NCAA Tournament adds eight teams, forcing more mid-majors to play early

The NCAA Tournament will expand from 68 teams to 76 teams for the 2026-2027 season. This is the largest change to the field in over four decades. The season begins Sunday night with a game between Notre Dame and Villanova in Rome.

The expansion creates a new phase of play called the Opening Round. It replaces the First Four with 12 total games. Dayton, Ohio, and Wichita, Kansas, will host six games each. These games will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday following Selection Sunday.

Under the previous format, 60 of the 64 first-round teams started their tournament play in the first round. Now, only 52 of the 64 teams in the first round will begin there. The other 12 teams will advance from the Opening Round. This means fewer mid-major teams will reach the traditional Thursday and Friday first-round weekend.

CBS Sports projects Duke as the No. 1 overall seed for the 2027 tournament. The Blue Devils returned four key players from a 35-3 team. They added the nation’s No. 2 freshman class and the No. 11 transfer 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. CBS Sports ranks Duke above Florida because the Blue Devils face an easier path in the ACC. The SEC is stacked, requiring Florida to play difficult games nearly every night.

The number of automatic bids is returning to 32 with the Pac-12’s return as the 32nd Division I conference. For the past two tournaments, 31 automatic bids were awarded. History suggests that at least seven conferences will produce multiple bids in 2027. Last year, eight leagues earned multiple bids.

If eight conferences earn multiple bids, 24 conferences will have only one automatic qualifier. It is likely that 12 of these 24 single-bid teams will play in the Opening Round. Previously, only four No. 16 seeds from single-bid leagues played in the First Four. Last season, 29 of 31 automatic qualifiers reached the first round.

In the new format, only 26 automatic qualifiers will remain for the first round. Thirty-eight at-large teams will also play. This shift allows more at-large teams from high-major conferences to occupy first-round slots. Mid-major teams will still have opportunities to win, but those wins will occur on Tuesday and Wednesday against other mid-major teams.

The preseason projections show the SEC with 13 teams, the Big Ten with 10, and the Big 12 and ACC with nine teams each. The Big East has five teams. The Pac-12 has three teams, while the Atlantic 10 has two. The full list of projected teams reflects the expanded field for the 2027 tournament.