College Basketball

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

After much uncertainty, it appears the Louisville men’s basketball team will indeed compete at the third annual Players Era Festival Tournament in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving week. The event announced Thursday morning that it’s expanding to 24 teams in 2026, with two separate bracket-play tournaments over the course of two weeks in Vegas. The PEF has also struck a television …

One of the feel-good stories of March Madness is now in the NCAA’s sights. The Long Island University Sharks made the NCAA men’s basketball tournament this year after winning just three games just three years ago. Advertisement It turns out the Sharks had multiple ineligible players during coach Rod Strickland’s first two seasons, when the Sharks won a combined 10 …

After years of debate, the NCAA Tournament is on the cusp of expanding. Multiple NCAA committees have approved growing the field from its current 68-team format to 76 ahead of the 2026-27 season, a person involved in the discussions said Thursday. The NCAA will next ratify its contract with CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery before making it official. Advertisement The …

The Oregon Ducks are taking their spot in one of the most high-profile college basketball tournaments next season. Dana Altman’s Ducks will be in Las Vegas for the week of Thanksgiving to compete in the Players Era Tournament, which will have a new format this time around. The Players Era Tournament has expanded to 24 teams, and this edition of …

The change no one but sagging high-major teams wanted is here. The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are set for their biggest expansion since the 1980s. NCAA committees voted Thursday to approve plans that will bump 68-team fields up to 76, doubling the number of play-in games played on Tuesday and Wednesday for the men’s side of the bracket. …

LAS VEGAS — The Players Era will expand from 18 to 24 teams this year and split into two tournaments, with the two most recent national champions headlining a pair of loaded fields. Michigan, which won the national title in April, will be in the Players Era Sixteen on Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas. The Wolverines routed Gonzaga 101-61 to …

Divine Ugochukwu is leaving Michigan State basketball. The combo guard reportedly will transfer to Louisiana State after one season with the Spartans, according to On3.com. The former Miami (Florida) guard from Sugar Land, Texas, has two years of eligibility remaining. Advertisement The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Ugochukwu averaged 5.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists and started 12 games for the Spartans …

College basketball’s November calendar just became even more loaded after Players Era expansion originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. College basketball’s push toward massive early-season events took another major step Thursday when the Players Era Championships officially expanded to 24 teams and secured ESPN as its exclusive broadcast partner. …

Rutgers basketball is scheduled to head back to the Players Era Tournament next season, but this time, things are going to look drastically different because the tournament has expanded to 24 teams and has been split into two separate brackets. On top of all of these changes, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reported on Thursday morning that the Players Era Tournament and EverWonder Studio, …

Tennessee basketball has gotten a lot of headlines over the past few weeks. Now we know a little more about what should be their first chance to showcase itself in late November. The Players Era Tournament, an event that has nearly single-handedly changed the look and feel of Thanksgiving week, will move to a 24-team structure this season. The teams …

Eric Musselman tasted the NCAA tournament during his stints with Nevada and Arkansas, but he has yet to reach the big dance with USC. The head coach is hoping that additions like Jadis Jones via the transfer portal will help the Trojans get back to March Madness. Jones has been one of the most impressive players in the Ohio Valley …

As USA TODAY Sports and others race to find out what an expanded men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournament would look like, Arkansas head coach John Calipari is one person who is skeptical about the decision. With that said, coach Calipari has one request that he believes could redeem the idea of going to a 76-team field. Advertisement “I am …

After a busy April that saw Xavier men’s basketball add six players via the NCAA’s transfer portal, the Musketeers have landed their first portal commitment of May According to Pete Nakos of On3 Sports, Drake transfer Braden Appelhans is headed to Xavier. Advertisement Xavier, which has built one of the nation’s top transfer portal hauls over the last month, adds …