Analytics expert says portal hurting some major programs

By MARK ANDERSON
AP Sports Writer

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.