Written by Andrew Clayman

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They start out as longshots, dark horses, sleepers, and underdogs. But since the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament introduced its seeding system in 1979, the biggest overachievers in the Big Dance have all come to be better known as "Cinderellas." Now-- with the parity of the 2013 season turning upsets into inevitabilites -- it's time to put the tournament's most surprising performances in their proper historical context. These are college basketball's 40 Greatest Cinderella Runs of the modern era.

Of course, like the committee on Selection Sunday, there are certain key attributes we looked for when putting this list together. First and foremost, our definition of a Cinderella team includes ONLY teams that won at least two games during their tournament run; overcoming a relatively low seed and tough draw in the process. This means that we're drawing a distinct line between schools that pulled off one shocking upset (like Coppin State in 1997 or Norfolk State last year) and those that actually put together a prolonged run into the Sweet Sixteen or beyond. If the shoe fits, you've got to wear it more than once. A Cinderella ain't no one one-trick pony!

Also, a Cinderella needn't be an obscure mid-major school previously unheard of to the general public. Representatives of the Big 6 conferences are welcome here, too, so long as they entered the tournament with low seeds and lower expectations. The thinking here is, if you can't include the 1983 N.C. State team on a Cinderella list, what good is it?

So... if the ground rules are understood-- and with all apologies to the fine programs of the pre-seeding era-- let us begin the countdown. Here are your 40 most memorable March Madness Cinderella Teams, ranked on a scale from "terrific" to "totally effing legendary."

40 Greatest Cinderellas of the NCAA Tournament
1979-Present (The Seeding Era)

40. Rhode Island (1988)
Seed: #11 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
The 1988 NCAA Tournament is best remembered for the surprising title run of the "Danny and the Miracles" Kansas squad, but while the Jayhawks were simply reaching their clear potential, the Rhode Island Rams were fighting well out of their weight class and winning. Led by senior Tom Garrick, the #11-seed sent shockwaves through the East Region, dropping 6-seed Missouri and 3-seed Syracuse before losing a heartbreaker to the Final Four bound Duke Blue Devils, 73-72.

39. UTEP (1992)
Seed: #9 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
Nearly 30 years after an historic National Championship victory over Kentucky (back when the school was called Texas Western), the University of Texas-El Paso had faded into basketball obscurity. But that all quickly changed at the '92 NCAA Tourney, when the Miners blew up everyone's brackets by taking down the #1 seed Kansas in the second round, 66-60. They kept the momentum going in a third round war with Bob Huggins' Cincinnati Bearcats, but fell a hair short, 69-67.

38. Southern Illinois (2002)
Seed: #11 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
Like UTEP, the Southern Illinois basketball program enjoyed some glory back in the '60s (including a 1967 NIT Championship), but nobody gave the Salukis much notice coming out of the Missouri Valley Conference in 2002. That would prove to be an egregious oversight, as junior guard Kent Williams helped lift SIU to upsets of 6-seed Texas Tech and the heavily favored #3 seed, Georgia.

37. Tulsa (1994)
Seed: #12 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
Here's another Missouri Valley Conference champ, coached by an up-and-coming Tubby Smith. With diaper dandy Shea Seals and a high-powered offense, Tulsa was recognized as a challenge for UCLA, but not a true threat... until they bounced Tyus Edney and the Bruins in a 112-102 shootout. This was followed up by an 82-80 stunner over Bryant Reeves and OK State two days later.

36. Miami-OH (1999)
Seed: #10 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
Charlie Coles’ deliberate, ball control offense helped put the MAC back on the map, as sharpshooting Wally Szczerbiak and company picked up up scrappy wins over #7 Washington and #2 Utah.

35. Lamar (1980)
Seed: #10 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
The Cardinals of the Southland Conference made the Big Dance four times between 1979 and 1983, and they impressively won their first round match-up every time. 1980 was Lamar’s finest moment, as they snuck by #7 Weber State and #2 Oregon State in dramatic fashion.

34. UW-Milwaukee (2005)
Seed: #12 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
The Horizon League winners traveled down the road to Chicago and made quick work of two solid teams, ousting #5 Alabama and #4 Boston College. They finally fell to #1 Illinois, but coach Bruce Pearl rode the Cinderella wave to a new job at Tennessee.

