"It's still good basketball": Dan Patrick makes his feelings known on NIL causing lack of Cinderella teams

The college basketball scene is at its most exciting time right now with the NCAA Tournament underway. Now at the Sweet 16 stage, there have been several discussions by fans and spectators that there has been a lack of lower-seeded programs scoring upsets due to the ongoing player transfer portal and even growing NIL deals for athletes.

Reasons vary as to why these factors are being put to blame. Sports commentator Dan Patrick made his feelings known from the perspective of an onlooker rather than someone who closely follows the sport, as he said on Wednesday on his show.

"We think in our world, this makes it tougher for me to follow this sport," Patrick said (Timestamp: 0:53). "Well, if you're in Connecticut or you're in Arizona, you're at UCLA, you're following your team. You're well-versed in who your team is getting and who your team is losing.

"Now, us on the outside, we're not following it day to day. But if you talk to somebody and say, 'Hey, saw where you're getting a four-star recruit.' Boom, that fan's going to tell you everything about that player.

"But we bemoan the fact, I don't even know who these guys are. But the locals, local fan, that's your team. That's your player. That's your recruit. That's your transfer portal. They know. So, I think there's an alarm as the sky is falling."

But even with the narratives that the recent issues are making collegiate hoops unwatchable, Patrick still thinks it's entertaining basketball even with the lack of postseason upsets.

"It's still good basketball," Patrick said (Timestamp: 1:40). "Yes. Is it top-heavy with chalk this year? It is. Do we miss a midmajor? Do we miss an 11-seed? Yes, we do. I don't think this is the way it's going to be.

"I think, you know, this feels like it's an aberration, maybe an anomaly. It's been back-to-back years, but OK, maybe we'll get that. And then everybody will be a little bit better with this."

The 2025 Sweet 16 for men's college basketball will continue on Thursday with four matchups.

Dan Patrick says the current transfer portal narrative is hurting those whose job it is to cover the sport

Dan Patrick later discussed the narrative of people struggling to keep up with the transfer portal due to the influx of players entering.

"I think the, 'Oh, my gosh, the transfer portal, I can't keep track,'" Patrick said (Timestamp: 2:05). "Well, you can't keep track. And Jeff Goodman, a college basketball reporter, he said, you know, basically, 'What's going on here? This is terrible.' It makes it tougher for him to do his job.

"But if I'm a local basketball fan, like a Connecticut basketball fan would be, Marvin (Prince) knows who they're getting, who you're recruiting, who you're losing."

Perhaps Patrick and a few in the college basketball landscape view the transfer portal and NIL to not impose any negativity on the quality of the game, but X users have said otherwise, showing their disagreement with the show host.