Effect of NCAA Basketball Tournament Expansion for USC Trojans

The NCAA Tournament expanding from 68 teams to 76 teams is becoming more of a reality. On Thursday, the NCAA officially voted to make the change for the upcoming season in both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

How will this expansion affect the USC Trojans?

NCAA Tournament Expanding to 76 Teams

USC Trojans Men's Women's College Basketball NCAA Tournament Expansion Eric Musselman JuJu Watkins Jazzy Davidson Big Ten — Oct 8, 2025; Rosemont, Illinois, USA; USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb speaks during Big Ten Women’s Basketball Media Days at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Talia Sprague-Imagn Images | Talia Sprague-Imagn Images

The NCAA Tournament will look different when March Madness rolls around in 2027. Gone are the days of a 68-team field. There will now be an additional eight teams, completely changing the Tuesday and Wednesday section of the tournament. In the 68-team field, there were four play-in games between four auto-bid teams and four at-large teams in what was called the “First Four.”

There will now be 12 games between 12 auto-bid teams and 12 at-large teams in what will be called the “Opening Round.” The 12 winners will earn a place in the 64-team bracket. The official beginning of the first round of the NCAA Tournament will still be on the Thursday and Friday of that week.

For power conference programs like USC, there is a much better chance of making the tournament with these additional eight at-large bids. If USC were to just get in to this field, they would be in one of those play-in games for a double digit seed. The NCAA revealed what the 76-team bracket looks like on paper. Take a look.

A look at the new bracket 👀 pic.twitter.com/esm18WdUSJ
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 7, 2026

The at-large games on here are for two No. 11 seeds and all four No. 12 seeds. Additionally, there are two auto-bid games for No. 15 seeds and four games for No. 16 seeds.

USC Men’s Team Looking to Snap Tournament Drought

The addition of eight at-large bids will give the USC men’s basketball team a better chance of snapping their NCAA Tournament drought. The Trojans have missed three consecutive NCAA Tournaments, with their last appearance coming in 2023. It was looking like they were going to end that streak in 2025-26.

The Trojans got off to a hot start last season in non-conference play. They won the 2025 Maui Invitational and entered January with a record of 12-1. Things got tough in Big Ten conference play. USC went 7-13 in league play and lost their final eight games of the season to end with a record of 18-14. This took them off the tournament bubble.

If there were eight additional spots, USC would have been in the conversation to be in on Selection Sunday. Will USC get back to the big dance in 2026-27?

USC Women’s Team Gearing Up For 2026-27

The USC women’s basketball team has not had an issue getting to the tournament the past four seasons. Their two best runs in the tournament came in 2024 and 2025 as a No. 1 seed, where they made it to the Elite Eight in both before losing.

USC will be led by a talented backcourt next season with 2025 Wooden Award winner, guard JuJu Watkins and 2026 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, guard Jazzy Davidson. With these two healthy and playing together, they give USC a real shot to make their first Final Four since 1986.

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