I understand that the transfer portal and everything have altered the game in a major way, and made some of the bigger teams susceptible to upsets, but god damn, I think this is a great, exciting product, and has greatly enhanced an already incredible concept in the NCAA Tournament.
I'm very much a casual CBB fan, but what I think is really great about it is the parity and egalitarian nature of who can actually win. No sport I follow has as many viable teams that can realistically believe in winning a title in any given season. College football is a complete joke in that regard. I just think it's fantastic that we head into an Elite 8 with so many different schools and programs with a puncher's chance of winning the whole thing. We've got teams from the PNW, Southern California, New England, Florida, Texas and Nebraska. Teams from small catholic schools, traditional athletic powerhouses and big schools that have never won anything. Teams from six different conferences, and none from the Big 10 or the SEC, the powerhouses of college sports that threaten to completely alter college sports from the way we know it.
I love that all these teams have a shot, I love that kids from unknown programs get a chance to shine, and I love that CBB still represents a lot of the goodness of college sports.