Ranking Syracuse's shocking Final Four run among all-time surprises
A program with the fifth-most victories of all time, coached by a man with the second-most victories of all time, is the Cinderella story of the year.
This is college basketball in 2016.
The improbable run for No. 10 Syracuse continued Sunday, as the Orange erased a 14-point halftime deficit to No. 1 Virginia to win the Midwest Region and advance to the Final Four.
Jim Boeheim's march to the national semifinal marks the first time a 10-seed has qualified for the Final Four, and is particularly surprising considering most bracketologists projected Syracuse to be left out of the tournament.
While the run was particularly shocking, the Orange were benefactors of an extremely favorable draw that saw them as the higher seed in two of their four games thus far.
Here's how they stack up against some other improbable Final Four runs:
VCU, 2011
Another case of a team that barely made the tournament going on a run is VCU in 2011. After dropping 11 games, Shaka Smart's club had to win a play-in game just to qualify. The 11th-seeded Rams didn't just win, they dominated, winning five games by an average of 12 points. A shocking win over No. 1 Kansas by 10 points clinched the spot in the national semifinal, but an eight-point loss to Butler ended the run. The VCU program has never won more than one game in any other edition of the NCAA tournament.
George Mason, 2006
No. 11 seed George Mason shocked the world in 2006, becoming the first mid-major to qualify for the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 64 teams. The Patriots were the ultimate example of team play, as five players averaged double digits in a run through the region that included wins over Michigan State, North Carolina, and UConn. The run came to an end at the hands of eventual champion Florida in the national semifinal.
Butler, 2010
Not only did Butler make the Final Four in 2010, but the fifth-seeded Bulldogs came inches away from winning the national championship on Gordon Hayward's last-second heave. Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens was the mastermind of the small Indiana school's run, knocking off powerhouses Syracuse, Kansas State, and Michigan State along the way.
Providence, 1987
Rick Pitino is a tournament mainstay at this point in his career, but the run of No. 6 Providence in 1987 was his first big break in the event. Oklahoma City Thunder coach Billy Donovan was his prized pupil, as the Friars stormed through the region, winning four games by an average of 15 points. A balanced attack by No. 2 Syracuse, led by Derrick Coleman and Rony Seikaly, proved too much for Providence in the Final Four.
Wisconsin, 2000
Most people look at No. 8 Wisconsin as a basketball power in today's game, but that wasn't the case in 2000. A notoriously low-scoring club saw only Mark Vershaw average double-digit points on the season, but the Badgers breezed through their region, knocking off an Arizona squad featuring future NBA players Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson, Loren Woods, and Luke Walton. Michigan State wasn't fazed by Wisconsin's ability to muck things up, though, outworking the Badgers in a 53-41 Final Four win.