From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about unpopular opinions.
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There are a lot of things we love about the NCAA Tournament: buzzer-beaters, mascots, brackets and, of course, upsets.
Upsets are what make the NCAA Tournament one of the greatest sporting events in the world. It’s those unexpected wins by schools many fans probably didn’t even know about before the Tournament, but now do because they knocked off a major school or even a blue blood.
Brackets gets busted when “Cinderella” schools knock out the team a majority of fans picked to win the NCAA Tournament. That part of the NCAA Tournament is fun; brackets being busted or just barely staying intact.
But what if I told you that, I believe, the lack of upsets in this past NCAA Tournament was a good thing?
People were unhappy about the lack of upsets because it voided the NCAA Tournament of the drama that makes it the captivating event that it is. There was also conversation about how the transfer portal and NIL were a big reason for the lack of upsets this season, and the potential for that to be the case in future Tournaments.
For as much as we love those Cinderella upsets, the quality of the NCAA Tournament kind of gets dampered when those teams continue to advance into the second weekend.
Think of the memorable NCAA Tournament games you’ve watched…
Kentucky-Duke in 1992, Arizona-Kentucky in the 1997 National Championship, Kentucky’s run of three straight game-winners to the National Championship in 2014 and UCLA-Gonzaga in 2021.
Notice how all of those games featured major schools and blue bloods of College Basketball.
This past NCAA Tournament, there was only one double-digit seed that made the Sweet 16. That team was the Arkansas Razorbacks, still a major program led by a Hall of Fame head coach in John Calipari.
All of the Elite Eight matchups were either No. 1 seeds vs. No. 2 seeds or No. 1 seed vs. a No. 3 seed.
To me, that just makes for better basketball in the later rounds of the NCAA Tournament. As much as we love upsets and bracket busters, I also love seeing the elite go against the elite in the late rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
First round upsets are one thing. But, I at least, don’t need to see matchups like Florida Atlantic vs. San Diego State in the Final Four. I’m not trying to take away anything from what those two schools, specifically, did in 2023, but it takes away from the magnitude of the Final Four when two mid-major schools are facing off for the right to go to the National Championship.
This past Tournament saw all No. 1 seeds in the Final Four for the first time in 17 years. It was awesome, and the three games in San Antonio were incredible. That’s what the Final Four, to me, is about. The best teams playing for a National Championship makes for great television.
Throughout every season, we envision what it would be like to see, using this year as an example, Florida and Duke play in the National Championship or Duke and Auburn play for a “One Shining Moment.”
From the Sweet 16 on, we envision what it would be like to see two blue bloods or two rivals engaing in a game that could become an all-time classic. Upsets are fun, but those Cinderella teams advancing deep into the Tournament take away the quality of what the NCAA Tournament should be.
That’s why this past NCAA Tournament was so enjoyable, for me at least. The best teams were playing in the later rounds. That’s what made the Final Four so great. The best teams were playing in San Antonio for the National Championship.
Upsets are a huge part of what makes the NCAA Tournament so unique. But the NCAA Tournament is also about seeing the best teams play in the later rounds, and that’s where upsets may not be the best thing in March Madness.
This past NCAA Tournament was memorable because the best of the best were playing in the Final Four. The lack of upsets were a good thing because it increased the chances of great games in the Final Four and National Championship, which we got.
Fans love “Cinderella” teams in March Madness, but, for me as a fan, I loved being able to see the best of the best on college basketball’s biggest stage.
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