Mid-Majors: Best Cinderella stories

When the college basketball season tips off in November, fans have their eyes set on one thing, March.

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament brings excitement and drama year after year, including some shocking and unpredictable upsets.

But sometimes these teams pull off more than just one upset, instead, they turn one game into a deep run in the bracket.

Let’s delve into some teams that made amazing and entertaining runs into March that no one expected.

2006: George Mason Patriots

George Mason would go from losing in the conference tournament to making an incredible and improbable run to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.

The Patriots would lose to Hofstra in the Colonial-Athletic tournament. What would happen next, however, would shock the nation.

George Mason would defeat sixth-seeded Michigan State in the first round, third-seeded North Carolina in the second and seventh-seeded Wichita State in the Sweet Sixteen. They would then upset one-seeded UConn Huskies to make the final four.

Though they would fall in the final four to Florida, the Patriots created one of the more memorable mid-major Final Four runs.

2008: Davidson Wildcats

The Davidson Wildcats in 2008 had one future NBA player on their roster, however, that player would turn out to be the greatest three-point shooter of all time in Stephen Curry.

The Wildcats would head into the NCAA tournament after winning the Southern Conference Championship. They would make an incredible run to the Elite Eight defeating seventh-seeded Gonzaga, second-seeded Georgetown and third-seeded Wisconsin.

Curry would drop 40, 30 and 33 points in the first three games of the tournament spurred on by 19 three-pointers.

Davidson would drop a heartbreaker in the Elite Eight to the eventual national championship winner the Kansas Jayhawks.

2013: Florida Gulf Coast Eagles

One of the most fun teams to ever watch in the NCAA tournament. The FGCU team became known as “Dunk City” after their performance in the tournament.

The Eagles had a tough route to the tournament, they would have to knock off Mercer in the Atlantic Sun conference championship to the school’s first NCAA tournament berth.

From there on they would knock off two-seeded Georgetown and seventh-seeded San Diego state to make it to the Sweet Sixteen.

The team played with an atypical style to most mid-major teams. Playing high-flying basketball with frequent dunk and alley-oop attempts. Sherwood Brown, the team's top performer in March, was a walk-on to the basketball program a few years earlier.

The Eagles would then fall to Florida, but highlights from their games still frequently appear on social media feeds during March till this day.

2018: Loyola Chicago Ramblers

Who could have thought that all a team would need to make an incredible run was the support of their team chaplain? For Loyola Chicago, Sister Jean was all that they needed.

The Ramblers came into the tournament as the Missouri-Valley conference champions. In the first two rounds of the tournament, they would defeat sixth-seeded Miami and third-seeded Tennessee both on incredible buzzer-beaters.

Loyola Chicago would take down seven-seeded Nevada and ninth-seeded Kansas State to make the Final Four. They would lose to the national runner-up Michigan, but stole the hearts of fans across the country with a feel-good story.

2022: Saint Peter's Peacocks

Saint Peter’s March Madness run was incredibly unexpected, so much so that only 28,000 people predicted them to even make the Sweet Sixteen.

The Peacocks would shock the nation in the first round defeating the second-seeded Kentucky Wildcats. Doug Edert, a guard on the team, took social media by storm for his play in the game against Kentucky.

Saint Peter’s was not done, they would take down seventh-seeded Murray State and third-seeded Purdue to make the Sweet Sixteen.

The Peacocks would fall to the national runner-up in North Carolina but created a memorable run that set social media alight.

Luke Stefanisko is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ljs6415@psu.edu.