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Bubble teams are doing the NCAA no favors in helping justify its plans to expand the college basketball tournament.
The athletic association has said it intends to add to the 68-team field, with both 72- and 76-team formats in consideration. Fans have largely spoken out against it, however, with mid-major schools also voicing concerns. Miami (Ohio) AD David Sayler told Front Office Sports he is not in favor of expansion as he feels it will only benefit power-conference teams.
NCAA president Charlie Baker has been one of the most vocal supporters for the proposition.
“I said all along that I think there are some very good reasons to expand the tournament,” he told reporters in February. “So, I would like to see it expand.”
Baker did not elaborate on his “good reasons to expand,” but may be hard-pressed to argue the move would add more deserving teams to the tournament. Looking at this year’s men’s bracket, the addition of four or eight teams would result in many struggling teams making March Madness. Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology currently has Indiana, New Mexico, Stanford, and San Diego State as the first four teams out of the bracket.
Indiana went 1–6 in its last seven regular-season games, before losing to Northwestern Wednesday in its first Big Ten Tournament game. New Mexico finished 1–3, while San Diego State went 2–4 to end the regular season. Stanford, despite winning its final four games of the regular season, lost a crucial game to Pittsburgh in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
If the tournament expands to 72, all four of these teams would be on pace to receive bids. A 76-team field would open up four more bids for teams even less deserving, including Cincinnati (18–15) and Virginia Tech (8–10 in ACC).
The current projected 68-team field isn’t full of thriving teams either. Texas finished the season 18–14 after losing to Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament and dropping five of its last six. NC State ended the regular season on a 1–6 skid, while Auburn finished 2–8. Both teams picked up a win in their respective conference tournaments Wednesday, propelling them into the expected field.
Miami (Ohio), who finished the regular season 31–0, also has struggled as of late. The team won each of its last three regular-season games by only two points and lost to UMass in the MAC quarterfinal. The Redhawks are still expected to make the tournament despite being a mid-major, but their loss will open the door for another MAC team to steal a bid.
Not every team will enter March Madness with single-digit losses. That said, this year’s tournament will feature numerous power-conference teams who finished the regular season close to .500 and on losing streaks. Expansion is only going to add more middle-of-the-pack teams to the mix.
No official announcement is imminent, with NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt saying discussions will wait until after this year’s tournament.
