George Mason, Steph Curry's Davidson, and 10 Cinderellas March Madness fans will never forget

The term Cinderella has been used in sports for close to a century. One of the first uses of the term came from boxer James Braddock, who was given the moniker Cinderella Man. In college basketball, we saw "Cinderella" come into the lexicon in 1950, when City College of New York made an improbable run to win both the NCAA Tournament and the NIT.

Today, we’re waiting to see the Cinderellas. We fill out our brackets for the NCAA Tournament, hoping to pick the biggest upsets in the first round. It’s a point of pride when we get it right, and if we pick one to make a run, it’s even bigger. Those runs are also the reason we haven’t had a perfect bracket in recent memory.

While there are Cinderella stories every year, some stick with us forever. They either introduced us to superstars or set a narrative we talk about with our fathers and fathers-in-law forever. 

1983 NC State Wolfpack
6 Seed
Won National Championship

The 1983 NC State Wolfpack stood the test of time for a few reasons. Obviously, they were one of the few Cinderella teams to win a National Championship, cutting down the nets as a six seed. They are one of the most remarkable champions in college sports history, led by head coach Jim Valvano. His memory is kept alive by the greatest awards speech in the history of mankind, with his “Don’t Give Up” speech at the first-ever ESPY Awards, 10 years after winning the National Championship. 

The Wolfpack were considered a decent team in 1983, but they were far from contenders. They almost lost in the first round. They needed double overtime just to get past Pepperdine. That’s a team with five NCAA tournament wins in its program’s history. In the second round, they beat UNLV by one point. This was more of a heart attack than a Cinderella. They got a lucky draw in the Sweet Sixteen with 10th seeded Utah, but then they faced No. 1 Virginia, beating them by one as well.

It really came down to the National Championship Game, where they had to beat Akeem Olajuwon (later changing his name to Hakeem). He was a superstar and one of the best talents in the history of the sport. In the Final Four, his Houston team scored 94 points against fellow No. 1 Louisville, but they only had 52 against NC State.

That opened the door for the Wolfpack. With time winding down and the game tied, Dereck Whittenberg threw up a heave that was nowhere close to going in. We were going to overtime, it seemed, until Lorenzo Charles grabbed the rebound and made the rare buzzer-beating dunk. That made for one of the most thrilling ends to one of the greatest runs in the history of the tournament. 

1986 LSU Tigers
11 Seed
Made Final Four

The 1986 LSU Tigers were one of those special teams that had everything break in their way at the right time. John Williams was averaging a double-double that season, and he took a step in the right direction during the tournament. The 11th-seeded Tigers made the improbable run to the Final Four despite being an underdog in every single matchup.

The Tigers were the first No. 11 seed to make the Final Four in the history of the tournament. It has happened three more times since then. This was a strange year in which every regional final featured a team ranked sixth or lower, giving a real David vs. Goliath feel: No. 6 seed N.C. State in the Midwest Regional, No. 7 seed Navy in the East, No. 8 seed Auburn in the West, and No. 11 seed LSU in the Southeast.

LSU started by taking down sixth-seeded Purdue in the first round. They sneaked by third-seeded Memphis State in the second round, making it into the Sweet Sixteen. There, they took down Georgia Tech before taking on top-seeded Kentucky. The Tigers beat the first, second, third, and six seeds before making it to the Final Four. 

It was a fun run, but it ended with eventual national champion Louisville in the semi-finals. Still, LSU made history in the tournament and set the standard for Cinderellas moving forward. 

1990 Loyola Marymount Lions
11 Seed
Made Elite Eight

The 1990 Loyola Marymount team was one of the most insane watches in the history of college basketball. Averaging 122 points per game, the team was an offensive powerhouse coming out of the West Coast Conference. They led the league in scoring for three years straight, with this team becoming the best of the bunch. 

They played the NCAA Tournament through grief. Their star player, Hank Gathers, died during the conference tournament due to a heart condition. He was reportedly lowering his heart medication to perform better on game days. After his death, the conference canceled the rest of the tournament and awarded the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament to Loyola after they won the regular season title. 

Many expected LMU to be an easy out in the tournament as an 11 seed and without their top scorer. Instead, the scoring didn’t stop. After putting 111 points on New Mexico State in the first round, they went absolutely nuts against defending national champion Michigan in the second round. They scored 149 points, one of the highest of all time. The final score of 149-115 is the highest-scoring NCAA tournament game of all time. After that win, LMU beat Alabama before losing to top-seeded UNLV in the Elite Eight.

