Tournament expansion finally arrived with the addition of eight new at-large bids in time for the 2027 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Division I Basketball Tournaments. With the Pac-12 returning after a two-season hiatus, that means this season’s field—and those in the foreseeable future—will feature a combination of 32 automatic bid winners and a whopping 44 at-large teams.
In the final two seasons with a 68-team fields, my preseason brackets featured 39 (2025) and 37 (2026) of the eventual 68, so expect lots of new names to show up once 2027 arrives, and this whole exercise gets a little more serious.
With two Opening Round sites—with Wichita joining Dayton—scheduling the 12 Tuesday and Wednesday games will be fascinating. Optimally, each site should get two 16-seed games, a 15 seed game, and three at-large games, and those days should be mixed up between the two, with each venue having one day with two auto-bid games and the other with two at-large matchups. I’ve placed the two Western sites’ (Sacramento and Spokane) matchups in Wichita, along with Fort Worth. Dayton is likely to feed into Charlotte, Louisville, and Pittsburgh, with Minneapolis and Omaha swing locations.
This year, I’m again using each conference’s media preseason favorite as my 32 initial auto bid winners. An expanded field also means new Principles and Procedures for Selection and Seeding, which I will be writing about more as the season unfolds. I will also share a few (somewhat fanciful) approaches to tournament expansion that I’ve been sketching out during an offseason that saw both the basketball tournaments and College Football Playoffs grow their fields without really addressing why expansion is necessary.
On to the bracket …
The Opening Round
| Dayton (Tuesday) | Wichita (Tuesday) | Dayton (Wednesday) | Wichita (Wednesday) |
| MIDWEST (to Louisville) (16) Arkansas State (Sun Belt) vs. American (Patriot) |
EAST (to Fort Worth) (15) Wright State (Horizon) vs. North Dakota State (Summit) |
EAST (to Charlotte) (16) Tennessee State (OVC) vs. LIU (NEC) |
MIDWEST (to Omaha) (15) Central Arkansas (UAC) vs. Lipscomb (ASUN) |
| SOUTH (to Charlotte) (16) Bethune-Cookman (SWAC) vs. Fairfield (Metro) |
EAST (to Spokane) (12) Virginia Tech vs. Saint Mary’s |
WEST (to Minneapolis) (12) Cincinnati vs. San Diego State |
WEST (to Sacramento) (16) Howard (MEAC) vs. Vermont (AE) |
| SOUTH (to Pittsburgh) (10) Maryland vs. Creighton |
WEST (to Spokane) (11) Wisconsin vs. North Carolina |
EAST (to Minneapolis) (11) Grand Canyon vs. Saint Louis |
MIDWEST (to Sacramento) (12) Iowa vs. West Virginia |
The Main Draw
| (1) SOUTH (San Antonio) | (2) EAST (New York) |
| Charlotte (Fri./Sun.) | Charlotte (Fri./Sun.) |
| (1) Florida (SEC) | (1) Duke (ACC) |
| (16) Bethune-Cookman (SWAC)/Fairfield (MAAC) | (16) Tennessee State (OVC)/LIU (NEC) |
| (8) Villanova | (8) Texas A&M |
| (9) Clemson | (9) Baylor |
| Fort Worth (Thurs./Sat.) | Spokane (Thurs./Sat.) |
| (5) Miami (Fla.) | (5) Texas Tech |
| (12) High Point (Big South) | (12) Virginia Tech/Saint Mary’s |
| (4) Nebraska | (4) Tennessee |
| (13) Wichita State (American) | (13) McNeese (Southland) |
| Omaha (Thurs./Sat.) | Minneapolis (Fri./Sun.) |
| (6) UCLA | (6) Vanderbilt |
| (11) Santa Clara (WCC) | (11) Grand Canyon/Saint Louis |
| (3) Iowa State | (3) Michigan State |
| (14) Penn (Ivy) | (14) Miami (Ohio) (MAC) |
| Pittsburgh (Thurs./Sat.) | Fort Worth (Thurs./Sat.) |
| (7) Kentucky | (7) Indiana |
| (10) Maryland/Creighton | (10) Georgia |
| (2) Virginia | (2) Houston |
| (15) Montana State (Big Sky) | (15) Wright State (Horizon)/North Dakota State (Summit) |
| (4) WEST (Los Angeles) | (3) MIDWEST (Kansas City) |
| Sacramento (Fri./Sun.) | Louisville (Fri./Sun.) |
| (1) Arizona (Big 12) | (1) Illinois (Big Ten) |
| (16) Howard (MEAC)/Vermont (AE). | (16) Arkansas State (Sun Belt)/American (Patriot) |
| (8) Oklahoma | (8) Marquette |
| (9) USC | (9) Auburn |
| Minneapolis (Fri./Sun.) | Sacramento (Fri./Sun.) |
| (5) Alabama | (5) Arkansas |
| (12) Cincinnati/San Diego State | (12) Iowa/West Virginia |
| (4) Michigan | (4) St. John’s |
| (13) Murray State (MVC) | (13) UNCW (CAA) |
| Spokane (Thurs./Sat.) | Pittsburgh (Thurs./Sat.) |
| (6) BYU | (6) Ohio State |
| (11) Wisconsin/North Carolina | (11) VCU (A 10) |
| (3) Gonzaga (Pac-12) | (3) Louisville |
| (14) UC Irvine (Big West) | (14) Western Kentucky (CUSA). |
| Louisville (Fri./Sun.) | Omaha (Thurs./Sat.) |
| (7) Purdue | (7) Missouri |
| (10) NC State | (10) New Mexico (MW) |
| (2) UConn (Big East) | (2) Kansas |
| (15) Furman (SoCon) | (15) Central Arkansas (UAC)/Lipscomb (ASUN) |
The Rundown
Last Four Byes: USC, Auburn NC State, Georgia
Last Four IN: Virginia Tech, Saint Mary’s, Cincinnati, San Diego State
First Four OUT: UCF, Xavier, TCU, Providence
Next Four OUT: Oklahoma State, SMU, Utah State, Florida State
Bids By Conference
| Conference | Bids |
| Big Ten | 12 |
| SEC | 11 |
| Big 12 | 9 |
| ACC | 8 |
| Big East | 5 |
| Atlantic 10 | 2 |
| Mountain West | 2 |
| Pac-12 | 2 |
| West Coast | 2 |
My next full update will come in January, as always.