State Of Virginia Among National Leaders in Big Dance Cinderellas

State Of Virginia Among National Leaders in Big Dance Cinderellas
Fact Checked by Thomas Leary

Few states have the deep-seated connection to March Madness that the Old Dominion has seared into the memory banks of residents over the years.

Thanks to memorable runs across Virginia sports betting by teams like George Mason, which made it from the tourney bubble to the Final Four in 2006, to fellow double-digit seed-turned-Final Four-team VCU and Richmond’s Sweet 16 run in 2011, there’s no denying the success that Virginia’s “Cinderella” teams have had in recent tournaments.  

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. If history tells us anything, that team will come from one of the following states. 

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Double-Digit Seeds in Sweet 16 Since 2000

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

Must be 21+ to participate & present in Virginia. T&Cs Apply.

States with 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

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More History In The Making?

Nationally, Virginia’s three double-digit teams to reach the Sweet 16 or further puts the Commonwealth in a tie with Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Illinois, New Jersey and Oregon for fifth, behind Ohio (five teams), California, New York and Washington (four teams each).  

Of the three Virginia teams that reached the third round or further, George Mason and VCU did so as 11th seeds, while Richmond reached the Sweet 16 as a 12th seed.  

This year, ESPN bracket guru Joe Lunardi has UVA (9th seed) as the lone team from Virginia in the field of 68, with the Cavaliers playing eighth seeded Texas in the opening round.

Stick with BetVirginia.com for more March Madness coverage, plus all news around Virginia betting apps.

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Author

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

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