Only 22 games in the history of the NCAA Tournament have gone over 200 points, and three of them belong to the 1990 Loyola Marymount Lions.

2006 George Mason Patriots
11 seed
Made Final Four

George Mason’s story shouldn’t have happened. Many thought their bubble burst when they lost to Hofstra in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament. The selection committee gave the Patriots one last chance to prove their worth, but they’d have to work for it. It was the first time in two decades that the Coastal Athletic Association sent two teams to the NCAA Tournament. 

When powerhouse Michigan State, who was coming off a tough season after making the Final Four in 2005, was their opponent in the first round, George Mason didn’t seem to stand a chance. Many analysts picked MSU to make a run as a lower seed, but their brackets were ruined early. 

After dispatching the Spartans, George Mason took down an even bigger Blue Blood in North Carolina. Two teams many had as preseason favorites, GMU was now up against fellow Cinderella Wichita State, who beat two-seeded Tennessee to get to the Sweet Sixteen. In one of the best games in the history of the tournament, George Mason took down top-seeded UConn 86-84 in overtime to head to the Final Four.

While the Patriots lost to the eventual champion, Florida, the run is still considered iconic. They, unfortunately, did not build off of their success, as they only made the tournament three times since this run, but it’s still the greatest moment in George Mason sports history.

2008 Davidson Wildcats
10 seed
Made the Elite Eight

Every year, there’s an unexpected star that comes from the NCAA Tournament. Sometimes they turn into NBA stars, like Steve Nash with Santa Clara in the early 1990s, but many times they don’t turn into much. They have this magical run, and that’s it. In 2008, we were introduced to one of the greatest superstars in the sport's history. It’s a player who changed the way we play basketball entirely. 

In 2008, we met Steph Curry, the star shooter on the Davidson Wildcats. He helped Davidson go undefeated in their conference and secure a 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They faced Gonzaga in the first round and won relatively easily. When facing second-seeded Georgetown, the Hoyas appeared to be humbling Curry’s team, but he went off for 25 points in the second half and sent them home early.

With Wisconsin waiting in the Sweet Sixteen, Curry scored 33 points in what was a very easy win. Curry joined Clyde Lovellette, Jerry Chambers, and Glenn Robinson as the only college players to score more than 30 points in their first four career NCAA tournament games. In their next game, which would be their final, Curry broke the NCAA record for most three pointers in a season when he hit his 159th against top-seeded Kansas. 

The Jayhawks held the rest of Davidson mostly off the board, beating them 59-57. Kansas eventually won the national championship, meaning Curry’s team gave them the biggest scare of the tournament. 

2011 Butler Bulldogs
8 seed
Made National Championship Game

Butler was this incredible story, coached by Brad Stevens, who many consider one of the greatest college coaches of this era. They made a surprise run to the NCAA Championship Game in 2010. Gordon Hayward threw up a half-court shot to win the game, but it hit the rim and came out. It was a heartbreak that most Cinderella teams can’t recover from. 

Then, Hayward left to start his NBA career. It was another blow to a team that was in recovery mode. However, when a team has a superstar coach in the college ranks, anything is possible. Brad Stevens proved that.

Butler entered the 2011 tournament as an 8 seed. It barely escaped Old Dominion in the first round, ironically winning in dramatic fashion with a Matt Howard tip-in in the final seconds. It's win over No. 1 Pittsburgh in the next round was insane. They played disciplined, surgical basketball against the Panthers, beating them 71-70. After beating Wisconsin in the Sweet Sixteen, they sneaked past the Florida Gators in overtime.

Once again, Butler made the National Championship Game and lost. They gave everything they had, but UConn proved to be the better team. However, prior to losing to the Huskies, they played arguably an even bigger Cinderella. 

2011 Virginia Commonwealth Rams
11 seed
Made Final Four

Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason followed very similar paths. Both surprisingly lost in their conference tournaments, falling to 11 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. And they both went on magical runs that seemed impossible to repeat.

Analysts were arguing whether VCU even belonged in the tournament, with the first year where it was a 68-team field and this “First Four” round added. This ESPN article specifically called out VCU as a team that might not have deserved its place over Colorado and Virginia Tech. Led by the relentless energy of head coach Shaka Smart, VCU didn’t just survive early games; they ran teams out of the gym. The Rams won their first three tournament games by at least 13 points, playing a suffocating brand of defense that quickly became known as “Havoc.”

