Rick Pitino questions expanded March Madness pushback: 'Why and who cares?'
St. John's basketball coach Rick Pitino is defending the expanded 76-team March Madness field, and questioning pushback for it.
Consider Rick Pitino on board with the expanded NCAA Tournament . The Hall of Fame coach alluded to as much on Monday, May 11 when he went onto X (formerly Twitter) to question why there is pushback on March Madness expanding from 68 to 76 teams on both the men's and women's side of college basketball starting this upcoming 2026-27 season. "When I hear people are upset the NCAA expanded to 76 teams, I think "why and who cares?
" The best teams advance and more teams get to experience the greatest tournament on earth," the St. John's basketball coach wrote on X. When I hear people are upset the NCAA expanded to 76 teams, I think “why and who cares?
”. The best teams advance and more teams get to experience the greatest tournament on earth. — Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) May 11, 2026 LIKE IT OR NOT: March Madness is expanding to 76 teams, starting next season The expanded tournament won’t impact the first round or any that follow, since games will still tip off from noon to midnight ET on that opening Thursday when 32 teams take the floor.
The real impact will come in the days leading up to the first round. On the men's side, the First Four will expand from eight teams playing four games in Dayton to 24 teams playing 12 games across two sites. Dayton will remain a host for the play‑in round, while the NCAA will announce the second location at a later date.