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NCAA Tournament Going to 76 Teams: You probably will hate it, but it will likely end up working in NC State’s favor

Pack Pride Staff

Published

2 months ago

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The NCAA is expanding both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments from 68 to 76 teams. The change is expected to kick in for the 2027 tournament. This adds eight more at-large bids and grows the opening-round play-in games. Winners will join the main 64-team bracket. Pete Thamel first broke the news, and it’s been going crazy all over social media since then.

Fans are pissed off about it, as you’d expect. With college basketball already looking less and less like the sport we all fell in love with, now the sacred NCAA Tournament is getting messed with. The real criticism here is that it seems like a straight-up money grab that waters down what makes March Madness special. But when you look at the history, this fits right in with how the tournament has continued to grow over the years.

How much growth is too much?

The very first NCAA men’s tournament back in 1939 had just eight teams. Oregon beat Ohio State in the championship game. It slowly got bigger over the decades, hitting 16 teams by 1951 and climbing through the 32, 40, and 48-team marks in the 1970s and early 80s.

The big shift everyone remembers came in 1985 when it jumped to 64 teams. That created the single-elimination bracket we all know now. TV ratings were exploding, especially after the Magic-Bird final in 1979, and suddenly the tournament became a national obsession.

Since then, there have been smaller tweaks. In 2001, they added one play-in game to make it 65 teams. Then in 2011 they went to the current 68-team setup with the First Four in Dayton. The women’s tournament followed a similar path and settled at 68 teams too. Now we’re looking at the biggest jump since 2011.

Why Are They Doing This? Oh yeah, money.

Money is the main reason. More games mean more TV revenue from CBS, Turner, and ESPN. College sports are dealing with huge financial pressures from NIL deals, revenue sharing, and conference realignment. Power conference schools see this as a way to get more of their teams in and strengthen their position.

NCAA President Charlie Baker talks about giving deserving bubble teams a chance. But plenty of people think it’s mostly about padding the pockets of the big programs. Either way, it looks like this expansion is going to happen.

Fan reaction online has been as you’d expect. “Nobody asked for this.” “You’re ruining a perfect thing.” Still, it seems the decision is a foregone conclusion.

If we’re being honest, isn’t this kind of a good thing for NC State?

For NC State, this could actually be good news. The Wolfpack have a long tournament history with two national titles (1974 and 1983), and several Final Four runs, including that magical one we all just witnessed in 2024. They’ve had some incredible moments, but they’ve also had their share of painful bubble snubs.

Looking at recent years and using KenPom rankings as a measure for how strong a team really was, a few seasons stand out where NC State was close but didn’t quite get in.

The most obvious was the 2018-19 year, they finished 24-12 and ranked 41st in KenPom. Most bracketologists had them right on the bubble or just outside. They ended up in the NIT. With eight extra spots, that team probably gets in.

For a program that, for whatever reason, seems to live on the NCAA bubble, these extra spots will matter. And like it or not, more tournament trips help with recruiting, NIL money, and keeping fans excited. In a conference that’s fighting to stay relevant against the Big Ten and SEC, every little edge counts.

If you want to look on the bright side, NC State has a history of catching fire in March. They seem to thrive when the chips are down, so giving them a few more chances to get in the dance could lead to some new, memorable runs.

Whether the bigger field makes March Madness better or just more watered down is up for debate. As a fan of the sport, I fall more on the ‘watered down’ side, but it’s important to look at it from both sides.

As a State fan, it’s hard not to see this as a positive. The Wolfpack seems to be always ‘on the cusp,’ and with more teams allowed in, it may move the Pack into a team that’s almost always dancing. That leads to more revenue, which leads to more NIL funds, which leads to better players, which leads to more sustainable winning.

And lastly, you aren’t going to see many coaches complaining. Making the big dance seems to be the measuring stick for each season’s success, so if getting in becomes easier, then coaches can avoid the hot seat for longer.

Lots to think about and consider here. What do you think?

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