33. Ohio U (2012)
Seed: #13 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
After sneaking by Akron for the MAC title, Ohio and its pesky point guard D.J. Cooper became the lone Cinderellas of the 2012 Dance, ousting Michigan and taking North Carolina right to the brink in the round of 16.

32. Xavier (2004)
Seed: #7 / Finish: Elite Eight
Thad Matta’s unranked club was a bubble team before sweeping through the A-10 conference tournament, and they rode that hot streak straight on to the Big Dance, cruising past #2 Mississippi State and #3 Texas. In the Elite Eight, Lionel Chalmers and company pushed #1 Duke to the limit, but eventually lost 66-63.

31. Bradley (2006)
Seed: #13 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
Senior Marcellus Sommerville led the Braves on a remarkable run from just a fifth place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference to inspired wins over #4 Kansas and #5 Pitt. It took #1 Memphis to stop them in their tracks.

30. Ball State (1990)
Seed: #12 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
They were understandably overshadowed by the other Cinderella in their region of the bracket, Loyola Marymount. But while Loyola eventually lost to #1 UNLV by 30 points, Ball State had played the Runnin’ Rebels right down to the wire in their sweet sixteen match-up, losing 69-67. This followed wins over #5 Oregon State and #4 Louisville.

29. St. Josephs (1981)
Seed: #9 / Finish: Elite 8
The Hawks' return to national relevance was a loud one, as they parlayed a somewhat insulting #9 seed into a run of three straight extremely tight wins over #8 Creighton (59-57), #1 DePaul (49-48), and #5 Boston College (42-41), before falling to Bobby Knight and the eventual champion Hoosiers in a rout. 

28. Wisconsin (2000)
Seed: #8 / Finish: Final Four
Both the Badgers and North Carolina reached the Final Four as #8 seeds in 2000, but while NC was simply finally living up to its preseason expectations, Wisconsin had never been ranked all year. They finished sixth in the Big Ten and barely made the Dance at 18-14, and yet they somehow managed to extinguish #1 Arizona, #4 LSU, and #6 Purdue. Eventual champs Michigan State finally stopped them in the semis.

27. Cornell (2010)
Seed: #12 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
There’s always something extra Cinderella-y about an Ivy League school making a run. In 2010, Cornell entered the Dance with a 27-4 record, but sans the respect one would expect to go with it. That all changed after impressive, cakewalk wins over #5 Temple and #4 Wisconsin. It took John Wall and Kentucky to finally end the Big Red’s run.

26. Virginia (1984)
Seed: #7 / Finish: Final Four
Everyone remembers the classic ’84 Final between Houston and Georgetown, but the Cavaliers (who had finished just sixth in the ACC) came one basket away from beating Phi Slamma Jamma and playing Georgetown themselves. Team captain Rick Carlisle helped lead Virginia past #2 Arkansas, #3 Syracuse, and #4 Indiana.

25. Providence (1997)
Seed: #10 / Finish: Elight Eight
Austin Croshere was the star, but God Shammgod was obviously the name to know on this Friars team-- one of two Providence appearances on our list. After ousting the highly touted Duke Blue Devils in Round 2, Providence moved all the way to the Elite Eight, where they gave eventual champion Arizona a run for their money in a 96-92 shootout.

24. Temple (2001)
Seed: #11 / Finish: Elite Eight
After losing 7 straight games early in the season, coach John Chaney led Temple on its last great postseason run, sweeping through the Atlantic 10 tourney and knocking out #6 Texas, #3 Florida, and #7 Penn State in the Big Dance before losing a tight one to #1 Michigan State in the round of eight.

23. Richmond (1988)
Seed: #13 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
Three years before they shocked #2 Syracuse as a #15 seed, the Spiders made some considerable waves as a no less marginal #13 seed. The Colonial champs delivered deadly bites to Bob Knight’s #4 seeded Hoosiers and Bobby Cremins’ #5 Georgia Tech Yellowjackets before their venom wore out against #1 Temple.

22. Missouri (2002)
Seed: #12 / Finish: Elite Eight
At the same time Kent State was making its miracle run, an even lower seed had also found its way to the Elite Eight in ’02. Despite a sixth place finish in the Big 12, Kareem Rush and Missouri found a March Madness spark, sending home #5 Miami, #4 Ohio State, and #8 UCLA before succumbing to #2 Oklahoma.