Many had VCU losing to USC in the First Four, but they easily handled the Trojans. In the “first” round, they beat up on Georgetown to move on. After that, they dropped 94 points on Purdue and got a lucky draw with 10th-seeded Florida State in the Sweet Sixteen. The big win came in the Elite Eight against Kansas, when VCU destroyed the No. 1 seed on its way to Houston.

Unfortunately, in the Battle of Cinderella, Butler and Brad Stevens became the duo that won over Smart and VCU. Still, it set the stage for an impressive run for Smart moving forward.

2013 Florida Gulf Coast
15 seed
Made the Sweet Sixteen

Anytime we hear “first ever” from a team that’s in the 21st century, it’s definitely worth of discussion. The 2013 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men’s basketball team was the first in history to make it past the first weekend as a 15 seed. We’ve seen some upsets of two seeds before, but those teams always lose in the round of 32. Not FGCU. They kept the wins coming. 

Their fast-paces style of play showcased something different for the top teams, including second-seeded Georgetown. The Hoyas were looking to make a splash, with some even picking them to win the whole thing. Instead, Sherwood Brown was a scoring machine, and it was a sight to see. This looked like the old school And1 Mixed Tapes with the crazy dunks and nonstop action. Florida Gulf Coast ended up winning 78-68.

In the second round, FGCU took on a San Diego State team that destroyed Oklahoma in the first round. Now, the shoe was on the other foot. Bernard Thompson went 9-for-15 from the field for 23 points, helping them get an 81-71 win. They ended up losing to cross-state rival Florida in the Sweet Sixteen, but that didn’t do anything to lessen the impact this run had on the program.

This was a team that had never made it to the NCAA Tournament before, and they quickly became the best Cinderella story in a long time. `

2018 Loyola Chicago Ramblers
11 seed
Made the Final Four

Ah, Sister Jean. One of the greatest “mascots” in the history of college sports, Sister Jean was a mainstay for Loyola Chicago during their run to the Final Four in 2018. In fact, she might have been everyone’s favorite part of 2018 March Madness. It was such an easy team to root for simply because of her presence. 

And the story almost never came to fruition. One of the greatest aspects of March Madness are the buzzer beaters, and LMU started their tournament with one of the best ever. Down by one with the click ticking towards zero, Donte Ingram took a shot with his foot on the center court logo, and he drained it as time expired. That was just to beat Miami in the first round!

In the next round, the game with No. 3 Tennessee also came down to the final buzzer. With about four seconds left, Clayton Custer took a shot with LMU down by one. The ball hit the rim, hit the backboard, hit the rim again, and went in. Tennessee took the ball down the court and took a shot to win, but it rimmed out. Against Nevada in the Sweet Sixteen, they hit a three to make it a one-point game with one second left, but Sister Jean’s squad held on.

Unlike Loyola Marymount, they cruised past Kansas State in the Elite Eight (where’s the drama in that?), but ultimately fell to Michigan. Not only was it one of the best Cinderella runs of all time, but with the added bonus of last-minute madness, it was one of the most exciting Final Four runs ever.

2022 St. Peters Peacocks
15 seed
Made the Elite Eight

Like many of the teams on this list before St. Peter’s, this was the story of an incredible head coach finding his footing on the biggest stage. Shaheen Holloway seemed to be one of the best kept secrets in college basketball, playing in one of the smaller colleges in New Jersey, already a state with little college sports success. They weren’t even the top team in the MAAC, but they made a run and beat Monmouth in the conference tournament final, advancing to their first NCAA Tournament in over a decade. 

This was a team that started the season 3-6, with two games canceled because of COVID issues. They went on a really nice run, behind a great defensive team. They were winning despite their top scorer (Darryl Banks III) scoring just 11.3 points per game. Only two players averaged double-digits in scoring. 

In the tournament, they were expected to be fodder for national title contender and two-seed Kentucky in the first round. The whole game, we were waiting for John Calipari’s team to turn it on and bury the Peacocks. It never happened, and we saw another two seed drop to a 15 seed. The Peacocks took on Murray State in the round of 32, and they won that pretty easily, as well.

As the rare 15 seed in the Sweet Sixteen, most expected their run to end here. Never has such a low seed made it to the Elite Eight. Until now. The Peacocks took down No. 3 Purdue 67-64 before losing pretty substantially to North Carolina. Holloway used the run to propel his status and take a job at Seton Hall, and we continue to keep an eye on St. Peter’s as an interesting program.

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