NCAA Tournament

The NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments could be expanding as soon as the 2025-26 campaign.

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported Wednesday that NCAA officials presented multiple models of potential expansion in regards to the men's tournament to Division I conference commissioners. The expectation is the women's tournament would follow suit if the men's tournament expands.

One model featured four additional teams, expanding the current 68-team field to 72. The other featured eight additional teams, which would mean 76 teams in the field.

Dellenger noted there will not be any expansion until the 2025-26 season at the very earliest.

As Dellenger explained, there is a tricky balancing act when it comes to any expansion discussions.

On the one hand, power conferences that will receive the majority of the approximately $700 million the NCAA annually distributes to its schools want more at-large bids available to give more teams the opportunity to both pursue a championship and make additional revenue.

Additional revenue is particularly notable in today's college sports environment following the the House v. NCAA case that paves the way for eventual revenue sharing with athletes.

On the other hand, the Big Dance is largely defined by small-conference schools that automatically qualify by winning their league's tournaments then pulling off monumental upsets and capturing the hearts of sports fans across the country.

In order to avoid eliminating any of the 28 small-conference automatic qualifiers, NCAA leaders would expand the field to include at least one more First Four site with play-in games. That means more teams in the 10-12 seed range playing just one or two days before the traditional opening round with a 64-team bracket.

And it will also mean discussions about potentially relegating small-conference automatic qualifiers to said play-in tournament games, which they would surely be against in any discussions.

The most recent expansion moved the tournament from 64 teams to 68 teams in 2011, which led to the First Four that is traditionally held in Dayton, Ohio.

The First Four sees two pairs of 16 seeds face each other and two pairs of at-large selections face each other for coveted spots in the 64-team bracket that is so synonymous with March Madness. The women's tournament eventually followed suit with an expansion to 68, although it didn't happen until 2022.

At this point, expansion feels inevitable.

However, there is still plenty the NCAA officials and conference commissioners will have to work through in order to make it a reality.

GLENDALE — The night before the Connecticut Huskies put the finishing touches on the most impressive, dominant—Dare we say, dynastic?—two-year run in at least the past three decades of men's college basketball, it was already abundantly clear that UConn head coach Dan Hurley had been chiseled into the Mount Rushmore of active coaches.

In a 24-hour news cycle that was hijacked by John Calipari's reported decision to leave Kentucky for Arkansas, the big question immediately became: Who takes that job in Lexington?

Alabama's Nate Oats, Auburn's Bruce Pearl, Baylor's Scott Drew, former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino and—per usual for every big college opening over the past decade—Billy Donovan were all thrown out there as viable candidates.

But Hurley leaving UConn for UK?

That was immediately dismissed as laughably unrealistic, both by the vast majority of those of us in the media, as well as by Hurley himself, when someone in the postgame presser had the audacity to ask him 75 minutes after winning his second consecutive national championship if he would be back with UConn next season.

"I don't think that's a concern," Hurley said after laughing for a bit. "My wife, you should have her answer that."

After all, why would he leave the wagon he has so meticulously constructed over the past six years?

"We're kind of getting used to this up here," Hurley told Ernie Johnson after the game on the championship podium. "For the last 25-30 years, UConn's been running college basketball."

Well...yes and no.

When Hurley first took the UConn job in 2018, the Huskies were a program in disarray.

Sure, now we're talking about the fact that they've won six of the last 25 national championships, as if they've been consistently good for a quarter century. But that simply isn't the case.

They had missed the NCAA tournament in each of their final two sub-.500 seasons under Kevin Ollie, and they went through a nasty breakup when they terminated him, resulting in a lawsuit against the university which Ollie won.

Moreover, they were stuck in a conference (AAC) their basketball program never wanted to be a part of in the first place. It wasn't until they returned to the Big East for the 2020-21 campaign that a return to anything resembling a dynastic run felt plausible again.

Even when they won their third and fourth national championships in 2011 and 2014, respectively, those were sort of one-off hot streaks for a program that struggled to generate sustained success, earning a No. 6 seed or better in the NCAA tournament just once in the span of nine years before hiring Hurley.

Long story short, UConn was a far cry from the annual juggernaut it has become today.

Building something out of nothing, though?

That's just what Hurley does.

You might love him. You might hate him.

You might view his antics on the sideline as the petulant outbursts of an overgrown toddler, or as the maniacal motivation that drives his teams toward greatness.

But, either way, it works, and you have to respect the results.

His teams just keep getting better and better.

In each of his two seasons at Wagner, the Seahawks were better than the previous year.

Only once during his six years with Rhode Island did the Rams post a worse record than the year prior.

And now in six years with UConn, he has once again worked his magic, increasing their winning percentage in each season at the helm, and making an even more relentless run through the NCAA tournament than last year, now winning 12 consecutive tournament games by double digits.

Can't say he didn't warn us, though.

Remember that press conference after the loss to Villanova in January 2020?

"You better get us now, because it's coming."

At the time, we all kind of laughed it off as unwarranted bravado. It was a classic spot to use that Jennifer Lawrence sarcastic "yeah, ok" thumbs-up gif, as Hurley was 26-24 in his first 50 games with the Huskies, leaving many to wonder if he was the right man for the job.

Hard to believe that was only four years ago, right?

Because now—with two national championships on his mantle and all of the positive momentum/recency bias in the world—you could make the case that Hurley is the greatest active men's basketball coach.

Gotta love HYPED Hurley 🔥#MarchMadness @UConnMBB pic.twitter.com/18ypKSyERt

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 9, 2024

He's now tied with Bill Self and (if you count the vacated one at Louisville) Rick Pitino for the most natties among active coaches. And Hurley has done so in just 14 years as a coach—and without any of the scandals that Self and Pitino have been involved in, unless you count occasional technical fouls or openly talking about superstitious underwear as scandalous behavior.

But if you think Hurley is satisfied with back-to-back titles, clearly you've never met the man.

Confetti was still falling from the rafters from this second national championship when he was turning his attention to the next one.

"On the flight home tomorrow, we'll start talking about what the roster's going to look like...We're going to be focusing on trying to put together a three-year run, not just a two-year run."

"I don't think that we're going anywhere."

Of course not. As already noted, in 13 of Hurley's 14 years as a D-I head coach, his team had a higher winning percentage than the previous season.

And, well, there technically is still room for improvement.

This 37-3 UConn team was arguably the most dominant men's college basketball team of the past quarter century, probably since the 1998-99 Duke team that UConn defeated in the national championship to really put this program on the map for the first time.

But Hurley's perpetual drive to get better just might push this program to the brink of the fabled 40-0 campaign in 2024-25.

Also, you know damn well he caught wind of the fact that Duke has already opened as the betting favorite to win it all next year, right?

Can't wait to see how he uses that as bulletin-board material for the next 12 months.

Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young showered praise on UConn head coach Dan Hurley after the Huskies defeated Purdue by the final score of 75-60 in the national championship game of the 2024 NCAA tournament.

"Dan Hurley gonna be considered one of the best to ever do it when his career is over," Young said in a post on X.

Dan Hurley gonna be considered one of the best to ever do it when his career is over

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) April 9, 2024

The Huskies earned their second title under Hurley after winning the championship game in 2023, becoming the first team to earn back-to-back NCAA tournament titles since Florida in 2006 and 2007. The school now owns six total national championships.

UConn was dominant throughout the entire season, suffering just three total losses. The Huskies were unstoppable in March, winning each of their tournament games by a double-digit margin.

Young witnessed Hurley's excellence firsthand during his college days at Oklahoma. The 25-year-old averaged 27.4 points per game in his lone season with the Sooners, winning Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors. Hurley coached for Rhode Island at the time, with the two meeting during the first round of the 2018 tournament.

In a game that went to overtime, Hurley's Rams sent Oklahoma packing after earning a 83-78 victory.

Now, Young will focus on a different type of tournament as the Hawks are currently set to participate in the play-in tournament and potentially earn a playoff berth. Although he hasn't appeared in a game since Feb. 23 due to a finger injury, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday that Young has been cleared to resume contact and practice once again.

As for Hurley, he cemented the Huskies as one of college basketball's modern dynasties.

