The NCAA announced last week that the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will expand to 76 teams, adding eight more teams to the field.
On the surface, that seems great, right? The more, the merrier.
But looking through the details, it seems like an awful idea for programs like Merrimack, the rest of the MAAC, and other low-to mid-majors.
What the NCAA is really doing here is expanding the play-in round. Right now, 68 teams make the NCAA Tournament, and eight teams play four games in the “First Four,” which has traditionally taken place in Dayton, Ohio.
That’s the round that’s expanding. Those mid-week games that take place before the Big Dance starts on Thursday. So they aren’t really expanding the tournament as much as they’re expanding the play-in round.
The “First Four” now becomes the “First 12.”
The NCAA didn’t do this so more mid-majors could make the NCAA Tournament. This decision — mostly brokered by the Power 4 schools — was made so that more Power 4 schools on the bubble will make the NCAA Tournament.