the only one that comes to mind for me is liamsar's Rutgers squad in season 30 of Smith. they started 2-8 non-conference, rallied to go 13-3 in conference play, won the CT to get (i think) a 15 seed in the NT, and finally topped it off with a NT title. it's crazy to think that team would have not made the tournament if they hadn't won the CT.