The 2024 men's college basketball tournament concluded on Monday night, with UConn defeating Purdue by the final score of 75-60 in the title game. Although the Boilermakers only trailed by six points at the half, head coach Dan Hurley's team pulled away over the final 20 minutes of action.

The Huskies earned their sixth national championship as well as their second title under Hurley. UConn also became the first team to win back-to-back national championships since Florida in 2006 and 2007.

With March Madness over, it's time to take a look back on the tournament with the latest edition of "One Shining Moment."

ONE SHINING MOMENT 🙌#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/7x2R9DfyNM

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 9, 2024

The video featured several memorable games and performances, such as the dominance of center Donovan Clingan during the Huskies' title run. While they fell just short, the Boilermakers and 2024 Naismith Men's College Player of the Year Zach Edey strung together an impressive series of wins in order to earn a spot in the championship game.

Sharpshooter Jack Gohlke helped No. 14 seed Oakland secure a surprising first-round upset victory over Kentucky, while burly forward DJ Burns Jr. led No. 11 seed NC State to its first Final Four appearance since 1983. Alabama was headlined by senior guard Mark Sears, with the Crimson Tide earning their own spot in the Final Four by winning hard-fought games over Clemson and North Carolina.

The 2024 NCAA tournament is in the books, with Clingan hoisting the trophy in the final shot of the video.

The UConn men's basketball team defeated Purdue 75-60 in Monday night's NCAA tournament national championship game, becoming the first school to win back-to-back titles since Florida in 2006 and 2007.

After the game, Huskies guard Tristen Newton was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Newton led UConn with 20 points and seven assists in Monday's victory.

Tristen Newton earns Most Outstanding Player honors for the #MFinalFour 🙌#MarchMadness @UConnMBB pic.twitter.com/NfFvd7bB8b

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 9, 2024

Newton was the Huskies' leading offensive option this season with averages of 14.9 points and 6.2 assists per game on his way to being named a consensus first-team All-American and the Bob Cousy Award winner as the nation's best point guard.

He remained consistent in the NCAA tournament, posting 14.5 points and 7.2 assists through six games in March Madness. He reached the 20-point mark twice and dished out seven or more assists four times.

The senior floor general knows how to perform in big moments. In last year's national championship game, he posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists to lead UConn past San Diego State.

Newton was chosen as MOP despite an outstanding run by Purdue's Zach Edey, who posted 37 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. The two-time Naismith Player of the Year averaged 29.5 points and 14.5 rebounds during the tournament. The last player to be named MOP of the tournament without winning the national championship was Hakeem Olajuwon in 1983.

Newton will now turn his attention to preparing for the NBA draft. He was projected as a second-round pick in the latest mock draft by B/R's Jonathan Wasserman. After ending his collegiate career as a two-time national champion and tournament MOP, Newton certainly can improve his projections leading up to this summer's draft.

The celebrations on UConn's campus after the men's basketball team won the national championship last season led to 39 arrests, 16 injuries, six students getting expelled, overturned vehicles and significant vandalism.

Thousands of UConn fans, most of them students, spilled onto campus after watching a broadcast of the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament win over San Diego State, with some pulling down signs and light poles, smashing windows and causing other damage. https://t.co/jNq9sVHX4n pic.twitter.com/vF2EFR58GR

— The Associated Press (@AP) April 4, 2023

This year, the school is taking preparations to ensure there isn't a repeat in the event the Huskies beat the Purdue Boilermakers on Monday night and become the first back-to-back men's champions since Florida pulled off the feat in 2006 and 2007.

According to the Associated Press, the school removed the aluminum light posts along the campus' main drag, Hillside Road; limited the official watch party inside Gampel Pavilion to only 6,700 students—the general public won't be permitted to attend—and won't be selling alcohol at the event.

"We felt that the large number of people at Gampel last year might have contributed to the actions that followed on campus," school spokesman Mike Enright told the AP. "We're trying to spread the celebrations out a little bit."

He noted that university police have worked with state and local authorities to ensure a more civil celebration in the event of a men's victory, and that Final Four watch parties for both women's and men's teams on Friday and Saturday, respectively, went off without any major issues.

"Overall, the students are very well behaved," Enright said. "And Saturday night they were exceptional during the semifinal against Alabama and on Friday for the women's game as well."