Cinderella can be born anywhere.
Last year, UMBC and Loyola-Chicago created one of the most memorable editions of the always-exhilarating NCAA Tournament.
This year, Cinderella can come from your backyard.
Here’s The Post’s postseason preview of the area’s smaller schools, hoping to secure a double-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament:
Hofstra
Record: 25-6, 15-3
Conference: CAA
Coach: Joe Mihalich (Sixth season, 113-82)
NET: 67
Regular-season recap: One of the most memorable seasons in school history produced the Pride’s first outright CAA regular-season title since 2001. With the seventh-highest scoring offense in the country, Hofstra won its most games since joining Division I (1966-67), and captured a rare spotlight with a nation-best 16-game winning streak.
Best win: 99-95 at Charleston (Feb. 14)
Player to watch: Senior Justin Wright-Foreman saved his best for last. A career that started with the Queens native scoring 44 total points as a freshman ended with the 6-foot-2 guard becoming the nation’s second-leading scorer (26.8), while shooting over 44 percent from the perimeter.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2001
Tournament odds: 5/2
Can win it if: The pressure isn’t too much. The senior-led Pride have their best shot at ending the school’s 18-year NCAA Tournament drought, but the burden of validating a special regular season with a postseason championship has sunk the top teams in tournament play many times.
Next up: Top-seeded Hofstra plays the winner of No. 8 James Madison/No. 9 Towson in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament on Sunday (Noon) in North Charleston, S.C.
Iona
Record: 14-15, 12-6
Conference: MAAC
Coach: Tim Cluess (Ninth season, 196-107)
NET: 211
Regular-season recap: The three-time defending champions returned only two players — dismissing preseason All-MAAC second-team selection Roland Griffin from the program, following a physical altercation with assistant coach Ricky Johns — and failed to win 20 games for the first time since Tim Cluess arrived in New Rochelle, but the inexperienced group recovered from a 2-9 start to snatch another regular-season title.
Best win: 80-75 vs. Hartford (Nov. 21)
Player to watch: Senior guard Rickey McGill remained the constant in another revamped roster, averaging 15.6 points and 4.6 rebounds, along with the second-most assists (5.2) in the MAAC, and a conference-best 2.3 steals.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2018
Tournament odds: 5/1
Can win it if: Momentum matters. In a wide-open tournament, the Gaels enter as the slight favorite, entering with seven straight wins — three straight championships, and six straight title-game appearances.
Next up: Top-seeded Iona plays the winner of No. 8 Marist/No. 9 St. Peter’s in the MAAC Tournament quarterfinals Friday (7 p.m.) in Albany.
Stony Brook
Record: 23-7, 11-4
Conference: America East
Coach: Jeff Boals (Third season, 54-40)
NET: 150
Regular-season recap: Despite playing just two home games in the first five weeks of the season, the Seawolves got off to their best start since joining Division 1 (1999). With only two upperclassmen, Boals led the young team to its second-best record over the past two decades, topped only by the 2016 NCAA Tournament team.
Best win: 83-81 at South Carolina (Nov. 9)
Player to watch: Junior wing Akwasi Yeboah led the Seawolves in scoring (16.9) and rebounding (7.9) for the second straight season, and has shot nearly 42 percent on 3-pointers in his past four games.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2016
Tournament odds: 6/1
Can win it if: A trip to Burlington isn’t on the schedule. The Seawolves will likely have home court until a potential championship game against the first-place Catamounts, who have won their past seven meetings with Stony Brook.
Next up: Stony Brook closes the regular season Tuesday at Hartford (7 p.m.), then hosts an America East Tournament quarterfinal Saturday.
Manhattan
Record: 10-20, 8-10
Conference: MAAC
Coach: Steve Masiello (Eighth season, 126-129)
NET: 322
Regular-season recap: The Jaspers finished with a losing record for the fourth straight year, following the departure of five of their top six scorers from last season, and the loss of reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Year Pauly Paulicap to a season-ending foot injury. However, the young group finished strong, and won six of their final 10 games.
Best win: 55-53 vs. Coastal Carolina (Nov. 16)
Player to watch: On the nation’s only team without a double-digit scorer, 6-foot-9 freshman Warren Williams has become the most consistent option, averaging 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in his past five games, while shooting 64.9 percent from the field.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2015
Tournament odds: 50/1
Can win it if: The defense gets some help. Masiello constructed the conference’s most efficient unit — which forces 15 turnovers per game — but the Jaspers have the third-lowest scoring offense in the country, and shoot less than 41 percent from the field.
