NCAA Tournament expansion won’t kill March Madness but will make it worse

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.

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Historically, it makes sense given this tournament has had significant growth since the first edition of eight teams in 1939. In fact, the 42 years without a major shift was the longest it had gone without expanding.

Why so long? That’s because it finally found the perfect balance. Now, the NCAA is trying to ruin its most sacred postseason, dismantling all the work necessary to make March the spectacle it is.

SOUNDING OFF: What coaches think of March Madness expanding

The organization will tell you it’s expanding the field because it was necessary, giving one-fifth of its 361 teams a shot at the exclusive spot. More teams means better matchups, so more drama and opportunities for madness. The NCAA also won’t mind the extra money that comes with it.

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However, do those teams that are just missing out really deserve a shot? Because it has shown none of it looks pretty.

It has everything to do with who is getting these extra spots. You know who this expansion is really for, and if you need a hint: it’s not those small schools.

The NCAA tried to say since the first four out started in 2011, 42% of teams to just miss the cut came from non-power conferences. With that logic, more of the mid-majors will get in, right?

No way. The smaller conferences have dwindled recently. Of the 24 teams to miss out since 2021, just seven were mid-majors. That’s just 29%. Plus with the new seeding, automatic qualifiers all get bumped a seed down. So a No. 13 seed in the field of 68 can end up a No. 14 in the field of 76.

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That’s why those at the mid-major level are skeptical they will see any benefits of this.

“I think the intention of expansion is only to get more power conference teams in the tournament, and that’s frustrating. Every year, there’s a couple of teams in that mid-major group that I think would add a lot to the tournament that get excluded,” UC Irvine coach…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ncaa-tournament-expansion-wont-kill-213750780.html

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Publish date : 2026-05-07 21:37:00

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