Despite being touted as a potential Cinderella team, Conference USA's champion, Middle Tennessee, failed to make it past the second round of the NCAA tournament. Many people saw Middle Tennessee as a potential Cinderella story since the Blue Raiders returned a bulk of their players from last year's team that defeated #2 seed Michigan State in the NCAA tournament. Every year the tournament sees upsets, but Middle Tennessee's shocking win over the Spartans gave the Blue Raiders the distinction of being one of the eight #15 seeded teams to win a first round game. After defeating #5 seed Minnesota, the #12 seed Blue Raiders were primed to advance in this year's tournament. However, last night's loss to Butler in the second round ended Middle Tennessee's dream of a Cinderella story. But as much as we love a Cinderella story, not all stories have a fairy tale ending. And in the case of Middle Tennessee, sometimes the slipper just doesn't fit.
So what constitutes a true Cinderella Story? Cinderella stories involve a major upset that happens when an underdog rises up out of nowhere to defy expectations and defeats a team that is largely projected to win. And It seems every year we see major upsets in the first round but because March Madness is a two-week tournament, a team is typically not considered a Cinderella story unless it breaks into the Sweet 16.
Over the years there have been various rankings of the NCAA tournament's best Cinderellas and Sports Illustrated has provided a ranking of 16 of the best-ever Cinderella teams.
Although people may disagree with these rankings, few fans will question the incredible achievement of these Cinderellas (click web address below for rankings).
http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/08/11/best-cinderella-ncaa-tournament-march-madness
Now that Sports Illustrated has identified the best-ever Cinderellas, what really makes an NCAA tournament Cinderella? What's in a Cinderella's statistical DNA?
In the article, "March Madness: Three Traits that a Cinderella must have," the author suggests the three traits of a Cinderella are offensive efficiency, turnover margin, and experience. To help explain offensive efficiency, he discusses Western Kentucky's 2008 Sweet 16 team (click web address below for article).
http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball...rch-madness-three-traits-cinderella-must-have
So what constitutes a true Cinderella Story? Cinderella stories involve a major upset that happens when an underdog rises up out of nowhere to defy expectations and defeats a team that is largely projected to win. And It seems every year we see major upsets in the first round but because March Madness is a two-week tournament, a team is typically not considered a Cinderella story unless it breaks into the Sweet 16.
Over the years there have been various rankings of the NCAA tournament's best Cinderellas and Sports Illustrated has provided a ranking of 16 of the best-ever Cinderella teams.
Although people may disagree with these rankings, few fans will question the incredible achievement of these Cinderellas (click web address below for rankings).
http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/08/11/best-cinderella-ncaa-tournament-march-madness
Now that Sports Illustrated has identified the best-ever Cinderellas, what really makes an NCAA tournament Cinderella? What's in a Cinderella's statistical DNA?
In the article, "March Madness: Three Traits that a Cinderella must have," the author suggests the three traits of a Cinderella are offensive efficiency, turnover margin, and experience. To help explain offensive efficiency, he discusses Western Kentucky's 2008 Sweet 16 team (click web address below for article).
http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball...rch-madness-three-traits-cinderella-must-have
Last edited:
