Love it or hate it, expansion is hitting the NCAA Tournament. Beginning next season, the marquee college basketball event will jump from 68 to 76 teams. Although the unofficial national holidays for the Round of 64 are preserved on the opening Thursday and Friday, the ‘First Four’ is now the ‘Opening Round’ and will feature 12 games between the last 12 at-large teams and the last 12 automatic bids in the days preceding.
But where will the eight extra teams come from? Will there be more mid-majors in the mix, or simply more power conference representatives? How will bubble conversations late in the year shift? Could there be any seeding implications? Past precedent will still be a valuable tool to predict the field come next February and March, but the selection committee could set a new tone when it provides real answers at the 2027 Selection Show.
For now, though, let’s dive into how the selection and seeding of the Big Dance could be affected by expansion, using some precedent from the post-COVID era combined with some good old-fashioned speculation.