Next up: Seventh-seeded Manhattan plays 10th-seeded Fairfield in the first round of the MAAC Tournament Thursday (7 p.m.) in Albany.
LIU Brooklyn
Record: 15-15, 9-9
Conference: NEC
Coach: Derek Kellogg (Second season, 33-32)
NET: 252
Regular-season recap: The Blackbirds returned from a trip to the NCAA Tournament, and failed to capitalize on the momentum without star Joel Hernandez. The fast-paced offense largely found mixed results in an up-and-down campaign, following nine wins, and nine losses, with the opposite result.
Best win: 69-66 at St. Francis (Pa.) (Feb. 23)
Player to watch: 6-foot-6 former walk-on Raiquan Clark led the Northeast Conference in scoring (19.4) as a senior, adding a team-high 6.8 rebounds, along with 1.3 steals.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2018
Tournament odds: 20/1
Can win it if: History repeats. The Blackbirds, who closed this season with three straight wins, rode a pair of season-ending wins to last year’s title as a 4-seed.
Next up: Sixth-seeded LIU plays third-seeded Robert Morris in the NEC Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday (7 p.m.).
Wagner
Record: 13-16, 8-10
Conference: NEC
Coach: Bashir Mason (Seventh season, 123-95)
NET: 293
Regular-season recap: The Seahawks were the best defensive team in the NEC, allowing a league-low 67.5 points per game, but the offensively challenged group shot just 39 percent as a team — the 345th-worst mark in the country — and suffered its first losing season in four years.
Best win: 83-79 at St. Francis (Pa.) (Jan. 24)
Player to watch: Romone Saunders does everything but wipe down the court for Wagner. The senior guard is the Seahawks’ leading scorer (16.4), rebounder (7.1), distributor (3.5 APG) and defender (1.5 SPG).
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2003
Tournament odds: 25/1
Can win it if: The late-season slump is out of its system. The Seahawks closed with four straight losses, and will begin the postseason on the road for the first time in four years.
Next up: Seventh-seeded Wagner plays second-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson in the NEC Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday (7 p.m.).
St. Francis Brooklyn
Record: 17-14, 9-9
Conference: NEC
Coach: Glenn Braica (Ninth season, 132-150)
NET: 254
Regular-season recap: The Terriers ended a three-year run of losing seasons, but enter the postseason with three losses in their past four games. The backcourt can be dynamic — guards Glenn Sanabria, Jalen Jordan and Chauncey Hawkins all average in double figures — but the absence of an impact big man limited the team’s ceiling.
Best win: 72-68 over St. Francis (Pa.) (Jan. 12)
Player to watch: Jordan, a sharpshooting sophomore from Georgia, failed to reach double figures just four times this season, leading St. Francis in scoring at 15.4 points per game, while also averaging an impressive 3.7 rebounds for a thinly built guard.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: None
Tournament odds: 20/1
Can win it if: The road woes were an aberration. They will likely have to win three times away from home to win the league.
Next up: Fifth-seeded St. Francis Brooklyn visits No. 4 Robert Morris in the NEC Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday (6 p.m.).
Fairleigh Dickinson
Record: 17-13, 12-6
Conference: NEC
Coach: Greg Herenda (Sixth season, 77-107)
NET: 218
Regular-season recap: The Knights are peaking at the right time, entering the conference tournament with five straight wins to land the second seed. Since losing three straight games by a combined 15 points, FDU has won 11-of-13, and captured a share of the league crown after finishing seventh a year ago.
Best win: 77-66 at Princeton (Nov. 21)
Player to watch: Senior guard Darnell Edge is one of the nation’s premier 3-point shooters — hitting an NEC-best 46.9 of his attempts from deep — and also averages 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2016
Tournament odds: 4/1
Can win it if: It the Knights play up to their ability. If Edge continues to shoot at a high level, if big man Mike Holloway Jr. controls the paint and Herenda continues to receive the scoring balance he’s gotten all season, Fairleigh Dickinson can beat anyone in the league.
Next up: Second-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson hosts No. 7 Wagner in the NEC Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday (7 p.m.).
Fordham
Record: 11-18, 2-14
Conference: Atlantic 10
Coach: Jeff Neubauer (Fourth season, 50-79)
NET: 241
Regular-season recap: At least Fordham won double-digit game this year. That’s the best that can be said for what is likely a second straight last-place finish in the Atlantic 10. The only light at the end of this dark tunnel is an oncoming train. The program has had just one winning season since 2007.
