Jay Bilas opposes March Madness expansion, claims only mid-majors like Steph Curry’s Davidson deserve a look

Talks about March Madness expansion began last year. In June, the NCAA's basketball committees presented the plan after SEC president Greg Sankey asked for more at-large bids for teams from his conference. NCAA president Charlie Baker revealed his support for the plan to expand from 68 teams to a 72-76 team field.

During an interview with On3's Pete Nakos on Wednesday, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas did not believe in the idea of the March Madness expansion plan. He highlighted Steph Curry's Davidson Wildcats' adventure in the Big Dance in 2009 as an example of more teams in the tournament as an exception.

“I just don’t see the point to it,” Bilas said. “If we start talking about expansion, we’re going to be talking about teams with .500 records getting it in. If we were talking about quality mid-majors, if it was the difference between in 2009 of Steph Curry’s Davidson team losing in the Southern Conference final, and they’d be included, then maybe I’d say, ‘OK, well, that makes sense.’

"We’ve put so much into the end of the year, at sometimes taking away from the regular season a little bit. I’m not sure it’s the best thing to do. It’d be like arguing to put more teams into the NBA Playoffs. I just don’t think that makes sense.”

During the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Curry's No. 10-seeded Davidson Wildcats upset the No. 7-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs in the round of 64. They beat the No. 2-seeded Georgetown Hoyas to reach the Sweet 16, where they also beat the No. 3-seeded Wisconsin Badgers. They finally lost to the No. 1-seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the Elite Eight.

Curry averaged 32.0 points in the tournament, which launched him as a household name.

March Madness expansion addressed by NCAA VP

The March Madness expansion talks began in earnest in 2022 when the Southeastern Conference got only six automatic bids. President Greg Sankey raised a complaint about smaller conferences snatching chances away from Power Four conference teams.

During a segment of "The Field of 68," NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt revealed that the matter of the March Madness expansion was being seriously considered.

"I couldn't predict as I sit here today what the outcome is going to be," Gavitt said. "The committees are giving it more consideration than at any time in my 10-plus years at the NCAA. At the end of the day, there’s no intended outcome here. One outcome is no expansion at all and if there is a recommendation to expand, it would likely be modest in nature."

The men's bracket of the Big Dance has had a field of 64 for 40 years, while the women's bracket has had 64 teams since 1994. Before the Big 12 Tournament, commissioner Brett Yormark, who recently signed a contract extension, supported the March Madness expansion plans, showing the momentum that the idea has gained within the top echelons of college basketball.