Who are the Best March Madness Cinderellas of All Time?
It's easy to cheer for the favorite, and when it comes to college basketball, many of the most popular schools are exactly that. They're good year-in-and-out, their names and their coaches are familiar. Seeing Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas make a deep run in your March Madness bracket isn't shocking or unusual.
But what everyone loves even more is a good Cinderella story - a long shot overcoming all odds. David vs. Goliath. So we're breaking down the best March Madness Cinderellas of all time ahead of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, including the teams with the longest odds to cut down the nets and win in the first round.
Check out the latest March Madness odds to identify potential long shots in the 2025 NCAA Tournament field.
🏀 Who are the biggest long shots in March Madness history?
The tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, and for the purpose of this article, we're just going to look at things from then on.
And wouldn't ya know it - most of the champions come from the top seed line, as I detailed in my breakdown of the March Madness top seeds. In fact, 25 of the 39 champions have been No. 1 seeds, five more from the No. 2 spot, and four from the 3-hole. That means just five champions have been seeded fourth or worse.
As we dug into more with our look at the most common March Madness upsets, no team seeded No. 9 or worse has ever cut down the nets. There's been one Cinderella winner from each of the No. 8, No. 7, and No. 6 seeds, and two No. 4s have won it all.
But not all long shots are created equal. In fact, a No. 3 seed managed to sneak onto this list - and not at the bottom!
🏆 Biggest NCAA Tournament long shots
| Pre-tournament odds | Team (seed) | Championship result |
|---|---|---|
| +9500 | 2014 UConn (7) | Def. Kentucky (8), 60-54 |
| +3500 | 1985 Villanova (8) | Def. Georgetown (1), 66-64 |
| +2500 | 2011 UConn (3) | Def. Butler (8), 53-41 |
| +2000 | 1988 Kentucky (6) | Def. Oklahoma (6), 83-79 |
| +1800 | 1997 Arizona (4) | Def. Kentucky (1), 84-79 (OT) |
| +1600 | 2023 UConn (4) | Def. San Diego State (5), 76-59 |
We can all agree that the big takeaway here is that UConn can pull this business off anytime it's in the top half of the field. But as we broke down in our guide on how to fill out a March Madness bracket, it usually takes a great player on an all-time heater to lead a team on an epic Cinderella run.
That's what happened for each of Connecticut's biggest surprise title runs, led by Kemba Walker (2011) and Shabazz Napier (2014) to cut the nets as two of the three biggest long shots of all time. Ed Pinckney did the same for No. 8 seed Villanova in 1985, which remains the lowest-seeded team to ever win the NCAA Tournament.
Another takeaway from this list? That 2014 UConn team is the only team in March Madness history with longer than +4000 odds to actually win the NCAA Tournament. That doesn't bode well for Cinderella teams below that threshold entering this week's first round.
Can the Huskies get the job done this year? Our Gabe Henderson examines UConn's March Madness odds.
📊 March Madness odds to win NCAA Tournament
👠 Best March Madness Cinderellas in first round
There's nothing the people want more than Cinderella stories. Well, maybe affordable gas and eggs ... but ya know, after that, Cinderella stories.
We outlined above that those stories often don't go very far, but that doesn't mean there isn't joy in a team knocking off the giant in the first round and dreaming about a long-shot run like the winners we mentioned earlier. Here are the five best Cinderella winners in the first round based on the point spread:
💰 Biggest March Madness upsets by point spread
| Year | Matchup | Spread | Final score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Fairleigh Dickinson (16) def. Purdue (1) | 23 points | 63-58 |
| 2012 | Norfolk State (15) def. Missouri (2) | 21.5 points | 86-84 |
| 2018 | UMBC (16) def. Virginia (1) | 20.5 points | 74-54 |
| 1993 | Santa Clara (15) def. Arizona (2) | 20 points | 64-61 |
| 2022 | Saint Peter's (15) def. Kentucky (2) | 18.5 points | 85-79 (OT) |
| 1997 | Coppin State (15) def. South Carolina (2) | 18.5 points | 78-65 |
It was only two years ago that Fairleigh Dickinson beat Purdue in the biggest March Madness upset of all time. The Boilermakers were favored by 23 points before eventually losing to the No. 16 seed FDU, which became the second No. 16 seed to win an NCAA Tournament game after UMBC (+20.5) beat Virginia in 2018.
Still, let's take a moment for perspective before you empty the bank account on a 20-point underdog in the opening round with dreams of resigning from your day job. Only 13 times has a No. 15 or No. 16 seed won in the first round in a combined 312 games. That's just 4.2% of all such teams winning in the Round of 64.
If that happens this year and ruins your chance at a perfect March Madness bracket, just sit back and enjoy the moment and emotion for the teams on the court.
🎯 Which Cinderellas should you pick in your March Madness bracket?
If we know one thing about March Madness, it's that there will inevitably be a few shocking upsets in the first round and at least one surprise team that makes a deep run through the NCAA Tournament.
So we've asked our college basketball experts to identify the best Cinderella teams ahead of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Check back on Monday as we break down our best candidates to bust brackets this year in March Madness:
🔥 Expert March Madness upset picks
- Best March Madness Giant Killers
- March Madness upset predictions
- March Madness bracket sleepers
- March Madness bold predictions
- Best March Madness long shots
- March Madness Round 1 upset parlay
- Best 12 vs. 5 upset picks
- Best 13-16 seeds
📅March Madness key dates
- Selection Sunday: March 16
- First Four: March 18-19
- First round: March 20-21
- Second round: March 22-23
- Sweet 16: March 27-28
- Elite Eight: March 29-30
- Final Four: Saturday, April 5
- National championship game: Monday, April 7
💰 March Madness betting odds pages
👑 Best March Madness betting sites
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