calibre talent<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15173\" alt=\"stephen-curry\" src=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/stephen-curry.jpg\" width=\"594\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/stephen-curry.jpg 594w, http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/stephen-curry-250x167.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/> It\u2019s definitely a major plus for any college team to be able to call on the services of an NBA-level player, especially in clutch situations. \u201908 Davidson famously rode the hot hand of the precocious Stephen Curry all the way to the Elite Eight, while the incredible \u201910 Butler team with a future NBA backcourt, Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack almost defeated Duke in the Final.<\/p>\n<p>Baylor \u2013 <a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/sportsbook\/basketball\/2014-ncaa-championship\">+20,000 to win it all<\/a> and estimated as a 10-seed \u2013 possesses a potential NBA frontcourt of Cory Jefferson and Isaiah Austin, both projected 2<sup>nd<\/sup> round picks by NBADraft.net. Likewise, the Tar Heels have the combination of future NBA wings James McAdoo and Marcus Paige who have the potential to explode on any given night.<\/p>\n<h3>Do Something Very Well<\/h3>\n<p>The key to success for any prospective Cinderella team is to excel in one thing, and impose that style on any opponent \u2013 even to a no. 1 seed.<\/p>\n<p>Davidson relied on Curry\u2019s prodigious three-point shooting to defeat the #7, #2, and #3 seeds. \u201911 VCU also excelled at shooting threes (they were 2<sup>nd<\/sup> in the nation in both makes and attempts), but they were also 4<sup>th<\/sup> in steals, a combination they used to down #1 Kansas.<\/p>\n<p>Last year\u2019s darlings FGCU were 5<sup>th<\/sup> in the nation in steals, which fed their fast-breaking, alley-oop brand of basketball. This year, Belmont could be a dangerous team for any higher seed because of their ability to score anywhere on the court. The Bruins are 6<sup>th<\/sup> in overall FG % (they rose to 3<sup>rd<\/sup> on two-pointers) and 4<sup>th<\/sup> in three-pointers made. Similar to 2011, VCU could make noise again in the tournament by forcing turnovers (the Rams are 1<sup>st<\/sup> in the nation in steals).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who will emerge as this year&#8217;s latest Cinderella story? Visit Top Bet sportsbook&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/sportsbook\/basketball\/2014-ncaa-championship\">NCAA Tournament Futures<\/a>\u00a0and you too might live happily ever after.<\/strong> [sc:NCAAB490Banner ]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"pvc_stats all \" data-element-id=\"15144\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> &nbsp;2,606&nbsp;total views, &nbsp;2&nbsp;views today<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Finding a Cinderella team in the NCAA Tournament can be just as tricky as in the fairy tale: sure, you might find someone whose foot fits the glass slipper, but<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"pvc_stats all \" data-element-id=\"15144\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> &nbsp;2,606&nbsp;total views, &nbsp;2&nbsp;views today<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":15170,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[70],"tags":[1086,148,796,974],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Spot a March Madness Cinderella Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn How to Spot a March Madness Cinderella Team, and wager accordingly, courtesy of TopBet, America&#039;s favorite online sportsbook.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/how-to-spot-a-march-madness-cinderella-team.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Spot a March 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