This year's March Madness lacks significant upsets

March Madness has been less exciting this year, with fewer upsets in the men's NCAA tournament. It's the first time since 2017 that no team ranked lower than No. 12 has made it to the Round of 32. Fans are left wondering why this is happening. There are several theories about why upsets are missing this year. One major idea is that the transfer portal and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) agreements have weakened smaller programs. Bigger schools can attract talent from smaller programs, making it hard for these mid-major teams to succeed. For example, schools like Kentucky and Alabama recruited players from good mid-major teams to strengthen their rosters. This trend makes it harder for mid-majors to build a strong, experienced team. Another theory is that lower-seeded teams struggled with shooting three-pointers. In past tournaments, upsets often happened when lower seeds excelled at long-range shooting. However, this year, many teams that were expected to perform well could not make their shots. This drop in performance made it tough for those teams to win critical games. Lastly, some believe that elite teams are simply better this year. Top programs like Duke and Auburn dominated their early matches, winning by large margins. Most leading teams maintained their advantages from halftime to the end, with few lead changes. This dominance suggests that the strongest teams are delivering consistent performances as they head toward the Final Four. While the lack of surprises might be disappointing for some fans, the remaining matches could still be thrilling as the best teams clash in the tournament's later stages.