CBS’s coverage of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, aka March Madness, had its usual share of exciting moments, tremendous plays, awesome announcing, and thrills aplenty. In the aftermath of the tournament which saw Florida win the National Championship, there have been varied views on this year‘s coverage and the games themselves.
Florida defeated Houston in a nailbiter victory 65-63 this past Monday, and with that close final score, one would think that this game would immediately be raised to the pantheon of all-time college basketball finals. However, on his program Breakfast Ball, FS1’s Danny Parkins took a different view, essentially saying that the game was ugly and should not be considered an all-timer. Parkins pointed to mistakes and sloppy play as his reasoning.
He wasn’t wrong, but in the end, classic games are not judged by perfect performances. They are judged by back-and-forth action, pulsating competition, striving for excellence, and ultimately, the final score.
The NIL Effect In College Basketball
Another much debated issue throughout March Madness was the overall specter and effect of NIL. The fact that college players can now profit from their names, images, and likenesses has changed the game as much as any shot clock or three point line.
Has it taken away the purity of the game and March Madness? Has it put the collegiate game on the same level of greed as the professional ranks? Has it signaled the death knell of the simple amateurism so many fans have come to cherish? On ESPN’s First Take, Ryan Clark offered a unique response. Clark actually applauded NIL because, in his opinion, it has improved the quality of play. I agree. NIL, while certainly up for debate, has essentially killed a much worse foe of the game, namely, the one and done philosophy that permeated college hoops for years.
NIL has helped to keep college basketball players in college. Athletes are staying in school longer because they are able to use their prowess and notoriety to gain income. Clark also said that NIL has helped put the ‘men’ back in men’s college basketball. I would much rather watch an experienced junior or senior play his craft as opposed to an immature freshman who has not yet harnessed his game. It makes for a better brand of ball.
The one and done era saw gifted freshmen essentially using college basketball as a one-season minor league – a mere means to the end of NBA riches. It was much more of a threat to the game’s purity than players making a few bucks on an autograph or soda ad. From a TV standpoint, the teenage one-and-dones could throw down a cool dunk every now and then, but I’d rather watch team basketball with players who have been together for two or three years.
The Transfer Portal Effect In College Basketball
If any recent development in the game is a threat to integrity, look no further than the revolving door that the transfer portal has become. On the women’s side of things, TCU’s Hailey Van Lith not only played for the Horned Frogs, but also laced them up for UCLA and LSU. She is not alone. If NIL is the college version of endorsements, the portal is the scholastic brethren of free agency. This year’s college hoops season has given viewers a major dose of reality. College basketball stars are just that, stars. If they can use their fame and talents to play where they want and make bank doing it, so be it.
I’ll go back to Clark’s opinions. Players staying in school create a more mature and schooled form of basketball. The play is tighter, the pace is better, and the players are more experienced and developed physically and mentally. They have learned the game by getting solid coaching for a longer period of time. It makes them better pros as well for those who do go on to the NBA.
Searching For Cinderella
Another issue that surfaced with the media during and after this year’s March Madness is the paucity of upsets. This was most notably evidenced by Duke and Auburn joining Houston and Florida as number 1 seeds in the men’s Final Four. The lack of Cinderella stories is connected with NIL. Players aiming to increase income by staying in school know that they can more effectively do this by going to established and historically successful programs. In this light, teams like this year’s Final Four as well as North Carolina, UCLA, Kentucky, Arizona, and other powerful programs are attracting players both in recruiting and from the transfer portal.
There are a lot of factors in players choosing a school in today’s college basketball landscape – high profile coaches, playing time, geographic location, NBA alums, and roster makeup just to name a few, but what we are really talking about here is winning. If you build a winning program, you get on TV, and if you get on TV, players will gravitate to you. We did not see the 16 vs. 1 unreal upset in this year’s NCAA tournament, but we did see great teams and formidable programs.
CBS Sports Cut Through The Noise And Delivered
We also saw tremendous coverage by CBS and its sister networks. The top broadcast team of Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, and Tracy Wolfson were on point and on their games. Eagle’s bespectacled and bookish looks should have him teaching an accounting course at some exclusive Prep school, but it is his last name that truly defines him. Like an eagle, he has soared into that rarefied air as one of the best contemporary sportscasters. For years, March Madness was indelibly tinged with the voice of Jim Nantz. This was his domain, but Eagle has been a more than capable successor to Nantz’s collegiate crown. He brings the right levels of drama and dignity to his broadcasts.
CBS really crafted a nice team for March Madness. Raftery is old school cool – a hard-edged and weathered Big East coach turned broadcaster. Grant Hill brings a refined and multifaceted knowledge of the game from his playing days at Duke and the NBA, as well as his involvement in international competition. Wolfson seamlessly transitions from the NFL sidelines to college hoops reporting. She remains one of the best in the business.
This year’s March Madness was about the growing pains and maturation of the game itself, not just the players. Is it a business? Yes, and so what? The players are more focused, staying in school longer, raising the quality of play, and making for terrific television.
CBS’s post title game One Shining Moment video montage was no less lustrous, and Parkins’ critique of the final game between the Gators and Cougars was little picture accurate, but big picture shortsighted. College basketball, even at the highest level, is not always a thing of beauty to watch. There are turnovers, mental mistakes, and missed shots, or in the case of Houston’s final possession, no shots. Still, watching these driven players go all out, fighting for loose balls, and just plain hustling was quite scintillating. That, despite any outside changes, is the true purity of the game.
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John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