21. Alabama-Birmingham (2004)
Seed: #9 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
Unranked and just the fourth best team in Conference USA, the UAB Blazers turned on the switch in their St. Louis regional, beating #8 Washington 102-100 and shocking #1 Kentucky 76-75. The juice ran out against #4 Kansas in the round of sixteen.

20. Tennessee-Chattanooga (1997)
Seed: #14 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
Behind the skills of Johnny Taylor, Southern Conference champion Chattanooga upended #3 Georgia and #6 Illinois, joining the ’86 Cleveland State Vikings as the only #14 seed to make the round of 16.

19. Northern Iowa (2010)
Seed: #9 / Sweet Sixteen
Despite a 28-4 record, the Missouri Valley champs only earned a #9 seed, but they certainly took the opportunity it afforded them, first dispatching #8 UNLV and then pulling one of the all-time shockers with a 69-67 win over tournament favorites and #1 seed Kansas.

18. Valparaiso (1998)
Seed: #13 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
In an upset-filled 1998 tourney, Bryce Drew and Valpo managed to win the most hearts, thanks to a now iconic 3-point buzzer beater over #4 Ole Miss. The Crusaders outlasted #12 Florida State in the following round, as well.

17. Providence (1987)
Seed: #6 / Finish: Final Four
The best Cinderellas pull at the heart strings, and the run Providence made following the death of coach Rick Pitino’s infant son was extremely emotional. Led by guard Billy Donovan, the Friars blew out #2 Alabama and #1 Georgetown before falling to #2 Syracuse at the Louisiana Superdome.

16. Louisiana State (1986)
Seed: #11 / Finish: Final Four
LSU is hardly a little guy like George Mason or VCU (the only other #11 seeds to make a Final 4), but they put together a hell of a run, nonetheless, starting with wins over #6 Purdue and #3 Memphis State on their own floor in Baton Rouge (leading to a rule change about home court scheduling). On neutral ground, the Tigers still beat #2 Georgia Tech and #1 Kentucky before Louisville finally took them down.

15. Boston College (1994)
Seed: #9 / Finish: Elite Eight
Bill Curley and Howard Eisley were the top scorers on Jim O’Brien upstart BC team, which ended a 10-year tournament drought and refused to go home again. The big upset was a 75-72 triumph over #1 North Carolina in round two. #5 Indiana fell next, but #3 Florida stopped the Golden Eagles short of a Final Four trip.

14. Davidson (2008)
Seed: #10 / Finish: Elite Eight
The Southern Conference champs had lost 6 straight NCAA tourney games dating back nearly 40 years. But that was before Stephen Curry came along. The sophomore put on a show for the ages as Davidson bounced #7 Gonzaga, #2 Georgetown, and #3 Wisconsin before losing to #1 Kansas in an absolute nail biter, 59-57.

13. Cleveland State (1986)
Seed: #14 / Finish: Sweet Sixteen
For Clevelanders, this legendary CSU squad is practically synonymous with the word Cinderella. Making their NCAA tourney debut, Kevin Mackey’s Summit League champs became the first #14 seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen, knocking off Bob Knight’s #3 Indiana Hoosiers and #6 St. Johns. In the end, only an admiral could stop the Vikings (barely), as David Robinson and Navy prevailed 71-70 in round three.

12. Dayton (1984)
Seed: #10 / Finish: Elite Eight
Having already ousted #7 LSU, the Flyers became the talk of the tournament when Roosevelt Chapman dropped 41 points in a 89-85 win over #2 Oklahoma. Dayton beat #6 Washington, as well, before running into Patrick Ewing and Georgetown.

11. Pennsylvania (1979)
Seed: #9 / Finish: Final Four
In a legendary tournament that ushered in the current seeding system and saw Magic and Bird ignite their rivalry, the amazing run by Pennsylvania gets overlooked. The Ivy League champs took out #1 North Carolina, #4 Syracuse, and #10 St. Johns (a Cinderella in their own right). But Magic Johnson and Michigan State sent the Quakers home in a 101-67 semi-final rout.

10. Butler (2011)
Seed: #8 / Finish: Finals Runner-Up
A very reasonable argument could be made that this Butler team's accomplishment was actually more surprising and impressive than the 2010 squad's improbable run. While America now knew of Brad Stevens and the little Horizon League school in Indiana, the Bulldogs' return to the National Championship game as an 8-seed, without Gordon Hayward, was beyond remarkable.

