NCAA Tournament Expansion: 76 Teams Enter New Opening Round Format

The NCAA Tournament field expands from 68 to 76 teams for the 2026-27 season. This marks the largest structural change to the event since 1985, when the bracket grew from 48 to 64 teams. The college basketball season kicks off this Sunday night with Notre Dame playing Villanova in Rome.

A new 12-game Opening Round replaces the traditional First Four. Dayton, Ohio, and Wichita, Kansas, will each host six games on the Tuesday and Wednesday following Selection Sunday. The first round on Thursday and Friday remains a 64-team affair. However, the path to that round changes. Previously, 60 teams began in the first round. Now, only 52 teams start there. The remaining 12 spots go to the winners of the new preliminary games.

Duke holds the No. 1 overall seed in preseason Bracketology. The Blue Devils return four key rotation players from a 35-3 roster. They also added the nation's second-ranked freshman class and its 11th-ranked transfer group. Newcomers include Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell, a preseason All-ACC first-teamer, and 17-year-old Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje. The latter will pair with Patrick Ngongba in the frontcourt. Duke defeated Tennessee 103-64 and beat Kansas 90-84 in recent preseason games. Analysts rank Duke above Florida largely due to conference strength, as the ACC offers a softer schedule than the deep SEC.

The expansion impacts smaller conferences. The Pac-12 returns as the 32nd Division I conference, restoring automatic bids to 32. At least seven leagues usually send multiple teams, and eight did so last year. If eight leagues send multiple teams again, 24 leagues will receive only one bid each. Projections suggest about 12 of those teams will land in the Opening Round. Last season, only four single-bid teams, all No. 16 seeds, played in the First Four. That meant 29 of 31 automatic qualifiers reached the first round alongside 35 at-large teams. This year, 26 automatic qualifiers are projected to play in the first round. They will be joined by 38 at-large teams, most from high-major conferences.

Mid-major programs may find it easier to win tournament games on paper. However, those victories would occur on Tuesday and Wednesday against other mid-major opponents rather than during the first-round action. The projected field by conference includes 13 SEC teams, 10 Big Ten teams, 9 Big 12 teams, 9 ACC teams, 5 Big East teams, 3 Pac-12 teams, and 2 Atlantic 10 teams. Colorado State, West Virginia, LSU, and Baylor are projected as the last four teams in. Xavier, Ole Miss, San Diego State, and Creighton are projected as the first four teams out.