Dan Hurley warns NCAA expansion risks regular-season value
UConn coach Dan Hurley warned that expanding the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments to 76 teams could render the regular season meaningless. Hurley, speaking to CBS Sports, stressed the importance of a challenging qualification process that keeps November through February intense. The two-time national champion argued the tournament should remain a privilege, not a right.
The NCAA last expanded the fields in 2011 by adding three teams each, bringing them to 68. A move to 76 teams would alter the early rounds, with 12 games among 24 teams-fueled by eight added at-large bids-played Tuesday and Wednesday at two sites. The traditional 64-team bracket would follow on Thursday.
Hurley expressed fondness for close matchups like 1-vs-16 and 8-vs-9 games but emphasized the difficulty of qualifying when the field stood at 64 teams. "You want it to be hard to get in," he said. "My biggest thing, too, is, you still have to win six games, right?"
Teams playing in the new opening rounds would need seven wins to claim the title. Hurley questioned whether excessive growth would diminish the tournament's appeal by easing entry requirements.
