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What 76-team expanded NCAA Tournament would have looked like in 2026

SDF StaffBy

The expansion of the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament has been a hot-button issue for fans, as the mentality of “more is more” continues to permeate ideas previously held sacrosanct.

One such idea is the thought the tournament shouldn’t expand 70-plus teams, one that is imminently going to be broken. As reported on April 28, March Madness is on the final runway to add eight teams for a grand total of 76, expanding for the first time since 2011 when the First Four was added to make it 68 from 65. The change will be made for both men’s and women’s basketball, with a formal announcement anticipated in May.

REQUIRED READING: NCAA Tournament set to expand to 76 teams. What will it look like?

The move, to take hold in 2027, continues the NCAA’s trend of expansion in its biggest sports. Football moved from four teams to 12 beginning in 2024, and there has been more conversation around expansion since. For college basketball, however, the motivations are slightly different. In theory, the expansion should favor mid-majors rather than the Big Ten and the SEC as football does. After all, conference commissioners and NCAA president Charlie Baker have stumped for the accessibility an expanded field would bring.

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See best of March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

“And so, from my point of view, the more teams we can get into the tournament and make it work logistically and mathematically, the better,” Baker said in February, per ESPN. “It gives more kids the opportunity to experience that.”

But does that logic hold water? Oklahoma is a perennial fringe case, whereas Auburn vs Miami (Ohio) was one of the most hotly contested one-to-one topics last season. On the women’s side, the difference is even more stark, where the top-heavy nature of the tournament creates huge disparities in early rounds. No. 16 Harvard defeated No. 1 Stanford in 1998, whereas No. 10 Virginia made a run this year that included a win over No. 2 Iowa. But there needs to be consistent competition to make the changes worthwhile.

With that in mind, here’s a look at how the brackets would have shaken out in 2026 had this format been adopted. Assume the first 68 seeds would have remained the same. Here are the eight teams who would have gotten in for men’s and women’s.

2026 men’s teams to get in with 76-team NCAA Tournament

Four of the eight teams who would get in under the new format are already known. No. 69 Oklahoma, No. 70 Auburn, No. 71 San Diego State, and No. 72 Indiana would all get in. Seton Hall and New Mexico would ostensibly be next on the list. Virginia Tech would be another fringe case, with Stanford rounding out the field. That would make Cincinnati the biggest question mark on the list, and team No. 77. Cincinnati, of course, had fired coach Wes Miller leading into Selection Sunday. But the butterfly effect of a 76-team field is drastic, so we’re going assume all things equal here.

This would create four No. 12 play-in games, two No. 15s, and four No. 16s. 12 seeds would be relegated to 13-seeds. Notably, the only non-power adds would be San Diego State and New Mexico, two teams with recent success. When access is brought up, it is brought up for at-large power schools for the most part.

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See women’s March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

The Alabama bench celebrate after a big three-point shot by Alabama Crimson Tide guard Karly Weathers (22) in the fourth quarter against Louisville during the 2026 NCAA Women’s March Madness Second Round basketball at the KFC Yum Center In Louisville, Ky. Weathers finished with 13 points. March 23, 2026.

2026 women’s teams to get in with 76-team NCAA Tournament

The first four out on the women’s side were BYU, North Dakota State, Mississippi State, and Stanford, setting half of that field.

Texas A&M is almost undoubtedly in in this format, despite a sub-.500 conference record. Utah is another likely addition, alongside Kansas and Indiana.

That makes Indiana the biggest winner across the board, but again, outside of North Dakota State it is named teams getting the nod.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: As NCAA Tournament expands, a look at what 2026 March Madness could have been

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