Ken Pomeroy Takes Controversial Side On NCAA Tournament Expansion
06/20/2024 04:42 PM
While many media members are against potential NCAA Tournament expansion, the leading analytics voice in college basketball is taking the opposing stance.
Following a report from Yahoo Sports about NCAA officials discussing possibly expanding the tournament to 72 or 76 teams in the future, Ken Pomeroy took to Twitter to express his support for the idea.
"RIP my mentions, but 76 teams is totally responsible expansion and I don't understand why people are so hostile to it," Pomeroy wrote. "It would have been cool to have had Indiana State in last season's tourney. So what if it comes with St. John's and Oklahoma joining them."
Pomeroy is not alone in this take, but he might be in the minority among college basketball media. It's interesting to see him state this opinion, considering one of the frequent criticisms of expansion is the projected watering down of the tournament field.
According to Yahoo's report, any possible expansion would occur in the 2025-26 season, at the earliest. Should the men's tournament increase its field, the women's event would likely do the same.
The last NCAA Tournament expansion came in 2011, with the addition of the "First Four" games in Dayton. This upped the customary 64-team bracket to 68 teams.
