Men's Sweet 16 set to feature no mid-majors, no true Cinderella team

Because of that, there aren't any true Cinderella candidates remaining either.

Only four teams not seeded in the top four of their respective quadrants reached the Sweet 16: No. 10-seed Arkansas, No. 6-seeds Mississippi and BYU and No. 5-seed Michigan.

It's hard to view an SEC team that finished ninth in the conference (8-10) and 40th in the NET rankings as a Cinderella, especially when it is led by legendary head coach John Calipari. That being said, the Razorbacks are still the biggest underdog left in the tournament, ironically.

The Big 12's BYU Cougars, however, have the toughest remaining path to the Final Four. They'll face No. 2-seed Alabama on Thursday and if they can clear that hurdle, they'd likely be facing No. 1-seed Duke on Saturday.

The tournament's lack of mid-major representation can potentially be blamed on conference realignment and the dawn of the NIL era.

Before 2023, BYU and No. 1-seed Houston would've been members of the WCC and American Athletic Conferences, respectively.

Power conference programs also have the highest concentration of NIL funds in the entire sport. It's kind of hard to compete with that kind of financial prowess on the recruiting trail and the transfer portal.

There will be some incredible matchups awaiting fans in the regional semifinals and beyond, but they come at the cost of feel-good storylines and the seemingly traditional David vs. Goliath dynamic March Madness is most known for.