The first round of the NCAA Tournament will officially tip off on Thursday, following the conclusion of Tuesday and Wednesday’s First Four games for the final spots.
While the opening round has yet to begin, the NCAA is already dealing with an issue that many felt impacted games in the past. In a video that has garnered nearly two million views from before one of the First Four games, it was revealed that the NCAA’s tournament game balls appear to be overinflated.
Although this may not seem like the end of the world, it can impact a player’s ability to handle the ball, and can also throw off one’s ability to shoot.
The wildest thing about the NCAA Tournament:
Over-inflated basketballs
They’re back again. pic.twitter.com/oVAtkbhP5H
— Rebound Rundown (@ReboundRundown) March 17, 2026
This isn’t the first time they’ve had this issue, as last year alone saw notable hoopers such as former Wisconsin Badgers star Sam Dekker and former Tennessee Volunteers star Dalton Knecht express their displeasure with the bounce.
Knecht, who is with the Los Angeles Lakers, went viral for going as far as to say that the balls were “terrible.” Dekker, along with many others, took to X to express displeasure in the recurring issue on Tuesday.
Do I have to scream this each year until I am red in the face?? @MarchMadnessMBB needs to hire someone at every venue to make sure the basketballs are acceptable to be played with.
It turns the actual product into a completely random event. https://t.co/Yba1dkH2sZ
— Sam Dekker (@dekker) March 17, 2026
“Whoever runs the NCAA Tournament has never played basketball. Pumped up basketballs fresh out the box sounds cool in theory but my god do they suck,” wrote one fan.
“I still don’t understand why the NCAA won’t just use ONE universal basketball. It makes absolutely 0 sense,” said another.
“Truly one of the craziest things every year. How does this keep happening,” questioned one user.
“A few certain teams that rely on 3p shooting are in for a lovely time,” suggested another.
A CBS Sports report from a year ago confirmed that the tournament uses Wilson’s Evo NXT ball, and that they are used throughout the season. However, as touched on by Alabama head coach Nate Oats in 2023, the rules lack consistency on the ball’s PSI requirements as regulation states it can be between 7-9 pounds.
“We’ve kind of had the discussion as a staff,” Oats said. “You can pump up any ball to be too hard. It would be great if the referees actually made sure it was within the guidelines of how hard it’s supposed to be because, obviously, if you pump it up to where it’s a rock, you’re not going to shoot as well.”
With there being no room for error in the tournament, it’s hard to imagine that this won’t come up at least once. Not something that you want impacting the most exciting event in sports, but clearly, the NCAA doesn’t see a problem.
Related: BYU Shares Major AJ Dybantsa News Before NCAA Tournament
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Basketball section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.