Despite loads of fan pushback and negative reaction around college sports, the NCAA Tournament is going to be expanding to 76 teams. Instead of getting the 'fi
Mar 20, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Ryan Odom calls a play during the first half against the Wright State Raiders during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Despite loads of fan pushback and negative reaction around college sports, the NCAA Tournament is going to be expanding to 76 teams. Instead of getting the "first four" games to start the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday's and Wednesday, there is going to be an opening round added and the lowest seeded automatic qualifier's and the lowest seeded at large teams are going to play each other.
The winners of those games are going to advance to Thursday and Friday's opening round, which will just be the normal round of 64 that college basketball fans are used to. The big takeaway that I have for the NCAA Tournament expanding is that it is naturally going to expand the bubble and more teams are going to be in.
Virginia was safely in the field a season ago, but now that there are extra slots for at large teams, it is really hard to see the Cavaliers missing the tournament under Ryan Odom. With that being said, no program is immune from a down season, but with NCAA Tournament expansion, this is going to give a bigger safety net for programs like UVA in the event that they either have injuries, misevaluate players in the transfer portal, or other circumstances.
The biggest way that expansion is going to affect Virginia basketball is that it makes it more likely that they can make the field year over year unless something really goes wrong. Virginia is one of the best programs in the ACC and they showed under Ryan Odom last season that they are a program that is still capable of producing very good teams in the NIL era, having the best season since the 2019 national championship season.
With the way that next season is being projected, Virginia is not going to have to worry about being on the bubble, even in a 76-team field.are being seen as a potential top ten team heading into next season and a lot of it has to do with the players that are coming back. , Johann Grunloh , and Chance Mallory make this a very solid team.
NCAA Tournament expansion might not be what most people wanted, but for Virginia's program under Odom, it should make getting into the field a near certainty each season. That would make it a positive thing in Charlottesville. Jackson Caudell has been a publisher at the On SI network for four years and has extensive knowledge covering college athletics and the NBA.
Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast, and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudellNCAA Makes Official Decision on March Madness Expansion: How Men’s, Women’s Tournament Brackets Will Look
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