Cinderellas That Might’ve Been: 10 Great Mid-Major Teams That Flopped in the NCAA Men’s Tournament

At NCAA tournament time, some mid-majors break contain and write themselves into the history of American sports: 2011 VCU, 2013 Florida Gulf Coast and 2022 St. Peter’s for example. Some, as we recently explored, break contain only temporarily—Bradley, for instance, made news in 2006, but isn’t well remembered today outside of Peoria, Ill.

And then there are those that never break contain at all.

Once every few years, a mid-major will poke its head into the Top 10 or 25 during the regular season, generate substantial discussion as to its merits and strength of schedule—and endure a quiet elimination from the NCAA tournament. These teams, too, are worth celebrating.

Here, accordingly, is a chronological look back at 10 NCAA men’s tournament Cinderellas that weren’t—that is, 10 great mid-major teams for whom the clock struck midnight before the fun truly began.

1991 New Mexico State

How good were the Aggies in the regular season? The best of several quality New Mexico State teams under longtime coach Neil McCarthy went 28–6 in the regular season, twice playing No. 1 UNLV relatively close and earning a No. 6 seed in the tournament.

Who was the Aggies’ star? Guard Reggie Jordan, an All-Big West junior college transfer who spent parts of six NBA seasons with five teams.

What happened to New Mexico State in the NCAA tournament? Creighton eliminated the Aggies in the first round for its first tournament win of the seeding era.

1991 Southern Miss

How good were the Golden Eagles in the regular season? Southern Miss—better known for its football prowess then and now, and in a Metro Conference with several much bigger brands—won 21 games and jumped as high as No. 9 in a February AP poll.

Who was the Golden Eagles’ star? Forward Clarence Weatherspoon, a three-time conference player of the year, embarked on a 13-year NBA career after being drafted ninth by the 76ers in 1992.

What happened to Southern Miss in the NCAA tournament? NC State shelled the Golden Eagles, a No. 11 seed, 114–85 in a first-round game where the Wolfpack scored 64 points in the second half alone.

1998 Princeton

How good were the Tigers in the regular season? Princeton’s 27–2 campaign in ’98 under coach Bill Carmody broke a program winning percentage record that had stood since 1925; it beat ranked Texas and Wake Forest teams and finished the year No. 8 in the country.

Who was the Tigers’ star? Center Steve Goodrich led the Ivy League in win shares and, as you might expect of a Princeton product, pivoted to finance after playing professionally in America and abroad.

What happened to the Tigers in the NCAA tournament? No. 5 Princeton beat No. 12 UNLV in the first round, but fell 63–56 in the second round to Tom Izzo’s first tournament-bound Michigan State team.

1999 Charleston

How good were the Cougars in the regular season? Legendary Charleston coach John Kresse’s last NCAA tournament team went 28–3 in its first year in the Southern Conference, shocking then-No. 3 North Carolina in Charlotte in December.

Who was the Cougars’ star? Center Jody Lumpkin, a Rice transfer who hadn’t played in two years, enjoyed the first of three seasons where he’d lead his conference in win shares.

What happened to Charleston in the NCAA tournament? Seeded eighth, the Cougars went down 40–19 at the half (and lost 62–53) to a Tulsa team coached by future Hall of Famer Bill Self.

2004 Southern Illinois

Darren Brooks of the Southern Illinois Salukis goes up for a layup in the first half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. | Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

How good were the Salukis in the regular season? Southern Illinois made six consecutive NCAA tournaments in the 2000s under three coaches, and this was its best team by winning percentage.

Who was the Salukis’ star? Apart from coach Matt Painter—plucked by Purdue as coach-in-waiting at season’s end—Southern Illinois was led by conference scoring champ guard Darren Brooks.

What happened to the Salukis in the NCAA tournament? No. 9 Southern Illinois came oh-so-close to toppling Elite Eight-bound No. 8 Alabama during the first round in Seattle, losing on a game-winning jumper by Crimson Tide guard Antoine Pettway with five seconds left.

2006 George Washington

How good were the Colonials in the regular season? Breaking a 52-year-old program winning percentage record, George Washington cleared its Atlantic 10 schedule unbeaten and twice peaked at No. 6 in the AP Poll.

Who was the Colonials’ star? Transitioning from sixth-man status to the starting lineup, guard J.R. Pinnock shepherded a lineup with two future NBA players and later won a championship in Puerto Rico.

What happened to George Washington in the NCAA tournament? After staving off No. 9 UNC Wilmington in overtime, the No. 8 Colonials collided with No. 1 Duke in the second round, losing by 13 in Greensboro, N.C.

2007 Nevada

How good were the Wolf Pack in the regular season? Nevada set a program record in winning percentage—sensing a theme here?—and entered the top 10 for the first time at the end of February.

Who was the Wolf Pack’s star? Forward Nick Fazekas averaged a double-double in a bonkers individual season that landed him on the All-America team and made him the WAC’s second three-time player of the year.

What happened to Nevada in the NCAA tournament? The No. 7 Wolfpack topped Creighton in the first round in overtime before a blowout loss to a John Calipari-coached Memphis squad.

2010 New Mexico

How good were the Lobos in the regular season? A number of New Mexico teams could make this list—the Lobos have a ton of regular-season success for a team with just two Sweet 16 appearances—but we’ll go with Steve Alford’s first outfit, which went 30–5 and stacked up glamorous wins over California, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

Who was New Mexico’s star? Forward Darington Hobson was an unlikely Mountain West Player of the Year, having debuted in college at the then-ancient age of 22.

What happened to the Lobos in the NCAA tournament? A too-close-for-comfort win over No. 14 Montana presaged an 18-point second-round loss to No. 11 Washington, a slight favorite.

2014 Saint Louis

Saint Louis Billikens forward Rob Loe is congratulated by Dwayne Evans after scoring. | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

How good were the Billikens in the regular season? Always well-supported and on a particular roll in ’14, Saint Louis nearly beat a pair of national contenders (Wichita State and Wisconsin) and won 13 of 16 Atlantic 10 contests for a second straight year.

Who was the Billikens’ star? Forward Dwayne Evans led the team in scoring for the second straight year, and remains active in Japan.

What happened to Saint Louis in the NCAA tournament? The No. 5-seed Billikens lost in the second round of the tournament for the third consecutive year, this time to Louisville after an overtime win over NC State.

2015 Northern Iowa

How good were the Panthers in the regular season? Northern Iowa was magnificent for most of the year, beating three major-conference teams and cracking the Top 10 in March.

Who was the Panthers’ star? Forward Seth Tuttle was a consensus All-American as a senior, averaging 15.3 points per game; he’s now an assistant at his alma mater.

What happened to Northern Iowa in the NCAA tournament? The Panthers, a trendy pick to do damage, blew out Wyoming in the first round before losing, as Saint Louis had the year prior, to the Cardinals.

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