Best win: 66-63 at Rhode Island (Feb. 16)
Player to watch: Nick Honor arrived with little fanfare from Orlando, a nondescript three-star guard. But he’s been the best thing about this dismal season in The Bronx, leading the Rams in scoring at 15.8 points per game and dishing out 3.0 assists.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 1992
Tournament odds: 1000/1
Can win it if: Nothing we’ve seen since November matters. A March Miracle is needed.
Next up: Fordham hosts George Washington Wednesday (7 p.m.) in the second-to-last regular-season game of the year.
NJIT
Record: 20-11, 8-8
Conference: Atlantic Sun
Coach: Brian Kennedy (Third season, 45-47)
NET: 180
Regular-season recap: Following back-to-back losing seasons, the Highlanders went 11-2 to open the year, and earned their third 20-win campaign in school history, but sputtered down the stretch with six losses in the final eight games.
Best win: 81-78 in OT vs. Colgate (Nov. 6)
Player to watch: 5-foot-9 guard Zach Cooks doubled his scoring average (17.0) as a sophomore, and led the Atlantic Sun in steals (2.5).
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: None
Tournament odds: 50/1
Can win it if: Liberty and Lipscomb can be avoided. The clear-cut elite of the conference went 4-0 against the Highlanders this season.
Next up: Fifth-seeded NJIT plays fourth-seeded Florida Gulf Coast in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Sun Tournament on Monday (7 p.m.)
Monmouth
Record: 11-20, 10-8
Conference: MAAC
Coach: King Rice (Eighth season, 128-132)
NET: 288
Regular-season recap: There is streaky, and there is Monmouth. The Hawks started the season by losing 12 straight games, won five of six, lost two straight and won four more in a row. Then they dropped four consecutive games before closing the year with a win at Manhattan. The weather is more predictable.
Best win: 83-81 vs. Iona (Jan. 20)
Player to watch: Much like Monmouth, sophomore guard Ray Salnave is consistently inconsistent. But when on, the Hawks’ co-leading scorer (11.9 PPG) and distributor (2.9 APG) is a handful, a physical 6-foot-3 guard, who starred at Cardozo High School in Queens and can live in the lane.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2006
Tournament odds: 25/1
Can win it if: Its best comes at the best time. The Hawks have proven they can beat anyone in the league — with wins over regular-season champion Iona and preseason favorite Rider — but are just as likely to be one-and-done as cutting down the nets in Albany on March 11.
Next up: Sixth-seeded Monmouth plays 11th-seeded Niagara in the first round of the MAAC Tournament Thursday (10 p.m.) in Albany.
St. Peter’s
Record: 9-21, 6-12
Conference: MAAC
Coach: Shaheen Holloway (First season, 9-21)
NET: 318
Regular-season recap: Growing pains were expected for Holloway in his first season as a head coach, and there were plenty, with three losing streaks of four games or more. Still, the Peacocks finished strong, winning three of their last four games, and look to have nice pieces for the future in freshmen KC Ndefo and Dallas Watson.
Best win: 65-60 vs. Siena (Jan. 3)
Player to Watch: Samuel Idowu, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, is one of the MAAC’s better big men, a capable scorer in the paint and one of the league’s premier shot-blockers at 1.8 rejections per game.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2011
Tournament odds: 75/1
Can win it if: The MAAC Tournament is as unpredictable as many believe, seniors Idowu and Davauhnte Turner outperform even their best play and the supporting cast is consistently excellent for four games.
Next up: Ninth-seeded St. Peter’s plays eighth-seeded Marist in the first round of the MAAC Tournament Thursday (5 p.m.) in Albany.
Fairfield
Record: 9-21, 6-12
Conference: MAAC
Coach: Sydney Johnson (Eighth season, 116-146)
NET: 290
Regular-season recap: Three straight winning campaigns ended with a thud. The Stags strung together consecutive wins just twice, and achieved their third-worst record since 1994.
Best win: 80-68 vs. Iona (Jan. 27)
Player to Watch: A freshman from Puerto Rico, Neftali Alvarez showed glimpses of promise this year as the lead guard, averaging 11.1 points, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 1997
Tournament odds: 75/1
Can win it if: The regular season was just a warm-up act, and Fairfield performs like a different team. In other words, you have a better shot at winning the lottery.
Next up: 10th-seeded Fairfield plays seventh-seeded Manhattan in the first round of the MAAC Tournament Thursday (7 p.m.) in Albany.