March Madness is getting supersized.
The men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament fields are growing to 76 teams this season, up from 68. This marks the first time the men’s draw has expanded since 2011, when it went from 64 teams to 68. The women’s draw didn’t go from 64 to 68 teams until 2022.
The idea of expanding the field has drawn mixed reviews from fans, but the overwhelming majority of coaches naturally favor it. Since there are more than 360 Division I programs in both the men’s and women’s divisions, the percentage of schools making the tournament remains relatively small, though that percentage goes up quite a bit if you limit it to power-conference schools.
“In a nutshell, more I feel is always better,” Wisconsin men’s coach Greg Gard said. “We have one of the lowest in terms of participation percentages of total teams of almost any college sport, and if you look at the NFL, the NBA and Major League Baseball, they all expanded in terms of playoff structure to include more.”
According to the NCAA, only 18% of Division I schools were earning bids before this expansion, which represented the lowest percentage among major team sports. That figure now goes up to 21%.
Under the previous 68-team format, the men’s draw had a First Four in Dayton, Ohio. That would include two games involving the last four teams to earn at-large berths, plus two games involving the four lowest-seeded tournament winners from small conferences competing for No. 16 seeds in the main draw. The four winners would advance to the round of 64.
The women’s draw also had a First Four, but it took place at different sites rather than one permanent location.
This new format includes an opening round featuring the 12 lowest-seeded conference tournament winners and the 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams. That opening round will determine which six conference tournament winners and which six at-large teams advance to the round of 64.
In the men’s draw, Wichita, Kansas, is joining Dayton as a host site for this event. In the women’s draw, 12 of the 16 schools selected as host sites for the rounds of 64 and 32 will also host one of these opening-round games.
The men’s tournament starts Tuesday, March 16, with three games each in Dayton and Wichita. Then there are three more games in each site March 17. The women’s draw holds its opening-round games March 17-18.
The men’s draw continues with round of 64 games on Thursday, March 18, and round of 32 games March 20 in Pittsburgh, Omaha, Nebraska; Fort Worth, Texas; and Spokane, Washington. There also will be round of 64 games March 19 and round of 32 games March 21 at Charlotte, North Carolina; Minneapolis; Louisville, Kentucky; and Sacramento, California.
Regional rounds are March 25 and March 27 at San Antonio and Los Angeles, and March 26 and Marcy 28 at Kansas City, Missouri, and New York. The Final Four is April 3-5 at Detroit’s Ford Field.
The women’s tournament is sticking with its approach of having the top 16 seeds host round of 64 and round of 32 games. Those games will take place March 19-22.
Philadelphia and Las Vegas will each host two NCAA women’s regionals March 26-29. The women’s Final Four is April 2-4 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
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FILE - Michigan celebrates after defeating UConn in the NCAA college basketball tournament national championship game at the Final Four, April 6, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast, File)
Things to watch this weekend in the Atlantic Coast Conference:
No. 1 Miami (7-0, 5-0 ACC) at North Carolina (4-3, 2-2), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
The Hurricanes continue to roll through the schedule, with a double-overtime win against Florida State and needing to come up with multiple fourth-quarter stops at now-No. 14 Wake Forest standing as the only non-blowout wins. Miami leads the Bowl Subdivision ranks in total offense (551.9) and scoring (49.0) behind a prolific Darian Mensah-to-Malachi Toney passing attack.
The Tar Heels had been on the rise in their second year under NFL coaching icon Bill Belichick before last week's overtime home loss to a Syracuse team that was 0-4 in the league. Their defense has been the most reliable part of their game, while their offense has yet to score more than 27 points in regulation against any FBS opponent in Belichick's tenure.
UNC is 0-11 all-time against the No. 1-ranked team.
Virginia (4-4, 2-3) at No. 14 Wake Forest (6-1, 4-1), Saturday, 3:45 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
The Demon Deacons are coming off an open week as they look to stay well-positioned in the chase for a spot in the ACC title game, playing the first of two home games before they visit No. 19 SMU on Nov. 14. The Cavaliers have lost to SMU and Duke in the past two weeks after a 4-2 start.
Clemson (3-2, 2-2) at Florida State (3-4, 1-3), Saturday, 7 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
Despite a bumpy year, the Tigers were near the top of the league standings — then lost at home to Virginia Tech. Now they're visiting the Seminoles in a matchup of marquee ACC brands that haven't been playing to that stature. FSU had an open week after its 43-35 loss to Miami on Oct. 17.
— N.C. State QB CJ Bailey. The Wolfpack will host California on Saturday for the first game since the midseason firing of longtime coach Dave Doeren. The third-year starting quarterback said this week he's focused on doing the “next positive thing” he can for the team, and the spotlight will be on him and several of the Wolfpack's top players to see how they respond under interim coach Todd Goebbel.
— Syracuse RB Ahmad Miller. Miller ran for 123 yards with a touchdown in a loss to Louisville then 125 yards and another score in the overtime win at UNC. He's carried the ball 48 times in the past two games and got a boost with quarterback Steve Angeli playing well in his return to the starting lineup against UNC. Now the Orange will host SMU on Saturday.
Duke's Nate Sheppard is no longer leading the country in rushing, but he's still putting up huge performances all the same entering Saturday's visit from Boston College. The running back flirted with 100-yard receiving games in losses to Georgia Tech and UNC, then threw the winning TD pass against Virginia last week. ... All four of Stanford's wins have come at home, including last week against N.C. State in an outcome that led to Doeren's ouster. But they've managed a total of 17 points in three road losses as they enter Saturday's trip to Louisville. ... Pittsburgh hasn't won since losing starting quarterback Mason Heintschel to a season-ending knee injury. The Panthers were 5-0 and ranked in the AP Top 25, but have lost three straight entering Saturday's visit from Georgia Tech. ... Virginia Tech is idle this week.
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Miami quarterback Darian Mensah (10) hands off the ball to running back Mark Fletcher Jr. (4) during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Pittsburgh, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
