NCAA Tournament Expansion Will Kill 'Cinderella' From March Madness

It was always inevitable. Even with the outcry from the public, the NCAA didn’t care, and tournament expansion was going to happen.

That process was pushed one step closer on Tuesday as the field will likely expand from 68 to 76 this March.

It’s a decision that has been met with heavy criticism from those around the sport like fans, media, players, and coaches but, in the end, it helps the pockets of the NCAA and its broadcast parters which matters the most above anything else.

The expansion takes several things away from the current version of the NCAA Tournament, most notably ‘Cinderella’. Instead of only having two First Four games that feature 16-seeds, there will be Play-In games for all No. 15 and No. 16 seeds to advance to the Round of 64.

It eliminates the likelihood of Lehigh beating Duke or Saint Peter’s upsetting Kentucky on its way to the Elite 8. Most of those teams will need to win a game just to face the blue bloods and turnaround and play 48 hours later.

Sure, there will be exceptions like when FDU won its First Four game and defeated No. 1 seed Purdue but the path to success is getting increasingly more difficult for mid-majors, and it doesn’t just stop there.

The at-large bids that will be added to the tournament will range from No. 11-13 seeds playing play-in games and surely the selection process would not be kind to those mid-major programs who turned in excellent regular seasons but stumbled in the conference tournament and did not receive the league’s automatic bid. It’ll benefit the middling power conference teams that struggled all season and do not deserve to be in the tournament.

For example, the last four teams selected to the NCAA Tournament this year were Texas, NC State, Miami (OH), and SMU. If there was an expanded tournament, Auburn, San Diego State, Indiana, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, and California all would have made the field as well.

More games aren’t always the best answer when it comes to a perfect tournament. Of course, the nation will be watching throughout Tuesday and Wednesday when these games are played but the First Four in Dayton truly meant something.

It was the NCAA Tournament, albeit an appetizer to two of the best days in sports when the Round of 64 begins on Thursday and Friday.

Now, the NCAA must capture the country. It has to make these Play-In games mean something. Its decision is already being looked down upon but with time the nation might agree that expansion was a good idea.

Bumping the field from 64 to 68 was met with criticism at first before being universally accepted and the hope is that 68 to 76 follows the same path.

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