RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 23: Thomas Haugh #10 of the Florida Gators looks on in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament against the Connecticut Huskies at Lenovo Center on March 23, 2025 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
The NCAA Tournament could expand THIS season for men's and women's basketball. According to sources the decision on whether to do so could come in the next few weeks. Under the current format both tournaments sit at 68 teams. Moving forward the fields could expand to 72 or 76 teams while 76 seems to be the likely number.
The NCAA which lost almost all of its governing power in football still runs the popular basketball tournament. They are currently in talks with their media partners about expansion. If the tourney expands by 8 teams it would be the largest expansion since the field jumped to 64 teams in 1985. The NCAA added one team in 2001 with a play-in format that was expanded again to the current 68 team format in 2011.
NCAA TOURNAMENT COULD EXPAND
These greedy idiots only know one thing: expansion. There is constant expansion of the college football playoffs which waters down the importance of regular season games and conference championships. In basketball, the field is too big as it is by including 68 teams. A 76 team field is ridiculous . A 64 field team is plenty. The 65th, 68th or 76th ranked team is not going to win the national championship so quit wasting everybody's time by including them!
Bubble teams that did not make the men's tournament's field of 68 this past season included West Virginia, Indiana, Boise State, and Ohio State. None of them had a prayer of winning the championship last season. Under the new expanded format each of them would have gotten in and probably been bounced very early.
NCAA Tournament Could Expand: Which means the tournament really WILL expand. For more analysis on this story tune in each weekday to Craig Shemon and Company from 2-6pm on ESPN Southwest Florida.
