Some college basketball fans have expressed immediate concern after this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The lack of upsets in this year’s early rounds had fans jumping to conclusions. Many think that the term “Cinderella” is dead in March Madness. Are the fans right or are they overreacting?

First of all, let’s dive into why fans are saying this. One reason is because in the last offseason the transfer portal hit a record high number of players entered. Majority found new fitting homes and roles on the team that fit their checklist. This made for an exciting regular season as so many great teams were brought to the spotlight this year and it was a must-see type of basketball. The SEC conference was dominant this year, putting 14 out of their 16 teams into March Madness, but most of their rosters were built through the transfer portal. When we got to March Madness there were only two real upsets and the first two rounds were very dull. Was the lack of upsets because of the transfer portal outbreak in the prior offseason?

Now let’s look at the good side of the transfer portal. The portal opens up windows for a really good player at a small school to go play for a better and larger school. Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier is a great example, as Chaz played at the University of North Florida in his past four seasons. Chaz tore it up and decided after his fourth season he would list his name in the transfer portal to play elsewhere for his fifth and final season. He drew much attention but committed to play at Tennessee. He put up outstanding stats and now could possibly be looking at a spot on an NBA roster, which no North Florida player would ever get a chance to do because of the school’s size and recognition.

Another reason I think the transfer portal is a good thing for College Basketball is that there are only five spots on the floor at a time, so not every player wants to go play for the same team. This creates a wide span of great teams around college basketball as a number of star players are scattered across all different teams. Unlike college basketball, college football has 20 plus starting spots on a team and all the best players at each position could team up if they wanted to.

Overall, I do see both sides of the story. The portal has gotten carried away with the amount of players entering, but it is also good for lesser known athletes at smaller schools. Maybe the fans are overreacting to one year with a lack of upsets. The NCAA should look into a way to limit the number of players entering each year, so that way the beloved March Madness isn’t at risk of losing its Cinderella stories and upsets.