As the calendar turns to March, it is time for me to update my earlier entry regarding potential March Madness Cinderella stories.  Each season, I chronicle the potential March Madness Cinderella Stories by writing two articles that detail teams across that could become a feel-good story come March.   The first article is written around the midpoint of the season (late January/early February) and the second is published  just as the conference tournaments begin.  Here is the second of those two annual editions.

While almost all mid-major college basketball teams have the chance to play Cinderella come Christmas Day (aka the first round of the NCAA tourney), it is particularly special when these teams have an inspiring sentimental storyline.  Often times this involves a squad making its first trip to the Big Dance (see Northern Colorado in 2011).  Other times there is a likable coach who warms the hearts of the nation (see Pete Carril in 1994, Andy Enfeld in 2012).  Inevitably, when the second week of March comes around, these stories will come to fruition.  In the meantime, it’s worth looking at the standings and checking out which mid-major conference leaders/contenders and other probable NCAA Tournament teams could inspire us during the first few weeks of March. 

It is worth noting that I have a pretty good track record of identifying potential March Madness Cinderella Stories. For instance, I chronicled Loyola-Chicago in my early edition of this article in 2018, almost two months before the world discovered Sister Jean and the Ramblers. Last year, I wrote about the FAU Owls in this article, well before their Cinderella march to the Final Four. So without further ado, here is my updated list of potential Cinderella teams in 2024. Only teams currently in first or second place of their respective conferences or squads currently in the hunt for an at-large bid will be included in this column.  They are listed in alphabetical order by conference.

Wake Forest (ACC)– I got to start things off in the alma mater who currently sit squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble. The Deacs have obviously danced before, but this could be Wake’s first trip to the Round of 64 since 2010. This feat would be especially remarkable considering that head coach Steve Forbes’ wife had a serious stroke last August, which prevented him from being with the team for most of the fall. Can the Deacs finally find a way back to the Dance?

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Stetson (Atlantic Sun)– The Hatters have one of the better nicknames in the sport and one of the prettiest campuses in the country, but they have never made it to the Big Dance in their 52 year history of playing Division 1 hoops. That could all change this year, however, as Stetson enters the Atlantic Sun tournament as a dangerous # 2 seed who knocked off the top seeded squad, Eastern Kentucky, in the teams’ only regular season meeting.

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UMass-Lowell (America East)– The River Hawks have knocked on the door of the Big Dance for the past few seasons but have yet to earn their first tourney bid. This year’s squad might be the one that finally breaks through, as they enter the America East conference tournament as a # 2 seed who will get to play at home in both the quarterfinals and semis.

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South Florida (American)– A lot has already been written about the Bulls incredible Cinderella run that has seen them embark on what is currently the nation’s longest winning streak (14 games). This all comes after beginning the year with losses to Central Michigan and Maine after experiencing four straight losing seasons. In addition, the Bulls entered the 2023-24 season in the midst of a coaching transition that had caused most of last year’s contributors to leave the program. Nevertheless, Amir Adbur-Rahim has built a special team this season in Tampa, and even though I don’t think the Bulls quite have the resume to garner an at-large bid to the Big Dance, they will enter the conference tourney as the # 1 seed and prohibitive favorite to earn the league’s automatic bid on Selection Sunday.

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Loyola Chicago (Atlantic 10)– Sister Jean is still alive and well these days at the ripe young age of 104 years old. You got to think she only has one or two more tourney runs left in her, and after last year’s disappointing 10-21 campaign, Drew Valentine has the Ramblers back in contention for another trip to the Big Dance. Loyola enters the last week of the Atlantic 10 play alone in second place in the conference standings, and only one game behind the conference leader Richmond. The Ramblers knocked off league juggernaut Dayton last Friday night, who entered the game as a 4 or 5 seed in most NCAA bracket projections.

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St. John’s (Big East)– The Johnnies aren’t a prototypical Cinderella story, but the Red Storm haven’t danced in five years and it would be an amazing accomplishment if Rick Pitino was able to take a record sixth different team to the NCAA tournament. This feat would be especially incredible considering that this team was left for dead by everyone including Pitino just two weeks ago. Now, after an impressive three game winning streak, the Storm find themselves right back in the middle of the NCAA tourney bubble conversation. Could Rick get matched up against his son Richard at New Mexico (discussed below) in a First Four game in Dayton? Stranger things have definitely happened, as the Lobos currently hover just above the Red Storm on the 10 line.

