Every hit television show needs a heel turn, a John Cena or a Boston Rob to stir things up. Things get really interesting when a complex antihero like Walter White of "Breaking Bad" declares, "I am the danger."
Ratings plummet when the murderer drops a bloody glove outside his car and the clues are just too easy. Fans get tired of Stephen A. Smith's preening 110-decibel blather about Michael Jordan versus LeBron James. They're both great; let's move on: Who's winning this year?
March Madness is a TV show that needs a reboot before it becomes another roundup of the usual suspects. These are the teams that made the Sweet 16 in 2025:
No. 1 Auburn (South)
No. 1 Duke (East)
No. 1 Houston (Midwest)
No. 1 Florida (West)
No. 2 Tennessee (Midwest)
No. 2 Alabama (East)
No. 2 Michigan State (South)
No. 3 Texas Tech (West)
No. 3 Kentucky (Midwest)
No. 4 Purdue (Midwest)
No. 4 Maryland (West)
No. 4 Arizona (East)
No. 5 Michigan (South)
No. 6 Brigham Young (East)
No. 6 Mississippi (South)
No. 10 Arkansas (West)
No teams lower than a 10-seed, and that 10-seed is a former SEC blue blood coached by John Calipari. There are no surprises, no intrigues, no drama. Cinderella is back scrubbing floors in the wicked stepmother's kitchen. Steph Curry of Davidson is long gone, and no plucky three-point artist has stepped up to replace him.
In years past fans witnessed the constant variety of sport at the NCAA tournament, teams emerging from nowhere, buzzer beaters and one shining moment. Four 15 seeds cracked the Sweet 16, starting with Florida Gulf Coast in 2013. It happened three straight years from 2021 to 2023, Oral Roberts, Saint Peter's, and Princeton.
The tournament once had wings; now fans get a 16-piece serving of the chalkiest chalk with no choice of sauce. It's staid. It's predictable. It's the rich getting richer. These are the teams that made the Elite Eight:
No. 2 Alabama (East)
No. 1 Florida (West)
No. 1 Duke (East)
No. 3 Texas Tech (West)
No. 2 Michigan State (South)
No. 2 Tennessee (Midwest)
No. 1 Auburn (South)
No. 1 Houston (Midwest)
In today's basketball landscape talent gets concentrated into the hands of the few, the brand names with deep pockets. It's a trend that's getting worse. Prior to this year, the opening day record for players entering the transfer portal was 291 set in 2024. This year over 1700 players entered on the first day.
Unrestricted free agency has created a crazed market for talent, and NIL concentrates the best of that talent on 20 teams. For the rest of the field, the tournament is a trip to a crowded fieldhouse where the bluebloods have bought up all the souvenirs and snacks.
Not everyone agrees that this is bad for basketball. Notably, Colin Cowherd, host of "The Herd" on Fox Sports, argues that dynasties and recognized brand names are what viewers want. "We don't watch for the madness," he said, "We watch for Big Brands."
Maybe Cowherd is right. He's one of the most incisive and thoughtful voices on the sports airwaves, and unlike some he dishes out the rants and opinions with a dash of humor. But what most fans want to see is true competition, not parity and chaos but at least some variety and surprise.
They don't want their team to be one and done every March, the gang that couldn't shoot straight. They'd at least like to see some fighting and tension before Cooper Flagg gets the final rose.