A History of Cinderella Teams in the NCAA Tournament

These Davids went up against Goliaths and won.

Looking at Some of the NCAA Tournament's Best Cinderella Squads - March Madness wouldn't be what it is each year without a Cinderella team that defies all odds in the NCAA Tournament. Who's the Cinderella team going to be this year? No. 12 seeds Buffalo and Stephen F. Austin or how about 14th-seeded Georgia State? While we watch to see how 2015's David vs. Goliath story develops, let's look back on some of the great fairytale stories of the NCAA Tournament over the past 30 years.(Photos from Left: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images, Getty Images, Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

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Looking at Some of the NCAA Tournament's Best Cinderella Squads - March Madness wouldn't be what it is each year without a Cinderella team that defies all odds in the NCAA Tournament. Who's the Cinderella team going to be this year? No. 12 seeds Buffalo and Stephen F. Austin or how about 14th-seeded Georgia State? While we watch to see how 2015's David vs. Goliath story develops, let's look back on some of the great fairytale stories of the NCAA Tournament over the past 30 years.(Photos from Left: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images, Getty Images, Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

2008 Davidson - Before becoming a legit NBA MVP candidate, Stephen Curry put the nation on notice during the 2008 tournament. Curry became one of only four players to score 30 points or higher in each of his first four tournament games, leading Davidson to the Elite 8 in a memorable run. It was with Davidson that Curry would first really showed off his lights-out shooting and ability to score. (Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

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2008 Davidson - Before becoming a legit NBA MVP candidate, Stephen Curry put the nation on notice during the 2008 tournament. Curry became one of only four players to score 30 points or higher in each of his first four tournament games, leading Davidson to the Elite 8 in a memorable run. It was with Davidson that Curry would first really showed off his lights-out shooting and ability to score. (Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

1988 Kansas - Eleven losses during the season doesn't really sound like championship material, but Kansas's Jayhawks proved that anything can happen in the NCAA Tournament. With Larry Brown as head coach and Danny Manning as their star player, the team, dubbed "Danny and the Miracles," pulled off improbable wins against Kansas State, Duke and Oklahoma to be crowned national champion. (Photo: Getty Images)

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1988 Kansas - Eleven losses during the season doesn't really sound like championship material, but Kansas's Jayhawks proved that anything can happen in the NCAA Tournament. With Larry Brown as head coach and Danny Manning as their star player, the team, dubbed "Danny and the Miracles," pulled off improbable wins against Kansas State, Duke and Oklahoma to be crowned national champion. (Photo: Getty Images)

1983 North Carolina State - It is still regarded as one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history. Nobody expected the North Carolina State Wolfpack to defeat Houston, which featured NBA Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, for the national title. But yet the "Cardiac Pack" did just that...dropping the final hammer on Houston with a buzzer-beating dunk from Lorenzo Charles. Following the win, late NC State coach Jimmy Valvano memorably ran on the court in disbelief and euphoria of what his team, a sixth seed that went just 26-10, had accomplished.(Photo: Focus on Sport/Getty Images) 

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1983 North Carolina State - It is still regarded as one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history. Nobody expected the North Carolina State Wolfpack to defeat Houston, which featured NBA Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, for the national title. But yet the "Cardiac Pack" did just that...dropping the final hammer on Houston with a buzzer-beating dunk from Lorenzo Charles. Following the win, late NC State coach Jimmy Valvano memorably ran on the court in disbelief and euphoria of what his team, a sixth seed that went just 26-10, had accomplished.(Photo: Focus on Sport/Getty Images) 

1985 Villanova - No. 8 Villanova was another team that did the unthinkable, knocking out No. 1 Georgetown to win the national title. 'Nova's Ed Pinckney won the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award, outplaying future Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing in the national title game. (Photo: Corbis)

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1985 Villanova - No. 8 Villanova was another team that did the unthinkable, knocking out No. 1 Georgetown to win the national title. 'Nova's Ed Pinckney won the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award, outplaying future Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing in the national title game. (Photo: Corbis)

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2000 Wisconsin - Led by junior guard Roy Boone, the eighth-seed Wisconsin Badgers didn't back down from anyone in the 2000 NCAA Tournament, knocking out No. 1 Arizona before making it all the way to the Final Four.  (Photo: Brian Bahr/ALLSPORT/Getty Images)

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2000 Wisconsin - Led by junior guard Roy Boone, the eighth-seed Wisconsin Badgers didn't back down from anyone in the 2000 NCAA Tournament, knocking out No. 1 Arizona before making it all the way to the Final Four.  (Photo: Brian Bahr/ALLSPORT/Getty Images)

