What a 96-Team Bracket Would Look Like in 2023

What if the NCAA gave two automatic bids to each of the 32 Division 1 basketball conferences? 

As I outlined, I would like to see the NCAA do this if it’s serious about expanding the tournament. Adding 28 teams and having them all be bubble teams would be a disaster. But this way, the tournament could expand with more teams in more locations without completely sacrificing the regular. In fact, the regular would mean more!

Let’s review how it would work:

• 32 regular season champions (#1 seed in conference tournament)
• 32 tournament champions (if #1 seed wins conference tournament, who they beat gets the bid)
• 32 at-large bids

If we use 2023 as a use case, we need to add 28 teams to the 68 announced. There were 23 one-bid leagues this year, so they would each get a second team. Of those 23, 11 had #1 seeds (regular season champions) that did not win its conference tournament. The other 12 new teams lost to #1 seeds in the conference title game and would get in that way. Of those, 5 were teams with losing conference records that would go right to the back of the pack.

The final 5 teams to get to 28 would be at-large teams. Those would be the first five out of this year’s tournament, which would mean bids for Oklahoma State, UNC, Clemson, Rutgers, and Oregon.

The NCAA helpfully released its 1-68 seedings, which makes it pretty easy to slot in these extra 28 teams. Nothing would change with the current bracket changes until you get to the #11 seeds.  The first takeaway, and the most interesting, is that by adding the new at-large teams into a main bracket, along with the First Four teams, it pushes the mid-major seeding down. That means a team like Louisiana drops from a 13 seed to a 16 seed. More upsets?

Let’s take a look:

South

1-Alabama vs 16-Kennesaw St/17-Grand Canyon
8-Maryland vs 9-West Virginia/24-Campbell

4-Virginia vs 13-Charleson/20-Yale
5-SDSU vs 12-Ok St/21-Alcorn St

3-Baylor vs 14-Kent St/19-UAB
6-Creighton vs 11-NC State/22-Tx AM CC

7-Missouri vs 10-Utah St/23-NDSU
2-Arizona vs 15-Toledo/18-UNCW

East

1-Purdue vs 16-Louisiana/17-Sam Houston
8-Memphis vs 9-FAU/24-Marist

4-Tennessee vs 13-Oregon/20-UNC Asheville
5-Duke vs 12-Nevada/21-Howard

3-Kansas St vs 14-VCU/19-Vermont
6-Kentucky vs 11-Providence/22-Northwestern St

7-Michigan St vs 10-USC/23-FDU
2-Marquette vs 15-Furman/18-EWU

Midwest

1-Houston vs 16-Southern Miss/17-UCSB
8-Iowa vs 9-Auburn/24-Chattanooga

4-Indiana vs 13-UNC/20-Youngstown St
5-Miami vs 12-Arizona St/21-UMass Lowell 

3-Xavier vs 14-Drake/19-Princeton
6-Iowa St vs 11-Mississippi St/22-Norfolk St

7-Texas A&M vs 10-Penn St/23-SeMo St
2-Texas vs 15-Bradley/18-Montana St

West

1-Kansas vs 16-Dayton/17-UC Irvine
8-Arkansas vs 9-Illinois/24-Lafayette

4-UConn vs 13-Oregon/20-NKU
5-St Mary's vs 12-Rutgers/21-Morehead St

3-Gonzaga vs 14-Oral Roberts/19-Colgate
6-TCU vs 11-Pittsburgh/22-Merrimack

7-Northwestern vs 10-Boise St/23-TX Southern
2-UCLA vs 15-Iona/18-LIberty

Analysis: The Bad

This isn’t perfect, and the number of mid-major vs mid-major games in the new first round could be off-putting to TV execs. Though there is plenty of major conference teams to satisfy CBS - I’m guessing they’d love that UNC game - there are lot of matchups with teams that have little brand recognition. But isn’t that what TruTV is for?

Second, it does limit the upset opportunities for mid-majors when they play each other. For example, this expanded bracket has Drake playing Princeton instead of each immediately getting a big time opponent in round 1. Instead, it would require either team to win a game first to get that shot.

Analysis: The Good

By adding the extra 32 teams, you are adding a number of teams that are better than teams already in the tournament. That means the “new” 64-team field will be dramatically more competitive than the 64-team field we will get this week. 

That isn’t a knock on the current format, but a matter of fact. Instead of #1 seeds winning by an average of 35 points, they will face tougher competition. That follows suit throughout the bracket, upping the potential for chaos, and good games, and upsets dramatically. 

Obviously, the best part of this expanded bracket is the number of games. We get an extra 32 on Tuesday and Wednesday before the usual fun starts on Thursday and Friday. While there are certainly some duds when you expand - those 9 vs 24 games could be rough – the rest should be extremely competitive. 

Lastly, the added mid-major games give those smaller schools a bigger opportunity to capture the public’s imagination and get national publicity. The NCAA Tournament is a billion-dollar business built largely on the backs of Cinderella. Wouldn’t it be nice to see more of Cinderella?

The Final Verdict

A regular season that matters. No more stupid First Four in Dayton. Two more full days of college basketball. What’s not to like? 

If the NCAA Tournament does expand, let’s cross our fingers they won’t just add another 32 bubble teams. Let’s have some fun.

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