Cinderella stories give tournament charm
When the NCAA Tournament starts Thursday with 64 teams, after the First Four games, the basketball world will all be wondering the same thing, is there a Cinderella.
Is there a team capable of making a run in the Big Dance like No. 11 seeded George Mason did in 2006 when it knocked off Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and No. 1 seed UConn to make the Final Four. The first Cinderella to make that hallowed weekend.
George Mason lost to Florida, which went on to win the NCAA Championship.
In 2008, No. 10 seed Davidson beat Gonzaga, probably the only Cinderella to develop into a national powerhouse, Georgetown and Wisconsin before losing in the Elite Eight to Kansas, which would win it all.
A star was born in that tournament as Stephen Curry scored 128 points in four games for Davidson.
Butler almost became a queen — although it wasn’t truly a Cinderella as a No. 5 and No. 8 seed — when it made it to the championship game in 2010 and 2011, losing first to Duke 61-59 and then to UConn 53-41.
In 2011, No. 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth made the first run from the First Four to the Final Four where it lost to Butler.
Of course, North Carolina State won it all as a No. 6 seed in 1983 beating Houston, which may have been the best team to not win a national championship.
Villanova was a No. 8 seed when it won the championship in 1985, beating Georgetown for the first time that season.
LSU was a No. 11 seed when it made history in 1986 as it became the only team to knock off a No. 1 (Memphis), No. 2 (Georgia Tech) and No. 3 (Kentucky) before losing to Louisville in the championship game.
Just two years later, No. 6 seed Kansas rolled into the championship game a distinct underdog to Billy Tubbs and the Oklahoma Sooners, who had already beaten the Jayhawks twice that season.
Played in Kansas City, it was almost a home game for the Jayhawks. Danny Manning had 31 points and 18 rebounds in Kansas’ 83-79 win.
Nolan Richardson, Tubbs and Paul Westhead were pioneering up-tempo basketball and in 1990 No. 11 seed Loyola Marymount won three games before being eliminated by No. 1 UNLV. That was Richardson’s first Final Four.
There have been numerous teams expected to not get out of the first weekend to make it to the Sweet 16, such as Florida Gulf Coast in 2013.
It has been six years since former UALR Coach Porter Moser, now at Oklahoma, took No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago on a run that knocked off No. 6 Miami, No. 3 Tennessee and No. 7 Nevada, coached by Eric Musselman, before knocking off No. 9 Kansas State to advance to the Final Four.
Loyola fell to No. 3 Michigan in the opening game of the championship round but had become a household name and almost made Sister Jean a saint.
Cinderellas give the NCAA Tournament a certain charm and a definite appreciation for the underdog, so with that in mind Thursday’s column will be dedicated to teams who could be the wearing silver slippers.
Several readers emailed to let it be known someone (me) had a mistake in Tuesday’s paper.
The NIT Final Four is no longer played in Madison Garden in New York City, it has moved to Indianapolis, home of the NCAA and will be hosted by Butler University’s arena, Hinkle Fieldhouse, which was made famous in the movie Hoosiers, inspired by tiny Milan High’s 1954 Indiana state basketball championship.
The championship game was filmed in Hinkle Fieldhouse, known then as Butler Fieldhouse.
Hinkle Fieldhouse is sixth oldest basketball arena in America and is on the National Register of Historic Places.