Axios

TV ratings and ticket sales indicate "Cinderella" teams aren't necessary for a buzzworthy March Madness.

The big picture: Fans enjoy watching the best teams play.

Even though the Texas men's team crashed out early from the NCAA tournament, the university will still reap benefits because it belongs to the basketball-strong SEC conference.

What's happening: With college basketball wealth driven by TV contracts, the SEC is projected to receive a $70 million payout after March Madness.

The AI chatbots we invited into our long-running Axios AI+ women's bracket challenge this year were no match for most of the competitors among Axios readers and staff.

State of play: Not only did the AI chatbots have trouble filling out their March Madness brackets, they ended up finishing below most of the human pickers, at least for the women's tournament, which wrapped up Sunday.