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High Point (Big South)– Neither the great Tubby Smith or his son G.G. were able to guide the Panthers to the school’s first trip NCAA tournament berth. They have since left town and first year coach Alan Huss, who has worked himself up from the high school ranks (starting at Culver Military Academy in 2007), surprisingly led High Point to the outright regular season Big South title this season (see celebration below). As a result, the Panthers will enter the conference tourney as the # 1 seed, and coincidentally, High Point is the host site for the entire league tourney this season. The stars may be aligning to give this program their first-ever NCAA tourney bid this March.

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Nebraska (Big Ten)– The Cornhuskers hold the dubious distinction of being the only Power 5 school never to win an NCAA tournament game. They have a great chance of ending that drought in 2024, as they currently sit on the 9 line in my current NCAA tournament bracket projection. 

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Louisiana Tech (Conference USA)– The Bulldogs have been featured on this list several times in the past few seasons, as they are still searching for their first NCAA tournament bid since 1991. This might be their best chance yet to end that drought given that they are currently tied for first in the C-USA standings and possess the highest NET ranking of anyone in the league. The Bulldogs will host the conference co-leader Sam Houston State this Thursday night with the league regular season title and # 1 seed in the conference tournament on the line.

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Youngstown State (Horizon)- Last year, the Penguins entered the Horizon League tourney as the # 1 seed and clear-cut favorite to win the league title, which would have given this team their first NCAA tourney bid in school history. Unfortunately, the pressure appeared to take a toll on this squad, and the Penguins lost in the semifinals to Northern Kentucky. Now, Youngstown is back in the conference title mix and is arguably in a more advantageous position than a year ago. The Penguins will enter this year’s Horizon League tourney as the # 2 seed, which will relieve some of the pressure of being expected to win it all. In addition, Youngstown is on the more favorable side of the bracket, as they will not have to play the regular season champ Oakland nor the last two league champions, Wright State and Northern Kentucky, until the final. This university became a division 1 basketball program way back in 1948. Is it finally time for the Penguins to put on their dancing shoes?

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Quinnipiac (Metro Atlantic)– The Bobcats are the only remaining Big Dance virgins in the Metro Atlantic, but they are great shape to finally put on dancing shoes in 2024, as they are enter the last week of regular season in first place in the conference standings.

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Fairfield (Metro Atlantic)– Even though every other team in the Metro Atlantic besides first place Quinnipiac has played in the NCAA tournament before, the second place team in the league is also trying to end lengthy tourney droughts. The Fairfield Stags have not danced since they kicked off Dean Smith’s last NCAA tournament run at North Carolina with a loss to the Tar Heels the first round of the 1997 Big Dance.

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Toledo (MAC)– We have been certainly been down this road before. Every year when I write this column, I am always shocked to see that the Rockets still haven’t played in an NCAA tournament since 1980. This program always seems to field very good teams that fall short of their conference tourney crown every March. In fact, the past three seasons, Toledo has been # 1 seed in the MAC tourney and has been upset in each of those brackets. This season, the Rockets enter the final week of the regular season alone in second place in the league standings, trailing the Zips of Akron by a single game. Will this be the year the Rockets finally launch themselves into the Dance? Entering the conference tourney without being the top seed, may take some pressure off of this squad.

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Indiana State (Missouri Valley)– The Sycamores have danced semi-recently, but they haven’t had a team this talented since Larry Legend graced the campus back in 1979. Indiana State will enter the Missouri Valley tournament with the # 1 seed and a legitimate chance of earning an at-large bid if they fall short. They also have a colorful superstar that leads them in point per game, field goal percentage, and blocks. His name is Robbie Avila (pictured below) and he is nicknamed “Cream Abdul-Jabbar” based on both his dominant post game and his Abdul-Jabbar like goggles.

