(at least according to the Houston Chronicle): Biggest Cinderella stories of all time With four schools (Northern Iowa, Saint Mary's, Washington and Cornell) seeded ninth or lower alive late in the NCAA Tournament, let's review some of the event's most surprising teams: [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, san-serif]Win McNamee/Getty Images[/FONT] George Mason knocked off Michigan State, North Carolina and top-seeded Connecticut en route to the Final Four in 2006. 1. George Mason, 2006 Why they were the belle of the ball: Look at the 100 Final Four teams since the Tournament expanded in 1985. The six power conferences have sent 90 teams, nine others have been recognized top-notch programs at the time or traditionally, like UNLV, Memphis and Louisville. And that leaves one outsider: George Mason, a school from the Colonial Athletic Association that had never won an NCAA game. What they did at the dance: The 11th-seeded Patriots took down three noted powers — Michigan State, North Carolina and top-seeded Connecticut — on the way to the Final Four, where they lost to eventual champion Florida.
