March Madness might have turned a little mild this year. After a weekend packed with “lackluster” games, we’re officially left with the Sweet 16 field. However, this time, it looks less like a fairy tale and more like a Top-15 poll. The usual suspects have punched their tickets with all four No. 1 seeds still standing and only one double-digit seed managing to make it.
And the upsets are unfortunate, too. While it is true that No. 12 seed McNeese State gave us a feel-good moment with a win over No. 5 seed Clemson, and No. 10 seed Arkansas did win over No. 2 seed St. John’s in John Calipari’s first season, that’s about all the madness we saw. But where’s the Cinderella story?
Hoops Fans React to Colorado State Loss to Maryland
This year, it seems there might not be a Cinderella story. Well—a traditional Cinderella story, at least.
For the first time since 2007, there are no teams seeded No. 11 or lower in the Sweet 16. The last hope for an underdog was No. 12 Colorado State, who lost on a controversial buzzer-beater to No. 4 seed Maryland.
Some fans are calling it March “Mid-“ness,” alluding to the lack of upsets.
As one Auburn fan puts it, “I feel so mixed because, on the one hand, I’m an Auburn fan, so this tournament is going okay so far. But on the other hand, this is not what makes March Madness special.”
Without a team like Loyola-Chicago or Saint Peter’s making a deep run, the tournament lacks that signature underdog storyline.
Some fans have blamed the changing college basketball winds for this.
“NIL and the transfer portal have weakened mid-majors who used to have experienced teams that stayed together 3-4 years,” one fan wrote.
In the past years, veteran mid-major squads with strong chemistry could put up a fight. Now, these rosters are more transient, with top players transferring to bigger schools before they can build something special.
Still, not all of the fandom is upset.
“Well, I’m glad all those bad seeds lost, so we get more games like Mississippi vs. Iowa State and fewer games like Maryland vs. Colorado State,” one fan wrote.
For the segment of the hoops fandom that looks at March Madness for the big names to bring their best, this is a dream come true. However, there is another argument, too.
“Yes, Cinderellas are fun, and I wish we had some this year, but usually they get obliterated by 20 in the Sweet 16 because the week off cools them off quite a bit,” another fan pointed out. And, of course, history does back this up.
NO CINDERELLA? NO PROBLEM. CHECK THE BEST LOWER-SEEDED SWEET 16 STORYLINES.
For every George Mason or Florida Gulf Coast that makes an extended run, there are many mid-major teams that get out in rather sad matches once the competition gets stronger. While some are mourning the loss of the sanctity of the Madness, others are excited to see what happens in the Final Four.
Either way, the tournament rolls on, and with the way teams like Duke and Florida have been playing, the next few rounds are bound to be good. But the question that remains is, is March Madness really March Madness without a Cinderella story?
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