NCAA could be on the verge of making a huge mistake

The increase from 64 teams to 68 in 2011 was bad enough, and the idea of further expansion should be dead on arrival.

With the last expansion, four automatic qualifiers were relegated to the First Four, shrinking the field of Cinderellas in the round of 64, which is part of the event’s charm.

The addition of more at-large teams will further marginalize smaller conferences while forcing mediocre teams in larger conferences down our throats. No thanks.

Those middling Power Five schools will lose out, too. None of the at-large bids in an expanded tournament will be legitimate title contenders. They’d be more competitive at the newly formed College Basketball Crown, a competitor to the NIT that will automatically include two programs apiece from the Big East, Big Ten and Big 12.

However, CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander offered a glimmer of hope. After speaking with a source in the room where expansion talks took place, Norlander wrote, “‘No expansion is still a very real possibility'” in the aftermath of the settlement of the House vs. NCAA case that paved the way for schools to pay student-athletes.

“Money is a big issue,” Norlander wrote, “and it’s unlikely an expanded NCAAT brings a wave of more money.”

From financial and competitive perspectives, it’s hard to see exactly what the benefit of expanding the NCAA Tournament would be. That will make it even more infuriating when the Field of 76 debuts in two years.