Why expanding the NCAA Tournament to 76 teams is bad news for college basketball

Why expanding the NCAA Tournament to 76 teams is bad news for college basketball originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

After heavy speculation, it’s finally happening.

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The NCAA Tournament is set to expand from 68 teams to 76 starting next season, according to a recent report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

“The NCAA has initiated the final steps to expand the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments to 76 teams,” Thamel stated Tuesday.

“The expansion, which has been discussed for well over a year, is on track to be formalized in the upcoming weeks and would begin this coming season. Sources indicated mid-May as a potential timeline for an announcement.”

“While there are still steps to take in terms of approvals via various NCAA committees, a source indicated ‘those are just formalities.”

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While many are excited about the highly anticipated move, it would be challenging to argue against the notion that it’s bad news for college basketball. The current NCAA Tournament format puts ample pressure on bubble teams to play their best basketball down the stretch of the regular season and during the start of the postseason to earn an at-large bid to the Big Dance.

If they don’t deliver, they’ll run the risk of being on the outside looking in come Selection Sunday. Take Auburn this past season, for example.

With 68 total teams making the NCAA Tournament, and 37 of them punching their ticket via an at-large bid, the Tigers comprehended that despite their impressive metrics (top-5 strength of schedule and five Quad 1 wins), they needed to make a lengthy run in the SEC Tournament to make the Big Dance last season.

Auburn failed to do so, getting eliminated in the second round, entering Selection Sunday with a mediocre 17-16 record, and missing March Madness for the first time since 2021.

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In an expanded NCAA Tournament field, a team with a similar resume to Auburn’s would…

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Publish date : 2026-04-28 22:37:00

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