The NCAA formally announced May 7 it would expand the men’s college basketball field from 68 to 76 teams beginning in 2027. Dick Vitale is not a fan. MORE: Legendary coach, broadcaster Dick Vitale reveals health update ESPN’s longest-tenured television personality, the voice of its college basketball coverage since 1979, blasted college basketball leadership for what is ostensibly a money …

After delivering a herculean effort on the road to bounce the Boston Celtics and complete the franchise’s first-ever 3-1 playoff comeback, Joel Embiid implored Philadelphia 76ers fans to not sell their Eastern Conference semifinals tickets. The Sixers’ standout big man didn’t want a repeat of their first-round playoff series versus the New York Knicks two seasons ago, in which the …

Like it or not, ready or not, the NCAA tournament is going to expand to 76 teams, starting next season. No one much likes it, with coaches and fans at the front of the line. Money speaks, though, so they’ll water it down. Advertisement Now we’ll get 32 automatic bids and 44 at-large bids. The First Four is gone; in …

Luka Doncic is making progress but doesn’t seem to be anywhere near a return to the court. The Los Angeles Lakers star has been ruled out for Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a left hamstring strain, according to the league’s injury report as of 10:30 p.m. ET on May 6. Advertisement The …

Nobody asked for this. When we’re talking about NCAA Tournament expansion, it’s important to start with that point.  Don’t get distracted by looking at mock-ups of the new 76-team bracket or by wondering what city might get to share hosting duties with Dayton for the new opening round. And even as NCAA officials pat themselves on the back on Thursday for finally …

DETROIT (AP) — Cleveland Cavaliers reserve guard Sam Merrill is out of the lineup with a hamstring injury against the Detroit Pistons in Game 2 of their second-round series on Thursday night. Merrill was injured early in a Game 1 loss to the Pistons on Tuesday night. He had an MRI and was held out of practice on Wednesday. Advertisement …

The Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, heard the concerns from the fans and created two brackets. The first will be an eight-team bracket the week of Nov. 16, the week before Thanksgiving. The Gonzaga Bulldogs will be playing in the 16-team bracket the week of Nov. 23, the week of Thanksgiving, or better known as Feast Week. ESPN …

The Los Angeles Lakers roster is already stretched thin as it is, but there’s a chance they could be down one more body for Game 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night. Luke Kennard was added to the Lakers injury report on Wednesday with neck soreness. He’s still on it as of the 5:30 p.m. NBA injury report …

In the NCAA’s latest move to give us things that nobody wants, the 76-team NCAA Tournament is now official for both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The NCAA made the move a while back to expand from 64 to 68 teams, giving us a ‘First Four’ to open the tournament. Now we’ll have 12 teams in what they’re calling …

Oklahoma City Thunder have been cruising so far through the 2026 NBA playoffs despite not being at full strength. Thunder star Jalen “J-Dub” Williams has not played since suffering a Grade 1 left hamstring strain during the first round against the Phoenix Suns on April 22. Williams played in the first two games of the opening series and has been …

Florida basketball will participate in the 2026 Players Era Tournament held in Las Vegas alongside 23 other schools next November. The event is organized by the EverWonder Studio company in partnership with ESPN, which will broadcast the games. The Players Era Festival, a Las Vegas-based NIL event that pays millions to college basketball players, debuted in 2024 with just eight …

Way to get rid of the fun. After hinting at it for the past two years, the NCAA finally did what many people didn’t want and expanded its basketball tournaments, upping the field from 68 teams to 76 beginning next season. Advertisement Historically, it makes sense given this tournament has had significant growth since the first edition of eight teams …

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Randy Bennett was thrilled to be introduced as the next coach at Arizona State, his hometown school and the only place that could lure him away from a 25-year career at Saint Mary’s. A health issue interrupted, sending him to the hospital and pushing back his introductory news conference to five weeks after he was hired. …

Down 5 in the final minute, Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo took over to shock the 76ers — capped by a rare DOUBLE … Source link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x936atfK1Tg Author : Publish date : [publish_date] Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ depth was already tenuous heading into the playoffs. It’s even more so now ahead of Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Thursday night. Jarred Vanderbilt went down with a gruesome hand injury when his fingers hit the backboard while trying to contest an alley-oop towards the end of the first half in Game 1 …

Big Ten hoops dominates NIL spending spree amid 76-team NCAA Tournament expansion originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The NCAA Tournament may be over, but the financial data rolling in proves exactly why the Big Ten is driving the future of college basketball. Advertisement Thursday’s announcement of the tournament’s …

Never miss a moment with the latest news, trending stories and highlights to bring you closer to your favorite players and teams. Source link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAc37VXSW6w Author : Publish date : [publish_date] Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Fifteen years after its last expansion, the NCAA Tournament is once again set for a broader field. On Thursday, May 7, the NCAA formally ratified a proposal to expand both the men’s and women’s tournaments from 68 to 76 teams — or, approximately one-fifth of all Division I programs. Advertisement Coaches expressed mixed sentiment on the expansion, which comes as …

Every single person who signed off on the decision Thursday to expand the NCAA basketball tournament to 76 teams understands they are doing something fans didn’t ask for and that nobody in a position of power can justify. It is the Seinfeld of expansions — a decision about nothing, that gains nothing for college basketball, that exists mostly because the …

The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly held discussions with the Milwaukee Bucks about a potential deal at this year’s trade deadline. The swap would have included Evan Mobley and all of Cleveland’s available draft picks for 10-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo. “There’s another Eastern Conference contender, however, that folks around the league are looking at as a potential Antetokounmpo landing spot,” said Jake …

There are few basketball players alive who can match the accomplishments of Oscar Robertson. The former Indiana high school trailblazer, Cincinnati Bearcat and 12-time NBA All-Star has pretty much seen it all. And now, the 87-year-old Hall-of-Famer can see a larger NCAA Tournament. Advertisement On Thursday, the NCAA announced it is expanding the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to 76 …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. UPDATE: Added a +700 SGP. Stopping LeBron James has been a tough task for NBA teams over the past 23 years, and the Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t about to start spitting into the wind when it comes to containing LeBron. Advertisement My Lakers vs. …

Expanded March Madness bracket: Here’s what a 76-team NCAA Tournament would have looked like in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The NCAA Tournament is expanding, in spite of backlash from fans and coaches alike. The move from 68 teams to 76 became official on Thursday on both …

The NCAA formally approved expanding the men’s and women’s Division I basketball tournaments to 76 teams on Thursday, May 7. Starting in 2027, March Madness will get even madder. The new opening round will grow from eight teams to 24, be played Tuesday/Wednesday prior to the first round for men and Wednesday/Thursday for women and feature at-large teams and automatic …

Indiana men’s basketball head coach Darian DeVries addressed the media on Thursday, providing a handful of updates on the Hoosiers’ offseason. DeVries was asked about and addressed Indiana’s strategy in the transfer portal, the staff’s offseason work, the frontcourt pairing between former Alabama forward Aiden Sherrell and former SMU center Samet Yigitoglu, the impending international trip to Peru for the …