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Stephen A. Smith warns of ‘death of CBB’ without any Cinderellas in Sweet 16

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Stephen A. Smith is just like the rest of the country when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. He loves March Madness, and he loves to pull for the Cinderella teams when the bracket is revealed.

There’s just one problem: Cinderella is MIA this time around.

Coming out of Sunday’s games, the full Sweet 16 bracket is set, and there is no true Cinderella program involved. Arkansas as a 10-seed is the lowest-seeded team still standing, but John Calipari’s group cannot be adequately described as a Cinderella story.

Of the final 16 teams, 7 of them hail from the SEC, a new record for a single conference. However, the larger concern for Smith is that there are zero mid-major programs still standing in the race to the national title.

“If this continues, this will be the death of college basketball,” said Smith about the prospects of March Madness without the madness. “Because college basketball — listen to what I’m saying — this has no effect on the lure of college basketball during the season. But March Madness, the madness of March, owns sports for that 4-5 week period.”

According to Smith, the entire allure of the Big Dance is that every team has a chance to win in March. Without that allure in the era of NIL and the transfer portal, it would greatly shift the landscape:

“March Madness, the NCAA Tournament, is where it’s at. What I’m talking about, when I allude to such a drastic, hyperbolic statement in some people’s eyes, … what is the appeal, what is the allure? That anybody has a chance, because of Cinderella,” Smith claimed.

While Smith’s prediction is designed to inspire fear, it’s hard to see it as a full representation of the landscape of the NCAA Tournament. Just last season, there were 4 wins by No. 12 seeds or worse, including 13-seeded Yale’s stunning upset of Auburn.

Just 2 seasons ago, the Final Four featured a trio of rare programs made up of FAU, San Diego State and Miami prior to UConn winning it all. In 2022, 15-seed Saint Peter’s mounted 3 wins (including an opening-round upset of Kentucky) to roll all the way to the Elite Eight.

The story of March Madness has always been about Cinderellas, but do not confuse the allure of cheering for a Cinderella with the belief that it happens on a regular basis. That’s part of what makes March, and those surprising deep runs, special.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.