Just when it seemed like NCAA Tournament expansion was dead, a new report indicates that it's not only alive, but will be the worst version. Don't expect Nebraska basketball head coach Fred Hoiberg to be happy about the latest news coming from that direction.
When NCAA chief Charlie Baker started talking about the possibility of the Big Dance expanding to 72 or 76 teams, Hoiberg made it clear it wasn't something he was remotely interested in. Even though it would almost certainly help his team.
Why 76-team March Madness would help Nebraska basketball and still be bad for the sport
On Thursday morning, Ross Dellenger reported that it appears the NCAA is on track to change the tournament to 76 teams. The most significant change of all would be that the first round would include 12 teams and take place at two locations.
The apparent goal is to still have the main tournament be 64 teams, with the "play-in" round being bigger. And while Nebraska would almost certainly benefit from any expansion, it's clear that Hoiberg understands it also cheapens the accomplishment.
While Baker has claimed that this expansion won't be a money generator, there really isn't any other reason to do it. Baker isn't forthcoming about this, but the fact of the matter is that the bigger programs and the Power Conference schools would benefit far more from the mid-majors.
There's no point in expanding if the point isn't to get more Big Ten, SEC, and ACC schools, especially, into the tournament. Some Nebraska fans might see this as only a good thing, but the old saying of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" definitely applies to the NCAA Tournament.