1999 Gonzaga - The 10th-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs lived up to their team nickname, packing plenty of bite during their run to the Sweet 16 of the 1999 NCAA Tournament. Not only did they become the Cinderella team of the tourney, but they also became America's team during their magical run through March Madness, even taking eventual champion UConn to the final minute. (Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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1999 Gonzaga - The 10th-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs lived up to their team nickname, packing plenty of bite during their run to the Sweet 16 of the 1999 NCAA Tournament. Not only did they become the Cinderella team of the tourney, but they also became America's team during their magical run through March Madness, even taking eventual champion UConn to the final minute. (Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

1990 Loyola Marymount - With their star Hank Gathers having collapsed and died in January 1990, Loyola Marmount went into the 1990 NCAA Tournament with heavy hearts. Bo Kimble played in his best friend Gathers' honor, leading the Lions all the way to the Elite 8 that year.(Photo: Tim de Frisco /Allsport)

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1990 Loyola Marymount - With their star Hank Gathers having collapsed and died in January 1990, Loyola Marmount went into the 1990 NCAA Tournament with heavy hearts. Bo Kimble played in his best friend Gathers' honor, leading the Lions all the way to the Elite 8 that year.(Photo: Tim de Frisco /Allsport)

2006 George Mason - George Mason didn't stay an unassuming 11th seed for long in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. With 6-foot-7, 275-pound forward Jai Lewis patrolling the paint, the Patriots rumbled past their first two opponents, including getting past defending champion North Carolina. In the Elite 8, George Mason kept its Cinderella season going strong, upsetting No. 1 UConn in a memorable overtime thriller. The Pats finally fell to Florida in the Final Four, but what a fairytale run.(Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

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2006 George Mason - George Mason didn't stay an unassuming 11th seed for long in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. With 6-foot-7, 275-pound forward Jai Lewis patrolling the paint, the Patriots rumbled past their first two opponents, including getting past defending champion North Carolina. In the Elite 8, George Mason kept its Cinderella season going strong, upsetting No. 1 UConn in a memorable overtime thriller. The Pats finally fell to Florida in the Final Four, but what a fairytale run.(Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

2010 Butler - As Gordon Hayward went, the Butler Bulldogs went. Hayward, now with the Utah Jazz, had a fantastic 2010 NCAA Tournament, powering the fifth-seeded Bulldogs to upsets of No. 1 Syracuse and second seed Kansas State before defeating Michigan State in the Final Four. Turned into everyone's favorite underdog, Butler's Cinderella campaign finally came to an end at the hands of Duke in the national title game.(Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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2010 Butler - As Gordon Hayward went, the Butler Bulldogs went. Hayward, now with the Utah Jazz, had a fantastic 2010 NCAA Tournament, powering the fifth-seeded Bulldogs to upsets of No. 1 Syracuse and second seed Kansas State before defeating Michigan State in the Final Four. Turned into everyone's favorite underdog, Butler's Cinderella campaign finally came to an end at the hands of Duke in the national title game.(Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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2011 Virginia Commonwealth University - VCU took full advantage of the NCAA Tournament increasing its field of play by eight teams. Not only did the Rams emerge from the tourney's new First Four round, but they upset their way, as an 11th seed, to improbable victories over powerhouses like Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and Kansas to land in the Final Four. The fact that it was the Virginia school's first ever trip to the Final Four and it came in coach Shaka Smart's second season made for all the elements of a true Cinderella story.(Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

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2011 Virginia Commonwealth University - VCU took full advantage of the NCAA Tournament increasing its field of play by eight teams. Not only did the Rams emerge from the tourney's new First Four round, but they upset their way, as an 11th seed, to improbable victories over powerhouses like Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and Kansas to land in the Final Four. The fact that it was the Virginia school's first ever trip to the Final Four and it came in coach Shaka Smart's second season made for all the elements of a true Cinderella story.(Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

2013 Florida Gulf Coast University - The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles made their debut in the NCAA Tournament a memorable one back in 2013. That's when second-year coach Andy Enfield led the 15th-seed Eagles all the way to the Sweet Sixteen round, where they fell to Florida. (Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)

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2013 Florida Gulf Coast University - The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles made their debut in the NCAA Tournament a memorable one back in 2013. That's when second-year coach Andy Enfield led the 15th-seed Eagles all the way to the Sweet Sixteen round, where they fell to Florida. (Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)

2013 Wichita State - The Wichita State Shockers rode their ninth seed as far into the 2013 NCAA Tournament as possible, scoring upsets of No. 1 Gonzaga and second-seed Ohio State en route to a Final Four berth. Although, Wichita State wouldn't get further than that, Cleanthony Early and company provided enough Shock along the way of their Cinderella journey through the Tournament.(Photo: Travis Heying/Wichita Eagles/MCT)

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2013 Wichita State - The Wichita State Shockers rode their ninth seed as far into the 2013 NCAA Tournament as possible, scoring upsets of No. 1 Gonzaga and second-seed Ohio State en route to a Final Four berth. Although, Wichita State wouldn't get further than that, Cleanthony Early and company provided enough Shock along the way of their Cinderella journey through the Tournament.(Photo: Travis Heying/Wichita Eagles/MCT)