8. Virginia, 1984

Top 10 Final Four Cinderellas

Everyone wrote off the Cavaliers following the departure of Ralph Sampson, the three-time national player of the year, in 1983. After all, even with the 7-foot-4 Sampson, Virginia had reached just one Final Four, in 1982, and failed to win a title. So when the Cavs fought through the East Region as a No. 7 seed, winning three games by two points or less, no one was probably more surprised than Sampson. With Rick Carlisle, Othell Wilson (pictured), Ricky Stokes and Jimmy Miller, Virginia nearly reached new heights before falling to Houston in overtime in the Final Four.

(AP Photo/Joe Holloway, Jr.)

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Slipper Still Fi... Butler's improbable run to the 2010 Final Four as a No. 5 seed was called a Cinderella story, but that was nothing compared to this year. The Bulldogs have done it again, this time as a No. 8 seed and without star Gordon Hayward (pictured), who's now in the NBA. And they've been joined by VCU, a No. 11 seed, to create the most unlikely national semifinal matchup in tourney history. But where do those teams rank on our list of the top 10 Final Four Cinderellas?
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(AP Photo/Colin E. Braley, File)
10. UNC, 2000 A year after falling to Weber State in the first round, the Tar Heels struggled through the regular season, finishing 18-13 and falling out of the polls for the first time in 10 years. But they turned it on in March as a No. 8 seed, upsetting top-seeded Stanford on the way to the Final Four. Still, that was it for Dean Smith's successor, Bill Guthridge (pictured), who resigned after a national semifinal loss to Florida.

(AP Photo/Dave Martin)
9. UCLA, 1980 Larry Brown is well-known for leading Kansas to the national title as a No. 6 seed in 1988, but he may have done an even more impressive job eight years earlier. In his first year as UCLA's coach, he took a freshmen-laden team starring Kiki Vandeweghe to the championship game. The eighth-seeded Bruins upset top-seeded DePaul in the second round and kept going before falling to Louisville in the final.

(AP Photo/McLendon)
8. Virginia, 198... Everyone wrote off the Cavaliers following the departure of Ralph Sampson, the three-time national player of the year, in 1983. After all, even with the 7-foot-4 Sampson, Virginia had reached just one Final Four, in 1982, and failed to win a title. So when the Cavs fought through the East Region as a No. 7 seed, winning three games by two points or less, no one was probably more surprised than Sampson. With Rick Carlisle, Othell Wilson (pictured), Ricky Stokes and Jimmy Miller, Virginia nearly reached new heights before falling to Houston in overtime in the Final Four.

(AP Photo/Joe Holloway, Jr.)
7. N.C. State, 1... The Wolfpack's incredible upset of Houston in the 1983 final was the fairy-tale ending, but getting to the Final Four was a Cinderella story in itself. As the No. 6 seed in the West Region, Jim Valvano's team beat Pepperdine by two, UNLV by one and top-seeded Virginia by one. When it was all over, the "Cardiac Pack" had won seven of its final nine games after trailing with a minute left in the game.

(AP Photo/stf)
6. Butler, 2011 You think Brad Stevens (pictured) did a good job last year in guiding Butler to the Final Four? This March he's really looked like a boy genius, helping the No. 8 seed in the Southeast Region navigate a tough path through Old Dominion, No. 1 Pitt, No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 2 Florida. The Bulldogs may well reach the title game again and this time who will really be surprised if they win it?

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
4. Penn, 1979 In the first year that the NCAA tournament expanded to 40 teams, the first Cinderella showed up at the Big Dance. As the No. 9 seed, the Quakers shocked No. 1 North Carolina, Syracuse and St. John's before getting steamrolled by Magic Johnson and Michigan State in the national semifinals. Penn remains the last Ivy League team to reach the Final Four.

(AP Photo)
3. LSU, 1986 The Tigers entered as the No. 11 seed but had the luxury of playing the first two games at home, leading to a rule change ensuring neutral sites. That advantage helped LSU survive the first weekend but doesn't in any way diminish their upsets of No. 2 seed Georgia Tech and top-seeded Kentucky the next week. Coached by Dale Brown, the Tigers rode John Williams and their confounding "Freak Defense" to the Final Four before falling to eventual champion Louisville.

(AP Photo)
2. VCU, 2011 Not only are the Rams just the third No. 11 seed to reach the Final Four, they're the first team ever to win five games just to get there. After sneaking into the inaugural "First Four" with a controversial at-large bid, VCU has more than justified its inclusion with routs of No. 6 Georgetown, No. 3 Purdue and No. 1 Kansas in the Southwest Region.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
1. George Mason,... Why does George Mason get the nod over fellow No. 11 seeds LSU and VCU? Because of the quality of opponents it beat to reach the Final Four. The Patriots knocked off three college basketball giants -- No. 6 seed Michigan State, No. 2 North Carolina and No. 1 Connecticut in overtime -- plus No. 7 Wichita State before the Cinderella story ended against Florida in the national semifinals.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Final Four Previ... To find out more about the two underdogs, plus now-title favorites Kentucky and Connecticut, in Comcast.net Sports' Final Four preview, click here.