NCAA Sets 76-Team Field for 2026-27 Season, Dismantles First Four Format

The NCAA Tournament will feature 76 teams starting with the 2026-27 season, marking the largest structural change to the event since 1985. This expansion increases the field by eight teams from the previous 68-team format. The college basketball season kicks off this Sunday night in Rome with a matchup between Notre Dame and Villanova.

The new structure replaces the traditional First Four with a 12-game Opening Round. Six games will take place in Dayton, Ohio, and six in Wichita, Kansas. These contests will occur on the Tuesday and Wednesday following Selection Sunday. The subsequent first round, scheduled for Thursday and Friday, will still involve 64 teams. However, the composition of that field has changed. Only 52 teams will enter the first round directly, while the remaining 12 slots will be filled by the winners of the new Opening Round.

Preseason projections from CBS Sports place Duke at the top of the bracket as the No. 1 overall seed. The Blue Devils return four key rotation players from a squad that finished 35-3. Duke also added the nation's second-ranked freshman class and the 11th-ranked transfer group. Newcomers include Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell, a preseason All-ACC first-teamer, and 17-year-old Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje. CBS Sports ranks Duke above Florida primarily due to conference strength. The ACC offers a less demanding schedule than the SEC, where teams face difficult opponents nearly every night.

The expansion is expected to affect teams from smaller conferences. The return of the Pac-12 restores the number of automatic bids from 31 to 32. At least seven leagues typically send multiple teams to the tournament. If this holds true this year, 24 leagues would receive only one bid each. Projections suggest that about 12 of those single-bid teams would play in the new Opening Round.

Last season, only four single-bid teams played in the First Four. All four were No. 16 seeds. Consequently, 29 of the 31 automatic qualifiers advanced to the first round alongside 35 at-large teams. This year, 26 automatic qualifiers are projected to enter the first round on Thursday. They will join 38 at-large teams, most of which come from high-major conferences.

Mid-major programs now have a different path to victory. They can win tournament games against other mid-major opponents in the Opening Round. These wins would occur on Tuesday and Wednesday rather than during the standard first-round action. The projected field by conference includes 13 SEC teams, 10 from the Big Ten, 9 from the Big 12, and 9 from the ACC.

The Big East is projected to send five teams, the Pac-12 three, and the Atlantic 10 two. Colorado State, West Virginia, LSU, and Baylor are projected as the last teams to enter the tournament. Xavier, Ole Miss, San Diego State, and Creighton are projected as the first teams to be cut from the field.