UNDATED (AP) — There is no consensus among coaches in college basketball about the competitive value of expanding the NCAA Tournament from 68 to 76 teams. New Creighton coach Alan Huss said the more the merrier but that the move probably won't have a big impact on the sport overall. UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma said expansion attempts to fix something that wasn’t broken. Auriemma calls it a money grab for the Power Four conferences. Big Sky Conference commissioner Tom Wistrcill is optimistic expansion will serve his one-bid conference well from financial and competitive standpoints.
UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA Tournament is getting a supersized makeover, a long-expected expansion that many basketball fans should notice and pay attention to beginning next season. The sanctioning body increased the fields for its men’s and women’s March Madness tournaments to 76 teams. That means there will be eight more games — 12 total involving 24 teams — squeezed into the highly popular bracket without substantially changing the overall format.
UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA will expand its March Madness tournaments by eight teams each next season. It will add more early-round games in the first week without altering the overall format. The new 76-team brackets for men and women will feature 12 games involving 24 teams. The winners will join the main 64-team bracket starting Thursday for men and Friday for women. Most new slots are expected to go to power conference teams.
UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA basketball tournaments for men and women are expanding from 68 to 76 teams next season. The First Four games after Selection Sunday will be replaced by 12 games called the March Madness Opening Round. Winners will advance to the 64-team bracket. The lowest-seeded 12 automatic qualifiers will play in half of the opening round games. The other six games will match the 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams. The men's games will be in Dayton, Ohio, and another location. The women's games will be on the campuses of 12 of the top 16 seeds.
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona Cardinals first-year head coach Mike LaFleur liked quarterback Carson Beck during the NFL draft process because the quarterback had been though a healthy dose of adversity during a six-year college career. His new team can definitely relate. Beck has a chance to be the Cardinals’ starting quarterback after the Kyler Murray era ended with a thud last season. The 24-year-old was selected in the third round of last month’s draft, giving LaFleur a prospect who has plenty of college experience. Beck joins a quarterback room that includes veterans Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew.
UNDATED (AP) — Former South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia announced he has been diagnosed with Stage 4 colorectal cancer. The 38-year-old Garcia shared the news on social media to raise awareness and urge others to get checked. He expressed confidence in his medical team and emphasized the importance of visiting the doctor when feeling unwell. As of Thursday, Garcia has raised over $141,000 toward a $150,000 goal on a GoFundMe page created by his wife. He began chemotherapy on Wednesday and is pursuing aggressive treatment. Garcia played for the Gamecocks from 2008 to 2011, finishing with 7,597 passing yards and 47 touchdowns.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Players Era will expand from 18 to 24 teams this year and split into two tournaments. The two most recent national champions headline a pair of loaded fields. Michigan, which won the national title in April, will be in the Players Era Sixteen on Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas. Florida, which won the national title a year ago and could be the No. 1 team heading into next season, will be in the Players Era Eight a week earlier. The Players Era and ESPN also announced a multiyear agreement for the men’s tournaments.
UNDATED (AP) — College softball is experiencing a home run chase reminiscent of the epic showdown between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa nearly 30 years ago. Laura Espinoza's 1995 record of 37 homers is under threat. Oklahoma's Kendall Wells leads with 36, while UCLA teammates Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery have 35 and 33, respectively. Teams are breaking records, with UCLA and Oklahoma each hitting 173 home runs this season. As conference tournaments approach, these players have a chance to make history. The national average of 0.80 home runs per game is set to surpass the 2015 record of 0.77.
