Seemingly every season, a Cinderella emerges during March Madness and makes a surprising run in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, there were several that would qualify, as we saw #15 seed Princeton reach the Sweet 16 and a Final Four made up of a #4 seed, a #9 seed, and two #5 seeds. The year prior, #15 seed Saint Peter's made a run to the Elite Eight. In this article, we are going to try to pick out a few teams that could be Cinderellas in this year's tournament. For the purposes of this discussion, we will consider a Cinderella to be a team whose odds are at least +1000 to make the respective stage in the tournament (Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four). Let’s dive in, but make sure you read our'college basketball picks for EVERY NCAA Tournament matchup.
To reach the Sweet 16: Colorado Buffaloes (+1100)
The first choice for a potential Cinderella is Colorado to reach the Sweet 16 (+1100 at DraftKings Sportsbook). Unlike most teams, Colorado will need to win 3 games in order to reach the Sweet 16, as they play Boise State in the First Four. The Buffaloes are a small favorite in that game and if they were to win, they would face #7 seed Florida on Friday. That matchup would likely be a coinflip and Colorado could even be favored. The Buffaloes sit 3 spots higher than Florida in KenPom's rankings and the Gators recently lost their starting center Micah Handlogten to injury. His loss would be felt against a Colorado team that takes the 12th-most shots at the rim, per Hoop-Math.
If Colorado can get past Florida, they would almost certainly play #2 seed Marquette. Marquette would be around a 4 or 5-point favorite, but Colorado has the talent to win that game. Marquette allows threes at a top-25 rate in the country and Colorado ranks 5th nationally in three-point percentage. It's also worth mentioning that Marquette star Tyler Kolek missed the Big East Tournament due to injury. He's going to be available for the NCAA Tournament, but it's possible he is less than 100 percent.