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Tom Izzo comments on recent approved NCAA Tournament expansion
TL;DR
The NCAA Tournament will expand from 68 to 76 teams next season, adding eight at-large bids. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo shared his thoughts on the impact of this change.
Key points
- NCAA Tournament expands from 68 to 76 teams
- Eight additional at-large bids will be added
- 52 teams will enter the traditional bracket
- 24 teams will play in preliminary play-in games
- Tom Izzo shares mixed feelings on the expansion
The NCAA Tournament is expanding again, and as you would expect, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has some thoughts to share on that matter.
It was approved this past week for the NCAA Tournament to be expanded from 68 to 76 teams this upcoming season. The expansion will essentially add eight more at-large bids, which will result in 52 teams landing in the traditional 64-team bracket with first round games on Thursday and Friday. The other 24 teams will have to play their way into the main field through play-in games similar to the First Four matchups in the past.
With college basketball going through another notable change, Izzo weighed in on the impact and how it'll change the game. Izzo spoke with CBS Sports' Matt Norlander stating he would rather it stay the same but also sees the other side of the argument for why expansion isn't the worst thing possible.
Here's what Izzo had to say to Norlander of CBS Sports:
"I understand it from both sides. I would rather it stay the same, but as you know, coaches weren't asked at all. I like the excitement of where it is. Could it get better? I don't know. ... If I was leaning to why it would be good it's because of what's happened with these conferences. We have 18 in our conference (the Big Ten) and there's so many more teams. It's hard for everybody. It's hard to please everybody. I was a Division II guy. I feel for the lower, smaller programs. I hate to break something that isn't broken. And I know we went from 64 to 68. It's like NIL. You can get to $10 million, you still won't have enough. You can have $20 million and it's not enough. If we go to 76, 96, it's never going to be enough."
The piece of the quote from Izzo that stood out to me the most was his expectation that it'll only continue to grow from here. Which I don't argue with since clearly if there's a buck to be made, then there will be a change to make it happen. We are seeing this most likely coming in the College Football Playoff too so I'm sure Izzo will be right that we will eventually see this 76 team field again expand.
Click on the post below to read the complete article from Norlander, which includes a number of prominent coaches' thoughts on the recent tournament expansion.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Tom Izzo comments on recent approved NCAA Tournament expansion
Q&A
What is the new format for the NCAA Tournament expansion?
The NCAA Tournament will now include 76 teams, with 52 teams entering the traditional bracket and 24 teams competing in play-in games.
What did Tom Izzo say about the NCAA Tournament expansion?
Tom Izzo expressed a preference for the tournament to remain the same but acknowledged the arguments in favor of expansion.
How will the NCAA Tournament expansion affect college basketball?
The expansion is expected to increase competition for at-large bids and alter the dynamics of the tournament structure.
