Casting Cinderella: 10 teams that can be March Madness darlings

SPOKANE, WA - FEBRUARY 17: Kameron Edwards #20 and Eric Cooper #2 of the Pepperdine Waves attempt to box out Silas Melson #0 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs after a free throw in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center on February 17, 2018 in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga defeated Pepperdine 81-67. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, IL – MARCH 13: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood talks with Illinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) during a Big Ten Tournament game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Illinois Fighting Illini on March 13, 2019, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

March Madness is not for a while but as the college basketball season tips off, these are the teams that can have a Cinderella Story.

The biggest stages in history have often been the most unpredictable ones, giving us some of the best tales and storylines of all time. From expected dominance to the surprise of history’s biggest Cinderella teams, March Madness has been, perhaps, the biggest stage of them all.

From wild runs to the national championship game, to unexpected takedowns of any caliber of seed (even you, No. 1 seeds) we’ve seen teams from unexpected places shine on the national stage. From Sister Jean’s Loyola (IL) Ramblers to the UMBC Retrievers, March Madness is the perfect time for a team to make their voices heard.

In a typical year, the storylines leading up to the tournament are fairly predictable— we see the blue bloods from the top Power 5 conferences dominate all competition (including, sometimes, one another) en route to bids that range from fully to nearly automatic.

The likes of Duke, Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolinas are constant factors in NCAA Tournaments both recently, and historically. That fact likely won’t change anytime soon.

That said, by the time March rolls around, the entire world of college basketball is looking for unlikely candidates to rally behind, and to be shocked by and, depending on where their team falls, even scare them.

This year should be no different.

Even the most likely candidates don’t have an easy path to the 2020 College Basketball National Championship, held this year in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Let’s break down some of the teams that could be taking the nation by storm when March Madness rolls around once again at the end of the 2019-20 season, and who may find themselves the Cinderella of this year’s college basketball season.