NCAA Tournament expands to 76 teams, reshaping the field for 2027

The NCAA basketball tournament will field 76 teams beginning with the 2026-27 season, a structural shift that alters how automatic qualifiers and at-large selections enter the event. The season opens Sunday with a contest between Notre Dame and Villanova in Rome, marking the start of a year defined by this expanded format.

This represents the largest change to the postseason structure since 1985, when the field increased from 48 to 64 teams. Previous expansions in 2001 and 2011 added preliminary games to the existing 64-team bracket. The current model replaces the First Four with a 12-game Opening Round, hosted jointly by Dayton, Ohio, and Wichita, Kansas. Each city will host six games across Tuesday and Wednesday following Selection Sunday.

The shift changes the composition of the first round. Under the previous 68-team format, 60 of the 64 first-round participants began their runs in that round. In the new structure, only 52 of the 64 first-round teams will start on Thursday or Friday. The remaining 12 slots will be filled by winners from the Opening Round matches.

CBS Sports preseason projections identify Duke as the No. 1 overall seed for the 2027 tournament. The Blue Devils return four key players from a 35-3 season and add the nation's No. 2 freshman class. Newcomers include John Blackwell from Wisconsin and 17-year-old Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje. Duke defeated Tennessee 103-64 and Kansas 90-84 in preseason play.

The expansion impacts single-bid conferences differently than high-major leagues. With the Pac-12 returning as the 32nd Division I conference, automatic bids return to 32. Historical patterns suggest at least seven conferences will yield multiple bids. If eight conferences produce multiple entries, 24 leagues will have only one automatic spot.

In that scenario, 12 of the 24 single-bid conference champions would likely be relegated to the Opening Round. Previously, only four single-bid teams played in the preliminary stage. Last season, 29 of 31 automatic qualifiers reached the first round. Under the new format, only 26 automatic qualifiers will remain for the first round, while 38 at-large teams will still be active. This reduction means fewer mid-major teams will participate in the traditional first-weekend games.

The preseason bracket projects 13 SEC teams, 10 Big Ten teams, and nine each from the Big 12 and ACC. The Big East is projected with five teams, the Pac-12 with three, and the Atlantic 10 with two. Colorado State, West Virginia, LSU, and Baylor are projected to reach the Final Four. Xavier, Ole Miss, San Diego State, and Creighton are projected to exit in the First Four.

Mid-major teams will still have opportunities to win tournament games, but those victories will occur during the Opening Round on Tuesday and Wednesday. This timing shifts their competition away from the high-profile first weekend, where at-large teams from major conferences will occupy the majority of the bracket slots.