It's time to stop pushing for the NCAA Tournament expansion

All of the talk leading up to the First Four matchups of the NCAA Tournament was about how the North Carolina Tar Heels did not deserve their spot in the Big Dance.

The Tar Heels responded by putting an absolute beatdown on the San Diego State Aztecs, that moved the Tar Heels on to a first round meeting with Ole Miss.

So, the Tar Heels have a lot of people eating crow over their comments, but one college basketball analyst believes this win was the perfect opportunity to talk about tournament expansion.

If a team can do this that didn't even belong in the tournament imagine how much more fun we'll have with eight more teams. Six games on Tues and Weds. Will feel more like the tourney, more teams to watch and bet.
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 19, 2025

After the Tar Heels' victory, Seth Davis took to X to share how the Tar Heels not belonging in the tournament means fans could have so much more fun by adding more teams to the bracket.

This isn't a shot at Davis, but expanding this tournament would be wrong for so many reasons. For instance, take a look at the expanded College Football Playoff.

Having more teams in the CFP this past season did not create more drama or better games. If anything, it allowed more teams that were non-contenders to be exposed on the national stage.

General view as the North Carolina Tar Heels band performs after the game against the San Diego State Aztecs at UD Arena. / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Getting into the NCAA Tournament should be a thing of celebration. It is a moment when a program feels that its success has been noticed.

Sure, sometimes teams make the tournament that has no business belonging. However, if the tournament gets expanded, there will be a lot more of those instances.

This isn't a hill to die on because it's just a matter of time before the NCAA sees all the extra money they can make by adding more games. However, can we at least keep something pure in college athletics?

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