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New Mexico (Mountain West)– The Lobos are one of the six Mountain West teams that most everyone is predicting to earn an NCAA tournament bid at this point time, and even though they have danced as recently as 2014, their current personnel would give them a very intriguing NCAA tournament storyline. The reason being is that in the early 1990’s Rick Pitino began his dynasty at Kentucky by recruiting and developing future NBA star Jamal Mashburn. In fact, Mashburn was Kentucky’s best player on the 1992 team that lost to Christian Laettner in the greatest game ever played. Now, over 30 years later, Pitino’s son (Richard) coaches Mashburn’s son (Jamal Jr.) at New Mexico. If the Lobos were to dance this season, it would truly be a full circle moment in the world of college hoops.

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Merrimack (Northeast)– Fairleigh Dickinson was this league’s automatic NCAA tourney qualifier last season, which the Knights capitalized on by winning their First Four game and then pulling off one of the greatest upsets in tourney history over Zach Edey and Purdue in the first round of the Big Dance. However, the league’s tournament championship was actually won by the Merrimack Warriors who unfortunately were ineligible to play in last year’s NCAA tournament based on their Division 1 transitional status. Now, Merrimack is eligible to play in the Big Dance and has legitimate opportunity to do so in their first year as a full-time Division 1 member. They will enter the NEC tournament as a # 2 seed and will thus get to host all of their tourney games until they reach the final. There they would most likely play the # 1 seeded Blue Devils of Central Connecticut, whom Merrimack beat in the teams’ most recent meeting last month.

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UT-Martin (Ohio Valley)- The Skyhawks have also never been to the Big Dance and have been a Division 1 program longer than the aforementioned Merrimack Warriors and Quinnipiac Bobcats. Nevertheless, UT-Martin enters the OVC tourney on a seven game win streak earning them the a share of the regular season time and the # 2 seed in the league tournament. Most importantly, because of the way the OVC tournament is bracketed, the Skyhawks have an automatic bye to the tournament semifinals.

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Washington State (Pac-12)– The Cougars currently have the longest NCAA tourney drought amongst Power 5 programs, as they have not gone dancing since I was finishing up college back in 2008. Surprisingly, Klay Thompson was never able to lead the Cougs to the Big Dance during his three year stint in Pullman from 2008-2011. Nevertheless, the Cougs are set to definitively end that drought this season, as they are projected as a 6 or 7 seed on most mock brackets. They are also the only team in the nation to pull off a season sweep of a currently projected # 1 seed, as they beat Arizona both at home and on the road. Kyle Smith should be a top candidate for national coach of the year this season due to his remarkable work rebuilding this program.

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South Carolina (SEC)– No team that is going to make this season’s 68 team tournament field entered the year with lower expectations than the Gamecocks who were universally picked to finish last in the 14 team SEC. Now, South Carolina sits in a tie for second place in the league standings and is projected to be a 6 or 7 seed in most mock brackets, despite some sketchy computer numbers which seem to reflect how poorly this team was perceived early in the season. Keep in mind, this is a program that has only picked up a victory in one of the last 50 NCAA tournaments, so just making the Round of 32 would be a tremendous accomplishment for Lamont Paris’ crew.

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Samford (Southern)– The Bulldogs were the run away winners of the SoCon regular season title, as they seek to dance for the first time since the beginning of the 21st century.

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Grambling (MEAC)– Despite their impressive football legacy that includes the likes of Eddie Robinson, Doug Williams and others, this school has never earned an NCAA tourney bid in men’s basketball in its 46 year history as an NCAA division 1 member. This year, however, the Tigers on track to change that as they enter the last week of regular season play alone atop the SWAC standings.

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Kansas City (Summit)- Could we have a big dance that includes penguins and/or kangaroos (two of the best mascots in the sport) for the first time ever? As mentioned previously, the Youngstown State Penguins are entering the Horizon League tournament as a very dangerous # 2 seed with a chance to secure their first-ever NCAA tournament bid. Well, the Roos (which at some point was shortened from Kangaroos) from Kansas City (who previously were known at UMKC) are also a dangerous # 2 seed in their conference tourney, who are also seeking their first NCAA tournament berth in school history. The Roos enter postseason play on a six game winning streak that includes victories over the two other top teams in the league (South Dakota State and North Dakota).