Analytics expert says portal hurting some major programs
Princeton guard Matt Allocco (14) forward Zach Martini (54) and forward Caden Pierce (12) and teammates embrace in the final seconds of the second half of a first-round college basketball game against Arizona in the NCAA Tournament in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, March 16, 2023. Princeton won 59-55. (AP Photo/José Luis Villegas)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/José Luis Villegas]
A University of Illinois professor who runs an analytics website thinks the transfer portal has hurt some power conference schools in the NCAA Tournament. Sheldon Jacobson, who operates the site BracketOdds, says changes brought on by an increasingly active portal have diminished the cohesiveness within some marquee programs. Lower-seeded teams from mid-major conferences are more likely to have a core group of players who have been together three or four years. Seven No. 15 seeds have won at least one game over the past 11 years, including each of the last three NCAA Tournaments for the first time.
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