NCAA Basketball Tournament: Which Are the Biggest Final 4 Cinderellas?

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is on its way and excitement is already ramping up for the 2025 Selection Sunday Show, which will air on March 16 at 6 p.m. ET. While the usual suspects will be in the tournament, granted a high seed, and expected to go far, one of the most exciting aspects of the entire tournament is the underdogs who have shocked the world, often referred to as “Cinderellas.”

Still, infinite brackets have been busted by upsets perpetrated by unexpected teams. There are upsets every year, but when looking at March Madness history, there have not been many so-called Cinderellas who made it all the way to the Final Four.

Let’s look at the (arguably) five most prominent Cinderella teams to reach the Final Four.

Butler, 2011

Butler head coach Brad Stevens was still a couple of years away from going to the NBA to take over as head coach of the Boston Celtics and was one year out from losing to Duke in the National Final. The 2010 team had two future NBA players with forward Gordon Hayward and guard Shelvin Mack. Heyward left for the pros after that season.

In 2011, the Bulldogs were seeded #8. They bounced Southeast #1 Pittsburgh in the third round and #2 Florida in the Southeast Regional Final. Virginia Commonwealth (VCU), a Final Four Cinderella in its own right, was waiting in the National Semifinal where Butler dropped them by eight points. The Bulldogs lost in the final to Connecticut, 53-41.

George Mason, 2006

The Patriots went 27-8 under Jim Larranaga that season and netted an 11th seed for the tournament. They bounced #6 Michigan State in the first round, #3 North Carolina in the second round, and top-seeded UConn in the Regional Final. They lost to Florida in the semifinal.

They were truly a sum-of-its-parts team with no future NBA players on the roster.

LSU, 1986

One year after losing in the first round of the tournament to 13th-seeded Navy, LSU reached the Final Four as a #11 seed. They had gone 9-9 in the SEC that season. But the Tigers made history when they beat the three top seeds in the tournament by dropping Memphis, Georgia Tech, and Kentucky before losing to eventual champion Louisville in the semis.

LSU had three future NBA players on its roster: John Williams, Ricky Blanton, and Nikita Wilson. Only Williams spent extensive time in the league and he was an eight-year journeyman.

Dale Brown’s team reached the Regional Final the next year before losing to Bobby Knight and his NCAA champion Indiana.

VCU, 2011

Seeded #11 in the Southwest, VCU beat #6 Georgetown, #3 Purdue, and #1 Kansas to reach the semifinal where they lost to Butler. Shaka Smart’s team had not even made the tournament the year before. The games were not particularly close, especially a 10-point win over the Jayhawks.

They had one future NBA player on their roster, shooting guard Troy Daniels. He had a reasonably respectable seven-year career bouncing to seven teams. Smart’s enthusiasm made him a popular figure during the run.

Loyola Chicago, 2018

Loyola Chicago was 18-14 the previous year, but Porter Moser’s team went 32-6 to make it to the tournament. The Ramblers were a #11 seed and beat Miami (FL), Tennessee, Nevada, and Kansas State before succumbing to #3 Michigan in the semifinal. Sister Jean became a legend during the run. (She’s still around at 105!)

Who Will Be 2025’s March Madness Cinderella?

Part of the reason March Madness is so popular is the chance that an unheralded, unexpected, unknown team will rise and make a Cinderella run. These are just five examples of that happening with marches to the Final Four.

When thinking about how to analyze the upcoming tournament, it is important to remember the past and think about what is possible.

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