Thursday Dots: March Randomness
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - APRIL 06: Aday Mara #15 of the Michigan Wolverines and Tarris Reed Jr. #5 of the UConn Huskies tip-off in the National Championship of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 06, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) | Getty Images The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will expand to 76 teams beginning in 2027.
The move is purely financial, as it does not elevate competition within the tournament. It does create more slots for the UW men’s program, which has struggled mightily in recent years, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pretend to support the expanded format. The NCAA, college sports decision-makers as a whole, does its best to ignore the advice that says, “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.
” On the bright side, expanding the tournament won’t cause a drastic shift in the sport, so it isn’t the worst thing ever. Still, it’s very unnecessary. A look at the new bracket 👀 pic.
twitter. com/esm18WdUSJ — NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 7, 2026 NCAA tournament expansion means on Tuesday/Wednesday there will be 12 games with 24 teams at two different locations with 8 additional at-large bids. https://t.
co/DsfHWOxYFz https://t. co/vbUGR7yEqD — Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) May 7, 2026 These 8 teams would've made the NCAA Tournament this past season if a 76-team field would've been in place. The NCAA announced today that they will be expanding March Madness to include 76 teams.