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Two 'Cinderella' Teams To Watch In The 2025 NCAA Tournament

Originally posted on The Spun | By Kameron Duncan | Last updated Mar 13, 2025 5:19 PM ET

The NCAA Tournament field will be decided in a matter of days, and the 68 teams competing for a national championship will know where their journey is set to start.

The confirmation of the tournament field also means that fans around the country will fill out their brackets, looking to predict as many games as possible.

Fans who have followed the NCAA Tournament for years know that picking the right upset can be the difference between victory and defeat in a bracket competition, and one analyst says there are two teams to keep an eye on in that department.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN analyst and former college basketball coach Seth Greenberg named VCU and Drake as teams to watch for potential upsets.

.@SethOnHoops highlights teams that have Cinderella potential heading into the NCAA tournament.

"@VCU_Hoops and @DrakeBulldogsMB are two that depending on matchups, they can make a little bit of a run in the tournament." pic.twitter.com/uP6Q794Ceh
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) March 13, 2025

Greenberg complimented Drake's depth and their style of play, noting that they have multiple players who transferred from Division II schools and are playing well this season.

He also acknowledged head coach Ben McCollum, who is in his first season at Drake after an incredible run at DII Northwest Missouri State. McCollum won the Clarence "Big House" Gaines award as the best Division II coach twice, and took home four national championships before stepping up to Division I with the Bulldogs.

ST. LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Drake players watch the highlights of the championship game after winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game between the Indiana State Sycamore and the Drake Bulldogs on March 10, 2024, at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

VCU is set to begin their run in the Atlantic-10 tournament on Friday after winning a share of the regular season championship with VCU. Guard Max Shulga was named the conference player of the year after averaging 15.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

It's Shulga's second consecutive season earning First-Team All-A10 honors, and his teammate Zeb Jackson was named the conference's sixth man of the year.

Head coach Ryan Odom is in his second season with the Rams after joining in 2023, and the team has only lost six games this year.

We'll see where teams are placed once the seeding is established for the tournament, but if VCU and Drake can get the right matchups in the first round, they've got an opportunity to knock out one of the best teams in the country on the opening days of the tournament.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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