In a report released on Thursday, the NCAA voted to officially expand the men’s and women’s basketball tournament to 76 teams. The decision comes off a unanimous vote and is set to take place beginning in 2027. With greater access to the postseason, will this impact the Gamecocks positively or negatively in the future?
The expansion vote included a new opening round which adds eight more teams and 12 total games before the original 64-team bracket begins. The Tournament will begin on March 17 with 24 teams set to do battle in 12 games spread across two days. These games will be played on campus sites per the NCAA’s release on X.
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“I believe the decision to expand the basketball championships field size is a wise and proactive measure to meet the current and future needs of NCAA schools and conferences without reducing the value of the regular season and conference tournaments,” Dan Gavitt, SVP of basketball said.
Gavitt goes on to say the decision of the basketball committees to expand to 76 teams is “a forward-thinking strategy to contemporize the value of the tournaments for decades to come.”
Lynn Holzman, NCAA Vice President for Women’s Basketball, also supported the move saying, ” We’re excited about the opportunity to expand the tournament field, creating more championship opportunities for teams, coaches, and student-athletes.”
For the women’s side, not much should change for the Gamecocks. The program has been one of the more dominant teams in college basketball under head coach Dawn Staley. The team has been to six straight Final Fours and back to back national title games. The question for the Gamecocks isn’t about making the Tournament. It continues to be can the squad remain a national championship contender every year.
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On the flip side, an increase in teams could help the men’s team in the future. South Carolina’s record under Lamont Paris each of the last two seasons would’ve kept them out of the Tournament regardless of expansion. However should Paris’ overhauling of the roster work and South Carolina turns things around, this could give the program an opportunity back door their way into the postseason.
The expansion will officially begin next time March rolls around. Now we look to another sport to see if they will follow suit in the coming years, as football may not be far off from doubling their playoff entrants in the near future.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/southcarolina as How Will the NCAA Tournament Expanding to 76 Teams Impact South Carolina in the Future?.
