USC's Way-Too-Early NCAA Tournament Projection With Expansion Looming

College basketball’s postseason may look different by the time the 2027 NCAA Tournament comes around. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the NCAA has initiated the final steps to expand both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament from 68 to 76 teams.

Would the USC Trojans land in this field according to the most recent bracketology projections?

USC’s Way-Too-Early Bracketoloy Projection

USC Trojans NCAA Tournament Projections Bracketology Expansion 76 Teams Selection Sunday Big Ten Eric Musselman March Madness — Feb 18, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Eric Musselman and guard Alijah Arenas (0) react against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the first half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

On3 revealed their way-too-early 2027 NCAA Tournament projections. The Trojans come in as a No. 7 seed. If USC were to make the tournament, it would snap their three-year drought of missing out on the big dance. In this projection, USC would be facing off against the No. 10 seeded Auburn Tigers in the first round.

USC has had a good offseason on paper. In addition to landing four-star transfer guard KJ Lewis and four-star transfer center Eric Reibe, the Trojans will also be getting back class of 2025 five star guard Alijah Arenas.

Arenas averaged 14.1 points as a freshman for the Trojans in 2025-26 and opted to withdraw his name from the 2026 NBA Draft.

Will this be enough for USC coach Eric Musselman to get the Trojans dancing for the first time in his tenure?

NCAA Tournament Expansion Looming

The NCAA Tournament potentially expanding from 68 to 76 teams gives a team like USC a better chance to make it in. Despite many fans in college basketball wanting the current March Madness format to stay the same, the NCAA is eyeing a change.

This change would add eight additional teams into the field, resulting is more play-in games on the Tuesday and Wednesday of the week of the first round. With the field of 68, there are four play-in games. On3’s projection would bump that up to 12 play in games. Filling out a bracket on Selection Sunday would immediately become a more difficult task with 12 spots in the 64-team field still undecided.

There are a few reasons why fans don’t want to see the expansion. For one, the NCAA Tournament is arguably the best tournament in all of sports. There’s not a need to change something that is already great.

What may be the biggest draw of the tournament is the first two days of the first round when 16 games are played each day. Having 12 played on the days right before that could take away from the thrill of having all the chaos on Thursday and Friday.

It also will allow teams with lesser seasons to get into the field. A team with a .500 record getting into the field with an at-large bid isn’t appealing for the average fan that doesn’t have an association with that school. That scenario was very much in play for the 2026 tournament in the field of 68 with the Auburn Tigers, who narrowly missed out after going 17-16.

If the tournament was 76 teams, Auburn would have made it in. Is the best thing for the sport to have more teams into the field for the chance to win the title? It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

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