March Madness 2025: 5 Cinderella Possibilities For The Men's And Women's NCAA Tournaments

Gene Clemons uncovers five potential Cinderella squads ripe for pulling off upsets in the Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments.

The fanfare and spectacle associated with it has made March nothing less than madness. Yes the bracket craze has made the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments appointment viewing for various alumni, diehard fans, and sporting novices.

The national acceptance of sports betting has made public another layer of attention and all of it keeps eyeballs glued to the television watching with anticipation, but what captivates us all is the opportunity for a team to emerge from obscurity and destroy most people’s brackets. After all, what would the “Big Dance” be without Cinderellas? They are what provides the heart of any tournament. A double-digit seed that should not get out the opening round makes a run.

We all root for the underdog. This year will be no different as both tournaments unfold. Let’s take a look at some programs that you should keep an eye on during the men’s and women’s tourney.

Men's Bracket

11 Drake vs. 6 Missouri

The Bulldogs have been bounced from the tournament in the first round the last two seasons as 12th and 10th seeds, respectively. This season they have stepped up their performance even more, recording a 30-3 record in head coach Ben McCollum’s first season at the helm.

What has been the catalyst for improvement from a team that was already a regular invitee to the tournament? They decided to zig when the rest of the basketball world was zagging. Their pace of play is the slowest in the entire country and it is not even close. They rely on offensive execution to play the game in quicksand and lull their opposition into frustration. It has resulted in the second-best scoring defense in the country behind only Houston.

They have elite point guard play from Bennett Stirtz, who is capable of creating his own shot or a shot for others when the clock is running down. They also have veteran forwards who attack the offensive boards relentlessly and gain extra possessions for the team.

The Tigers will be a tough matchup because they are athletic and can be physical in the half court, but if Drake gets Mizzou to become antsy, this could be an intriguing finish. If the Bulldogs get by the Tigers, they will face the winner of Texas Tech and UNC Wilmington, which will not cause any panic. The Sweet 16 will likely place them up against St. John’s, which has a coach who is tournament fortified but a team full of inexperience.

13 High Point vs. 4 Purdue

High Point has won 14 straight games coming into the tournament. Meanwhile, Purdue has lost six of its last nine games. It is a perfect first matchup for a potential Cinderella. High Point has many of the key elements you want in an underdog. It has a legit offense which ranks 26th nationally in offensive efficiency, according to the KenPom rankings.

The Purple Panthers have a team led by veteran guards Kezza Giffa, D’Maurian Williams, and Bobby Pettiford. They have some athletic slashers and even a 7-foot shot blocker in Juslin Bodo Bodo. If they get past Purdue their second-round matchup will be against Clemson or McNeese. Neither team will intimidate the Panthers. The Sweet 16 will likely find them matched up against Houston, which will be daunting but having three veteran guards who can all create their own shot will definitely give them a chance to pull the massive upset.

13 Yale vs. 4 Texas A&M

The Bulldogs will once again come into the tournament looked upon as the prey, but they may, in fact, be the predator once again. The first-round matchup with Texas A&M is a great draw for them. The Aggies do not shoot well from behind the arc so they do not possess that nuclear option. They do turn teams over and they are monsters on the boards.

Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they are one of the best teams in the country at taking care of the ball. They also do a good job of getting bodies on bodies defensively when the shot goes up.

One of the things we see from Cinderella teams is that a star emerges who leads the team on a run through the bracket. The Bulldogs have that player in John Poulakidas. The senior three-point sniper has averaged over 40% from deep the past three seasons, and even with the defensive game plan of every opponent being to stop him, he averages 19.2 points per game. In their first-round matchup with Auburn last year, he scored 28 en route to a 78-76 upset of the Tigers. Do not be surprised if there is an encore performance from the 6-foot-5 guard. If they get by Texas A&M they will face the winner of Michigan-UC San Diego, two beatable opponents.

Women’s Bracket

The underdogs on the ladies' side were not given any relief. The top seeds are so dense that there is little to no fall off from the first to second seeds. Even the third seeds would have an argument for a top seed in other seasons. That means the road a Cinderella would need to travel would be the most treacherous that we have seen. Just getting out of the first round for a lower seed will be considered an accomplishment. There are a couple seven seeds that should be on upset alert against 10 seeds.

10 South Dakota State vs. 7 Oklahoma St.

That is what makes the 24th-ranked Jackrabbits so intriguing. They have only tasted defeat three times this season and one of them was a close five-point loss to seventh-ranked Duke. They also defeated Oregon, 75-70, and the Ducks are a fellow 10-seed in the tournament this season.

The Cowgirls have been battle tested in conference play and have a lot of capable scorers. But will it be enough to keep pace with the Jackrabbits, who are one of the best teams in the country at scoring? They have a squad full of all-conference performers—especially on defense—so they should be able to keep the Cowgirls' offense in check.

The inside/outside combination of Brooklyn and Paige Meyer are what makes this team so dangerous and Oklahoma State knows it. The game could come down to the three-point line. SDSU averages 37.3% from the arc and holds opponents to only 30%. If those numbers bear out, look for the Jackrabbits to face UConn in the second round.

10 Harvard vs. 7 Michigan State

In 1998, the Crimson crept into the NCAA Tournament as a 16-seed like lambs being led to the slaughter facing a top-seeded Stanford. When it was all over they stood as triumphant as David stood after slaying Goliath.

It was the only time Harvard won in the tournament, and this year could be the next time. Michigan State will be an interesting matchup because the Spartans like to pressure, but Harvard is one of the best teams in the nation at protecting the ball. If the Crimson neutralize the pressure, they limit Michigan State’s ability to score easy points off turnovers or in transition.

The Crimson have a very experienced team, which is led by Harmoni Turner, who averages 22.5 points per game. They also have one of the best defensive units in the country despite their height disadvantage in every game. NC State likely awaits them if they get past Michigan State, and although that is a daunting task, their style should be able to give the Wolfpack some trouble. If they can keep that close they may have a chance to steal the game in the fourth quarter.