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New NCAA tourney expansion talk
Forget portal madness. Charlie Baker raises idea of adding 4-8 teams into the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Plus: Louisville bolsters its frontcourt, USC snags an award-winning guard, while Des Claude rises to the top of the portal wish lists,
Tristan Freeman
May 30, 2025
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Good morning! Be great today. Kinda like the Knicks.
Let’s get to Thursday’s college hoops news.
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1. ‘We’ve been talking about 72 and 76.’
It’s been hard to ignore expansion talk in college sports the last few months. But most of that’s been about college football.
On Thursday, NCAA president Charlie Baker moved that conversation to college basketball. And the timeline might be sooner than some think.
NCAA president Charlie Baker said one of his top priorities here at the Big 12 spring meetings was to discuss expanding March Madness, which could come in 2026.
"That would be the goal, to try and do this for next year. ... We've been talking about 72 and 76."
— David Rumsey (@_DavidRumsey)
2:14 PM • May 29, 2025
This has been a regular discussion topic for the last two years, so it popping up again isn’t much of a surprise. The high-major programs, led by the SEC and Big 12, have been focused on adding more. Also, NCAA decision-makers have never outright dismissed the idea.
The dissension among many college basketball fans and media due still holds, especially when one focuses on logistics for additions First Four games and whether those matchups would actually be compelling. It’d be one thing if expansion focused on adding more programs outside of the power conferences (here’s an example), but that’s not on the table.
It’s also worth noting that expansion wouldn’t be a windfall. Front Office Sports reported this week that any extra TV money would be “chump change.”
“I believe CBS and TNT will offer them zero–or a de minimis amount,” one TV executive told FOS. “They’re expanding the earliest round for no apparent reason other than the powers that be think it’s worth more.”
Expansion adds to what will already be a pivotal point in college sports. Besides the resolution and implementation of the House v. NCAA settlement, there are other lawsuits for players fighting for more eligibility, including former Tennessee guard Zakai Ziegler, looking to get an unprecedented non-COVID-related 5th year.
Guess we should prepare for what most of the summer conversations will be.
2. Louisville adds another frontcourt piece
What to do if one of Louisville’s frontcourt pieces can’t play next season? Fortify.
