The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are set to expand to 76 teams, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
The expansion is trending towards being finalized in the next few weeks, per the report. The expansion would take effect next season.
The expansion would add eight more at-large bids to the tournaments. The First Four, which includes eight teams in four games, would jump to 24 teams and 12 games.
The 64-team bracket will remain similar, with the men’s bracket beginning on Thursday,.
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. In 2001, it added one more team. 2011 was the most recent tournament expansion, in which the tournament jumped to 68 teams.
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