NCAA tournament: If Cinderella is dead, who (or what) is to blame? Here are the biggest culprits

Key Points:

• All 16 teams advancing to the NCAA tournament's second week come from power conferences, with only one double-digit seed Texas team as an underdog, signaling a decline in Cinderella stories.
• Jeff Eisenberg attributes the decline to NIL deals and transfer rules, which allow top programs to lure talent from mid-majors, eroding their ability to retain skilled players and compete effectively.
• Dan Wolken argues that conference realignment over the past 15 years has weakened mid-major conferences by causing a domino effect of talent and program losses, leading to weaker automatic bid teams and fewer upsets.
• Statistical data shows growing disparities, with larger victory margins and fewer lower-seeded upsets in recent tournaments, reflecting the concentration of talent and resources in power conferences.
• The combination of NIL, transfer portal dynamics, and especially conference realignment has contributed to the diminishing presence of true underdog teams in March Madness, challenging the tournament's traditional unpredictability.