What’s key here is that even the mid-majors are traditional powers. Xavier and Gonzaga and Memphis can recruit because they have the tournament appearances to wave in front of recruits. That’s something very few other teams in mid-major conferences have. The fact that a few mid-majors have consistent success is no reason to say that others can do the same.

The reason Duke and UNC and UConn and Kansas and similar programs are always good is because they’ve always been good. Stars players want to go to star teams. It’s that simple, and it’s never going to change.

None of this means the rest of the tournament won’t be worth watching. Far from it. With the top 14 teams still playing, the quality of the basketball that lies ahead could be the best ever. There aren’t any more lucky-to-be-here teams left to get blown off the court when they finally meet one of the game’s elite. It shouldn’t even hurt television ratings; fans tend to tune in to watch famous teams, and all of the remaining combatants meet that criteria.

And if the No. 1 seeds lose, it'll only help draw in more viewers. It'll give the tournament a sense of fun that's been missing and the weekend will have actual drama because we won't know who's going to advance to the Final Four.

But the "Wow" factor is gone. There’s no one left that inspires that delightful sense of surprise that prompted someone to first call this March Madness. This isn’t madness. It’s sanity. It’s the triumph of the power ratings over underdog grit and determination, of math over mystery. The only people who could have rooted for this development are the sort who would cheer a recitation of the multiplication tables.

Slideshow   Greatest NCAA tournament moments We rank the 30 most memorable moments in the Big Dance, including Bryce Drew's 1998 buzzer-beater. NBCSports.com

Instead of wondering if George Mason or Davidson can pull off a monumental upset, we’re left to wonder if the Big East can finally get multiple teams back into the Final Four and put another tournament win in the books.

That will be a subject worthy of discussion and debate when we go back to arguing about which is the best conference in the land. But that’s an academic issue, not an emotional one.

There are no emotional issues left. From now on, it’s all academic.

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