Kentucky Coach John Calipari Pleads for NCAA to Not Expand March Madness Tournament
The Wildcats coach weighed in on the recent speculation.
Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari would like to see the NCAA tournament remain as it is.
The tournament featured a 64-team field from 1989 to 2010 and expanded to 68 teams with the initial First Four round in 2011. But recent reports have indicated there is ongoing speculation the NCAA could further expand the tournament to showcase no more than 80 teams.
Calipari, who has taken Kentucky to the Big Dance in 12 of his 15 seasons at the helm, is not a fan of that idea.
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"I hope it stays where it is," Calipari said Wednesday, via ESPN. "You know, I know people get mad. They get mad at the committee. You won't believe this—I've been mad at that committee a few times. But you may be mad because of your seed or where they've shipped you to. ... But it doesn't matter who the committee is. We're all going to be upset."
There was plenty of criticism directed toward the NCAA tournament selection committee Tuesday night when the No. 10 seed Virginia Cavaliers struggled mightily in their First Four matchup. They mustered just 14 points in the first half and lost 67–42 to fellow No. 10 seed Colorado State.
The tournament expanding to around 80 programs would simply welcome more underperforming teams into the bracket.
"This is a business trip for me," Calipari said. "And I'll say everybody that's in this thing, I would say they'd say the same thing—keep it where it is. Don't mess with something that's great."
As the No. 3 seed in the South Region, Kentucky will battle 14th-seeded Oakland at 7:10 p.m. ET Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.