5 teams primed for a Cinderella run in the 2025 NCAA Tournament

The NCAA Tournament is upon us, and with the full field of 68 teams announced on Sunday night, college basketball fans everywhere are eagerly filling out their brackets, hoping to predict the next Cinderella story that will propel them to the top of their pools. This unpredictability is one of the reasons March Madness is one of the most exciting times of the year.

Inevitably, at least one team ranked below a 5-seed will catch fire, making a run into the second weekend–and sometimes even further. Whether it is Loyola-Chicago or VCU making a Final Four appearance, or San Diego State reaching the National Championship game, the nation takes notice, and sports media follows suit, telling these underdog stories.

Here are five teams in the 2025 NCAA Tournament field that are primed to make a Cinderella run this March.

BYU (Big 12)

2024-25 Record: 24-9 (14-6)
Seed: No. 6 East
First Round Matchup: VCU

BYU has won nine of their last 10 games and is playing as well as anyone in the country during that span. Over those 10 games, the Cougars are averaging 83.1 points per contest. In Big 12 play this season, BYU led the conference in threes made (10.3) and overall field goals made (28.1). KenPom has Kevin Young’s team No. 11 in offensive rating and Bart Torvik has them No. 7.

BYU has 10 players in their rotation getting 11 or more minutes per game and they have four of those players who are averaging 38.0 percent or more shooting from beyond the arc. Eight different players have led the Cougars in scoring this season including Richie Saunders who averaged 17.7 points on 44.4 percent shooting from three in conference play.

If BYU can find enough stops throughout the course of each game, they have a prolific offense, that is playing at a high level as we approach the NCAA Tournament.

Drake (Missouri Valley)

2024-25 Record: 20-3 (17-3)
Seed: No. 11 West
First Round Matchup: Missouri

Drake excels on the defensive side of the ball, allowing just 58.4 points per game, which leads all of D-I men’s basketball. They rank fifth in D-I by limiting opponents to just 28.4 field goal attempts per game and also rank fifth by allowing just 5.6 three-pointers made.

The Bulldogs are led by Missouri Valley player of the year Bennett Stirtz. The 6-foot-4 point guard topped the conference in both points (19.1) and steals (2.2) this season while finishing second (5.7) in assists per game. Drake has high-major wins over Miami, Vanderbilt, and Kansas State.

This season marks Ben McCollum’s first as a D-I head coach. The 43-year-old Iowa native has won four of the last seven D-II National Championships.

The question remains: Will the Bulldogs be able to consistently generate enough offense to make a deep run?

Gonzaga (West Coast Conference)

2024-25 Record: 25-8 (14-4)
Seed: No.8 Midwest
First Round Matchup: Georgia

Gonzaga has an intriguing amount of talent. They are putting up 86.6 points per contest, which is second in D-I men’s basketball. They also have five players who are averaging between 10.8 and 17.1 points per game. The Zags are currently No. 9 in offensive efficiency via KenPom and No. 12 by Bart Torvik. They are currently 5-5 in Q1 games but also have three losses in Q2. The Zags’ high-powered offense leads the country with 31.8 field goals made on 19.7 assists per contest.

Defensively, Gonzaga is keeping teams to 41.4 percent from the field and 30.2 percent from three. They are also only giving up 17.2 free throws per game as they land in the top 30 in both KenPom and Bart Torvik for defensive rating.

Mark Few has 43 career NCAA Tournament wins including 13 trips to the Sweet Sixteen. Can his group find enough consistency this season to make a run?

High Point (Big South)

2024-25 Record: 29-5 (14-2)
Seed: No. 13 Midwest
First Round Matchup: Purdue

High Point is scoring 82.2 points per game this season, 19th in D-I men’s college basketball. They are also shooting 49.4 percent from the field as a team taking high percentage shots. They are currently 25th in KenPom in offensive efficiency. Senior guard Kezza Giffa earned All-Big South honors averaging 14.8 points.

The Big South Conference has won four NCAA Tournament games since becoming a one-bid league and, in just Alan Huss’ second season as the head coach, this is High Point’s first-ever trip to March Madness. The Panthers did not play any Quad 1 games this season, and their win over North Texas made them 1-0 in Quad 2.

Can the Panthers make enough of their high percentage shots to make a run?

New Mexico (Mountain West)

2024-25 Record: 26-7 (17-3)
Seed: No. 10 South
First Round Matchup: Marquette

New Mexico is averaging 81.2 points and grabbing 39.3 rebounds per contest. Both of those numbers are top 30 in D-I men’s college basketball. The Lobos also get to the free-throw line 23.5 times per contest. Defensively, if teams can get looks at the rim they can make shots, but this New Mexico team does a good job creating live ball turnovers (8.9 steals per game) and protecting the rim (5.1 blocks per game).

The Lobos carry one of the better inside-out, one-two punches in the entire NCAA Tournament field. Junior point guard Donovan Dent earned Mountain West Conference Player of the Year honors after leading the league in points (20.2) and finishing second in assists (6.4). Senior center Nelly Junior Joseph earned 1st-Team All-Mountain West after leading the league in rebounds (11.2) and finishing with 16 double-doubles.

Dent and Kam Jones’ round-one matchup should have a lot of eyes on it. The Lobos finished 11-5 in Quads 1 and 2, while still dropping two Quad 3 games (New Mexico State and San Jose St).