States with Most Cinderella Teams in NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

States with Most Cinderella Teams in NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament
Fact Checked by Pat McLoone

Now that the Super Bowl has come and gone, it’s officially college basketball’s turn in the spotlight. The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are slated to tip off in a month, which is great news for hoops fans and means major action for New York sportsbooks.

While we don’t know which schools from New York will qualify for the 2024 Big Dance, we do know which teams from the Empire State have thrived in the face of on-court adversity in recent years, with several universities making it to the Sweet 16 as double-digit seeds this century.

ESPN bracket guru Joe Lunardi currently lists Colgate (15th seed) as the only New York university in the field of 68, with the Red Raiders picked to face second seed UNC in the first round of the tournament.

With the college basketball season heating up and March Madness fast approaching, many bettors are turning their attention to who will be this year’s Cinderella team. EmpireStakes.com – your source for NY sportsbook promos – looked at the history of Cinderella teams back to the 2000 tournament. If history tells us anything, that team will come from one of the states in the second chart below.

Double-Digit Seeds in Sweet 16 Since 2000

These tables are compiled by EmpireStakes.com and are not available on New York sports betting apps.

Seed/SchoolYear State
10/Seton Hall 2000 New Jersey
10/Gonzaga 2000 Washington
10/Georgetown 2001 Washington DC
11/Temple 2001 Pennsylvania
12/Gonzaga 2001 Washington
10/Kent State 2002 Ohio
11/Southern Illinois 2002 Illinois
12/Missouri 2002 Missouri
10/Auburn 2003 Alabama
12/Butler 2003 Indiana
10/Nevada 2004 Nevada
10/NC State 2005 North Carolina
12/Milwaukee 2005 Wisconsin
11/George Mason 2006 Virginia
13/Bradley 2006 Illinois
10/Davidson 2008 North Carolina
12/Villanova 2008 Pennsylvania
12/Western Kentucky 2008 Kentucky
12/Arizona 2009 Arizona
10/Saint Mary’s 2010 California
11/Washington 2010 Washington
12/Cornell 2010 New York
11/VCU 2011 Virginia
12/Richmond 2011 Virginia
10/Florida State 2011 Florida
12/Marquette 2011 Wisconsin
10/Xavier 2012 Ohio
11NC State 2012 North Carolina
13/Ohio 2012 Ohio
13/La Salle 2013 Pennsylvania
12/Oregon 2013 Oregon
15/Florida Gulf Coast 2013 Florida
10/Stanford 2014 California
11/Tennessee 2014 Tennessee
11/Dayton 2014 Ohio
11/UCLA 2015 California
11/Gonzaga 2016 Washington
10/Syracuse 2016 New York
11/Xavier 2017 Ohio
11/Loyola Chicago 2018 Illinois
11/Syracuse 2018 New York
12/Oregon 2019 Oregon
12/Oregon State 2021 Oregon
11/UCLA 2021 California
11/Syracuse 2021 New York
15/Oral Roberts 2021 Oklahoma
11/Michigan 2022 Michigan
11/Iowa State 2022 Iowa
10/Miami 2022 Florida
15/St. Peter’s 2022 New Jersey
15/Princeton 2023 New Jersey

 

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States with Double-Digit Seeds in Sweet 16

State Double-Digit Seeds In Sweet 16
Ohio 5
California 4
New York 4
Washington 4
Illinois 3
Florida 3
Pennsylvania 3
North Carolina 3
Virginia 3
New Jersey 3
Oregon 3
Wisconsin 2

 

Where New York’s Cinderella Count Ranks Nationally

Since 2000, four New York teams have gone on to reach the Elite Eight as a double-digit seed. It was Syracuse in 2016, 2018 and 2021 under legendary head coach Jim Boeheim, along with the Cornell Big Red in 2010.

Nationally, the Empire State’s double-digit seed count ranks in a tie with California and Washington State for second, behind Ohio’s five and ahead of Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey and Oregon (three apiece).

For now,  no New York schools are anywhere near the top of the Caesars Sportsbook NY odds board to win the NCAAs. Caesars favors neighboring UConn with a +450 chance to repeat, followed by Purdue (+700) and Arizona and Houston (both +900).

You must drop way down to see the first New York team. Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team is at +30000.

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Author

Christopher Boan

Christopher Boan writes for EmpireStakes.com and has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, with experience at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.

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