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Delaware On The Verge of Shocking Cinderella Run to March Madness

Everyone loves rooting for the underdog.

Gavin Dorsey

Dec 28, 2024; Queens, New York, USA; Delaware Fightin Blue Hens forward Gabe Moss (00) drives past St. John's Red Storm guard Deivon Smith (5) and forward Zuby Ejiofor (24) in the first half at Carnesecca Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Dec 28, 2024; Queens, New York, USA; Delaware Fightin Blue Hens forward Gabe Moss (00) drives past St. John's Red Storm guard Deivon Smith (5) and forward Zuby Ejiofor (24) in the first half at Carnesecca Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

March Madness is a time when Cinderella stories take center stage. Fans root for underdogs and tiny schools as upsets galore occur around the country.

As the number of mid-major at-large bids has dwindled in recent years, the most feasible way for a small school to make the NCAA Tournament is by winning its conference tournament. No matter how poor the regular season goes, the beauty of the format is that any team that gets hot at the right time still has a chance to make it into March Madness.

That's now the reality for the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens.

Delaware lost 11 of its last 12 games to end the regular season and entered the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament as the No. 12 seed out of 14. The Blue Hens were just 12-19 on the season, including 5-13 in CAA play.

However, Delaware has run the table in the CAA Tournament. Over the last four days, the Blue Hens have taken down No. 13-seed Stony Brook, No. 5 Campbell, No. 4 William and Mary and No. 1 Towson, which was a league-best 16-2 in the conference. On Tuesday night, Delaware will play No. 2 UNC Wilmington with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

The Blue Hens are an incredible story. Despite being ranked 260th on KenPom, Delaware now sits one game away from March Madness after winning four games in four days.

If the Blue Hens win their fifth consecutive on Tuesday to win the CAA, they will be one of the worst teams by winning percentage to reach the NCAA Tournament. At 17-19, Delaware would have the 16th-worst win percentage ever by a team to make it into March Madness and the seventh-worst since 2005. Only 1993 East Carolina's 13-16 record would be worse among CAA teams.

Delaware will face UNC Wilmington in the CAA Tournament Championship at 7:00 p.m. ET.

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Gavin Dorsey
GAVIN DORSEY

Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network, including the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Guardians, Houston Texans and Ohio State Buckeyes. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.

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