The NCAA will expand its DIvision I basketball tournaments next season. The change isn’t expected to for most casual fans. Here is a breakdown of some key numbers to know:
0 — The that advanced past the first weekend of either tournament the last two seasons.
1 in 9.2 quintillion — against picking a perfect bracket even before adding eight games to the mix.
4 — Games matching No. 12 seeds and No. 16 seeds in the opening round.
8 — The number of teams being added to each tournament (men and women). It’s also the number of new games being added to each tourney.
15 — The number of years since the NCAA last expanded the men’s tournament (from 65 to 68 in 2011). The women’s tourney grew from 64 to 68 in 2022.
120 — Total number of games for the two tournaments over seven days between the bracket announcement and the conclusion of the secound round.
131 — As in $131 million, the amoung of new revenue the NCAA expects to share with tournament participants under the expansion.
300 — As in $300 million, the extra funding the NCAA expects to get from new advertising opportunities tied to expansion, including the addition of liqour ads that had largely been off limits.
2032 — The year the current $8.8 billion broadcast deal between the NCAA and partners like CBS, TNT and others expires, raising the potential for more change.
350,000 — As in $350,000, the value of a NCAA-distributed “unit’ for a men’s team that reached the tournament.
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AP March Madness:
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