March Madness is a time like no other. The single elimination tournament consists of 64 teams all vying for the national championship trophy and features some of the best players in the country. But some of the greatest moments don’t always come from the top teams, rather the “Cinderellas.” Cinderellas are underdog teams that provide fans with glorysome moments by defining expectations, and unexpectedly advance deep into the tournament. Cinderellas paint the story for many small programs, showing anything is possible in the month of march. Upsets are still to come, but for now here are the top five Men’s Cinderellas of all time.
#5: 2013 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles
The FGCU Eagles led by head coach Andy Enfield came into the 2013 March Madness tournament listed as a 15 seed, but would soon create the legend we know today as “Dunk City.” The Eagles were known for their high flying offense and electric dunks, producing 20 dunks over the course of three games and earning them the name Dunk City. The Eagles knocked off the second seed Georgetown and seventh seed San Diego State before their championship hopes were eaten alive by a 62-50 loss to the third seed Florida Gators. The Eagles became the first 15 seed at the time to reach the sweet sixteen and are widely regarded as one of the best Cinderella runs of all time, earning them the rightful spot of number five on this list.
#4: 1985 Villanova Wildcats
The Wildcats are known as a historically thriving team in the world of college basketball. At one point, they had a rocky season going 23-11 during the regular season, but flipped the script in March by becoming the lowest seed ever to win the national championship as the eighth seed. During their run, they defeated teams like Dayton, Michigan, Maryland, North Carolina Chapel Hill, Memphis State and eventually Georgetown with the stellar Patrick Ewing. It was this national championship game for Villanova that would go down in history as the “perfect game” where the Wildcats would shoot .786 from the floor and beat Georgetown 66-64. This run solidifies Villanova’s 1985 season as the number four on this list.
#3: 2011 VCU Rams
The VCU Rams took the tournament from start to finish, as they not only played in the “first four” which is the preliminary round of the tournament being an eleven seed, but ended up going all the way to the final four. At first glance they shouldn’t have even been in the tournament, finishing the regular season 23-11 and losing their conference title game. Their path consisted of beating top seeded teams like eleven ranked USC, sixth ranked Georgetown, third ranked Purdue, tenth ranked Florida State and first ranked Kansas. VCU ran the “havoc” defense under coach Shaka Smart, a strategy consisting of high effort and intensity to create many turnovers. This gives VCU the right to be number three on this list.
#2: 2022 Saint Peter’s Peacocks
The Peacocks rewrote the records book in 2022 and to this day are one of the best Cinderella stories of all time. Led by legend Doug Edert, the school from New Jersey had only 2,000 students enrolled at the time, but played in dominating fashion throughout the entire tournament. The Peacocks relied on what mattered most, being teamwork as they were balanced scoring wise throughout the tournament. Saint Peter’s run consisted of upsets on well known power house programs, like second seed Kentucky, seventh seed Murray State and third seed Purdue. They became the first fifteenth seed to reach the elite eight, earning them the respect of being number 2 on this list.
#1: 2018 Loyola Chicago Ramblers
Loyola Chicago’s run in the 2018 March Madness tournament is one not to be forgotten. With the help of March legend and icon Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, they paved their way through as a small school. The 98 year old woman at the time known as Sister Jean brought good luck and fortune to Loyola Chicago as they not only advanced to the final four as an eleventh seed, but had countless buzzer beaters to leave the college basketball world in shock. Their path first started against Miami (FL) when Donte Ingram hit a buzzer beater three pointer from the logo to put them on top 64-62. They then beat Tennessee in the following round on a buzzer beater by Clayton Custer giving them a 63-62 win. This streak would only be the start as Loyola Chicago would go on to defeat Nevada and Kansas State. However, like everything good in life, the magical run came to an end with a loss to third-seeded Michigan in the Final Four. Loyola Chicago and Sister Jean’s run in March will forever go down as the best to ever do it, giving them the number one rank on this list.
