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“Sources: NCAA basketball tournaments set to move to 76 teams”

Midnighter

Midnighter

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BobPSU92 said:
This will get Penn State dancin’! 😃

www.espn.com

Sources: NCAA basketball tournaments set to move to 76 teams

The NCAA has initiated the final steps to expand the men's and women's basketball tournaments to 76 teams, with sources telling ESPN that clearing the final steps needed is just a formality.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

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Confused Brandon Scott Jones GIF by CBS
 
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KingLando

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We all knew it was going to expand. It expected 72 them 80 (80 is the end game) but it makes sense to expand. Other tournaments like the NIT no longer have meaning and if you want kids to play it has to be to compete for a title. Just like bowls will die and the playoff will expand.
 
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RolexKong

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KingLando said:
We all knew it was going to expand. It expected 72 them 80 (80 is the end game) but it makes sense to expand. Other tournaments like the NIT no longer have meaning and if you want kids to play it has to be to compete for a title. Just like bowls will die and the playoff will expand.
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It's expanding to give college presidents more opportunities to boondoggle.
 
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Bwifan

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doctornick

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Bwifan said:
Soon all D1, D2, D3 teams will make the tournament and the tournament will start Labor Day weekend and finish in March.
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Honestly, a single elimination tournament that includes every team actually seems like a far better idea that this monstrosity. It would be like cup competitions in soccer (stuff like the FA Cup in England or US Open Cup here in the USA)
 
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Bwifan

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doctornick said:
Honestly, a single elimination tournament that includes every team actually seems like a far better idea that this monstrosity. It would be like cup competitions in soccer (stuff like the FA Cup in England or US Open Cup here in the USA)
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You could actually do something like that and when you lose and are knocked out you continue your season playing other teams that have been knocked out. Scheduling traveling not knowing what teams would be available to play is the only drawback.
 
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ApexLion

ApexLion

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DaytonRickster said:
Watering down the field and there will still be teams griping they were overlooked. It's about the $$$$$$$$ for the NCAA. Here in the Dayton area, the business people are estatic.
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Play in for 32?? Several rounds in Dayton?
 
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KingLando

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NewEra 2026 said:
Nice. Let’s mess with the one postseason that works perfectly as is. Can’t folks leave well enough alone?
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I dont think this impacts much...gives networks more games, give people more games to gamble on but the first real weekend is still going to be great as always.
 
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PSUForever

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I'm all for more March Madness and who wouldn't be? The early round games are the best and if this creates more opportunities for close games and upsets then all the better.
 
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Erial_Lion

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PSUForever said:
I'm all for more March Madness and who wouldn't be? The early round games are the best and if this creates more opportunities for close games and upsets then all the better.
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I'm not...it waters down the regular season and will bring in mediocre/.500 Power 5 teams that really shouldn't be rewarded with a tourney bid. Plus, it causes much more difficulty with pools, which is one of the big things that drives the eyeballs that the tourney gets every year.

The logic I read is that the number of teams in D1 have expanded, so the tourney needs to expand to match...ignoring the fact that the teams that have been added are at the very bottom rung of D1, and their conferences aren't the ones that will be picking up these additional bids.

Plus, I don't know anyone that feels that the First 4 games have been the "best"...most see them as something to pass the time until the "real" tournament begins.
 
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Woodpecker

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Will the play-in games be 14 vs 19, 15 vs 18, and 16 vs 17 for each region for the right to play 1, 2, and 3 seeds? That doesn't really make Tuesday and Wednesday tremendously more exciting. They usually have some 10 vs 7 or 8 vs 9 nowadays so maybe that becomes 10 vs 9 or 8 vs 11 for some regions? I really don't see it moving the needle much on fan engagement given that some games will be Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. And the Sat/Sun 1 vs 19, 2 vs 18, etc. kind of reduces the upset likelihood.
 
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Erial_Lion

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Woodpecker said:
Will the play-in games be 14 vs 19, 15 vs 18, and 16 vs 17 for each region for the right to play 1, 2, and 3 seeds? That doesn't really make Tuesday and Wednesday tremendously more exciting. They usually have some 10 vs 7 or 8 vs 9 nowadays so maybe that becomes 10 vs 9 or 8 vs 11 for some regions? I really don't see it moving the needle much on fan engagement given that some games will be Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. And the Sat/Sun 1 vs 19, 2 vs 18, etc. kind of reduces the upset likelihood.
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It's split half and half...6 of the games will be the worst 12 auto-bid schools (filling all of the 16 seeds and two of the 15 seeds)...the other 6 games would be the worst 12 at-large teams, filling out where they fall in the bracket.
 
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KingLando

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razpsu said:
I’ll tune in when they reach 16.
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That's fair
Gamblers couldn't be happier right now
I still think the Round of 64/32 will be the best 4 days of the tournament but this essentially just replaces what was the NIT and gives them a chance to be a "Cinderella"--I'd rather see competitive games than the CBI or whatever it's called.
 
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