The NCAA Tournament expanding from 68 to 76 teams is not a popular idea throughout most of the sports universe. And it’s causing some fireworks throughout the world of college basketball.
One of the few people that has spoken out in favor of tournament expansion is longtime coach and current ESPN College GameDay analyst Seth Greenberg.
Greenberg posted a video to his own social media account talking about why he was in favor of expansion, saying that both major conference and mid-major teams would benefit from expansion, arguing that March Madness would be welcoming more teams who would be equipped to win games in the big dance.
One person who disagreed with Greenberg is veteran college basketball reporter Jeff Goodman. Except Goodman turned the screw on Greenberg by not just disagreeing with his take, but by bringing up his own record as a coach to make his point. He pointed out the former coach’s record at Virginia Tech and frequently missing the NCAA Tournament on the wrong side of the bubble as why he would unironically be for the move.
It’s fitting that Seth Greenberg wants the tourney expanded.
Lived on the bubble for most of his tenure at Virginia Tech.
Went to the NCAA tourney once in his final 17 seasons as head coach. https://t.co/zQGBKtZipv
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 29, 2026
It’s hard to fathom now, but Seth Greenberg’s Hokies only made one NCAA Tournament appearance in nine seasons in Blacksburg. However, that was in spite of six winning seasons including a 25-9 record in 2010. That season Virginia Tech finished tied for third in the ACC standings. The next year they went 22-12 with a victory over top-ranked Duke. It’s insane to think about that even being a possibility in today’s college basketball landscape.
This is one of the reasons why NCAA Tournament expansion is so polarizing. There have been deserving teams left out over the years. And it’s sensible that Greenberg probably doesn’t want to see teams now go through the agony that he and his Hokies teams went through.
However, nobody wants to see the tournament field further diluted and the magic of March Madness cheapened. And a bloated expansion risks doing just that. Your mileage probably varies on an extra play-in round consisting of the 12th placed teams in the Big Ten and SEC making it to the NCAA Tournament.
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