9. Kent State (2002)
Seed: #10 / Finish: Elite Eight
If not for a ridiculous barrage of Indiana three-pointers, the Golden Flashes would have likely trumped George Mason as the first mid-major in the modern era Final Four. Stan Heath’s squad, led by a sure handed forward named Antonio Gates, rolled past #7 Oklahoma State, #2 Alabama, and #3 Pitt, putting together the greatest postseason run ever by a Mid-American Conference team. They fought the Hoosiers tooth and nail, as well, but fell to the #5 seed 81-69 in the round of eight.

8. Gonzaga (1999)
Seed: #10 / Finish: Elite Eight
Before 1999, Gonzaga was known as the alma mater of John Stockton, and that’s about it. Today, they’re a #1 seed in the 2013 tourney-- a partial consequence of winning at least one tournament game in 11 of the last 14 years. It all started in ’99, when the upstart Bulldogs whipped #7 Minnesota, #2 Stanford, and #6 Florida before losing a heartbreaker to top seed and eventual champ Connecticut.

7. Kansas (1988)
Seed: #6 / Finish: National Champion
Yes, it is mildly annoying to see a powerhouse school like Kansas on a list like this. But in 1988, the Jayhawks were unranked heading into the Dance, and generally considered afterthoughts as a 6-seed. Thanks to Danny Manning and a bit of an easy early draw, though, Larry Brown’s crew got on a historic roll. They beat #4 Kansas State in the quarterfinals, took out #2 Duke in the semis, and bested #1 Oklahoma in an epic, inner-conference Championship Game stunner in Kansas City, 83-79. 

6. Loyola Marymount 1990
Seed: #11 / Finish: Elite Eight
In one of the most emotional storylines not just in the tournament but all sports history, Paul Westhead’s high-octane Lions overcame the tragic death of star Hank Gathers to make an astounding postseason run, crushing #6 New Mexico State and #3 Michigan, and nipping #7 Alabama. Bo Kimble and his teammates ran out of magic against #1 UNLV, but their story still inspires people 20 years later.

5. George Mason (2006)
Seed: #11 / Finish: Final Four
Jim Larranaga’s club hadn’t even won the Colonial Athletic conference title (they lost to Hofstra). And when they beat #6 Michigan State, most people still had no clue where George Mason was even located (Fairfax, VA). After the Patriots eliminated #3 North Carolina and #1 Connecticut to reach the Final Four, however, their status was sealed as all-time Cinderella legends.

4. Virginia Commonwealth (2011)
Seed: #11 / Finish: Final Four
Take the George Mason story, add more obstacles (VCU had to win an opening round play-in game to even get in the mix, meaning they were known simply as "#11 seed TBD" on many brackets) and a sharp young coach plucked from the Akron Zips sideline (Shaka Smart), and you've got the kind of story that makes this March Madness business the epic event it is. Two year later, VCU has followed Gonzaga and Butler's blueprint to a larger stage, drawing a #5 seed in 2013 and an intriguing match-up against Smart's old boss, Keith Dambrot and Akron, in the first round.

3. Villanova (1985)
Seed: #8 / Finish: National Champion
Much like NC State two years earlier, Nova’s miracle run began with a squeaker first round win (51-49 over Dayton). From there, Rollie Massimino’s boys ran off an incredible string of upsets, eliminating #1 Michigan, #5 Maryland, #2 NC, #2 Memphis State, and finally and most famously, Patrick Ewing and #1 Georgetown. They remain the lowest seed (#8) to ever win a National Championship.

2. North Carolina State (1983)
Seed: #6 / Finish: National Champion
Jim Valvano’s "Cardiac Pack" nearly lost to #11 Pepperdine in Round 1 and narrowly edged #3 Utah and #1 Virginia by one point each. But it was Lorenzo Charles’ buzzer beater over #1 Houston (and the ensuing pandemonium) that has remained an indelible moment in NCAA history.

1. Butler (2010)
Seed: #5 / Finish: Finals Runner-Up
With a 28-4 record, the Bulldogs were given a decent #5 seed, but they were still a Horizon League school looking up at a glass ceiling. Consider the glass shattered. Butler took down #1 Syracuse, #2 Kansas State, and #5 Michigan State before coming one buzzer beater short of what would have been a monumental National Championship win in their own backyard of Indianapolis. Had Gordon Hayward's last second heave found the bottom of the bucket, Butler's achievment-- already #1 on this list-- could easily have entered the conversation among the greatest in all of sports history.