In 2011, the NCAA tournament expanded to 68 teams. Although it’s a stacked field to begin with, Missouri basketball coach Dennis Gates would support another expansion.
Speaking to the media this week, Gates said he’d like the NCAA to double its field for the tournament.
“I would like to see it double, to be honest with you,” Gates said, via Kyle Tucker. “There are some great coaches left out of the tournament and some great players we don’t get to see.”
Though we can’t knock Gates for his opinion, the thought of 136 teams competing for a national championship seems a bit extreme.
Unsurprisingly, college basketball fans are against this idea.
“March madness is the only part of the college basketball that keeps it relevant,” one fan said. “If they water down that product they very well may lose the sports ability to make money.”
Another fan wrote, “Well they’re obviously not great enough if they can’t make a 68 team field.”
There might be a few flaws with the current state of college hoops, but the structure of the NCAA tournament isn’t one of them.