MSU's Tom Izzo Shares Honest Thoughts on March Madness Expansion

Very few, if any, active coaches are more qualified to speak on March Madness than Tom Izzo.

Michigan State's longtime head coach has made it 28 times in a row and has experienced both the high of winning a national title and the low of losing in the first round as a heavy favorite. His 61 NCAA Tournament wins are tied for the fourth-most of any Division I men's coach ever. Izzo's eight Final Fours rank fifth all-time.

Michigan State's Tom Izzo shakes the hand of an Ohio State assistant before a game at the Breslin Center on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

The tournament has changed a little bit during Izzo's time as a head coach. When Izzo began as MSU's head coach, the tourney had a 64-team format. Then, the NCAA went to 65 in 2001 and to 68 in 2011. Starting next year, though, it's going to 76 teams. That's the biggest change to the format since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 in 1985.

Mar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo reacts after losing to UConn Huskies in a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Izzo's Thoughts

With the formal ratification of the change looming, CBS Sports' Matt Norlander asked a few of college basketball's top coaches about the change. Izzo hasn't needed expansion to keep his tournament streak going throughout his career (MSU's 2020-21 team, which lost in the First Four, was the first to miss a bye and still would've gotten in under a 64-team format). When speaking to Norlander, he didn't seem like a fan of the change.

"I would rather it stay the same, but as you know, coaches weren't asked at all," Izzo told CBS Sports. "I like the excitement of where it is. Could it get better? I don't know."

Smaller School Difficulties

Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo tells a story to the media while recalling his very first Sweet 16 during a press conference at Capital One Arena in Washington DC on Thursday, March 26, 2026. The Spartans play the University of Connecticut on Friday evening. | Eric Seals / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One effect this change is going to have is that many mid-major automatic bids are going to be pushed down a seed line or placed in one of the "opening round" play-in games.

Two teams that would normally be 15s and go straight to the first round in the past will now get 16-seed status with a play-in game, since there are now technically eight 16-seeds instead of six. That opens up two spots on the 15-line for the previous 14-seeds to move down.

Michigan State's Tom Izzo walks in with his staff against Louisville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Saturday, March 21, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

That continues to ripple off on the next few seed lines. This essentially allows the low- to mid-major schools to knock themselves out and get more high-major vs. high-major games in the Round of 64. Supposedly, that gets more views, which means more money (the added TV inventory of eight games in the opening round also helps).

"It's hard to please everybody," Izzo also said to Norlander. "I was a Division II guy. I feel for the lower, smaller programs. I hate to break something that isn't broken. And I know we went from 64 to 68. It's like NIL. You can get to $10 million, you still won't have enough. You can have $20 million and it's not enough. If we go to 76, 96, it's never going to be enough."

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo does an interview following a 79-70 win over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

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