March Madness is a time where you should expect the unexpected. It is a time where mid-majors can prove themselves on the big stage. The art of the Cinderella run is extraordinary. Teams that would have had no chance vs. the high-majors in the regular season suddenly have the will power and motivation to complete the upset.
Last year was lacking this sort of magic that March had. The tournament was very chalk, and most of the high-major seeds won early on in the tournament. The Final Four ended up being all No. 1 seeds. This is something that has only happened twice in the history of the NCAA.
This is why people didn’t like last year’s tournament nearly as much as past tournaments. There were hardly any upsets to spark people’s interest. People thrive on the chaos of March, and when there isn’t an underdog to cheer for, the tournament loses them.
The reason for this tournament being so chalk would have to be because of the transfer portal and NIL. The higher-major schools are able to pay more money for the top prospects in the game. This makes it challenging for mid- and low-major schools to be able to retain talented players. Many players start at the mid-major level, and if they have a good enough season, they can move up to a high-major school for more money the next year. This is a recurring problem, and there is a stir of whether or not more limitations should be placed on the transfer portal.
The lack of talent is causing the mid-majors to fall behind to the high-majors, and cinderellas are becoming rarer and rarer.
However, so far this tournament season, the madness seems to be returning to form. There have been far more upsets this season than last year’s. Some examples would be High Point defeating a hot Wisconsin team, Texas defeating the No. 3 seed Gonzaga, and Iowa beating the No. 1 seed Florida. There have been plenty more minor upsets as well.
The games have also been much more competitive, and there have been many more end-of-game thrillers. The UConn vs. Duke game is a great example of this.
The cause for this change in quality from last year to this year could be due to the level of coaching. All schools are having coaches perform to their highest level this season. Whether it be high-majors, mid-majors, or low-majors, the game has developed coaches at the highest level.
Hopefully, the madness will continue on for the future.
