"Nobody wants to expand the tournament" - CBB analyst vouches against expanding the NCAA Tournament on Dan Patrick Show 

The NCAA tournament expansion has sparked a debate among basketball fans and enthusiasts. Recently, on "The Dan Patrick Show", CBS reporter Matt Norlander and Dan Patrick himself opposed a proposal to expand the tournament to 80 teams. Those who are against it, have the same feeling that it would impact the tournament's integrity.

Norlander expressed no support for the expansion:

"I absolutely hate it. There is nobody who wants to expand the tournament."

He highlighted his concerns about the unpredictable media and emphasized the fact that the tournament is already at its optimal size.

Furthermore, Orlander mentioned the need to expand the women's tournament if the men's tournament is expanded to maintain parity. He believed that the 68-team format strikes a balance.

He also opened up about the internal talks he had with other stakeholders, who are also hesitant to deviate from the tournament's longstanding success:

"There is not a single person who has been able to give me a viable reason why the tournament and the sport would be better by having even a 69th team into it," Orlander said.

Orlander also spoke about a conversation he had with a conference commissioner, who was not in favor of expanding the tournament. Orlander shared what the commissioner told him:

"If it ain't broke, don't break it."

While Dan Patrick did not support the expansion either, he did put up a solution as a compromise if it were to happen. He proposed a solution to have 80 teams, so every region gets a Final Four:

"Oh, I am not in favor of expanding the tournament. I am giving you that it's going to happen and if it does, this is my solution."

The significance of the November and December games in building the momentum and anticipation of the tournament was also one of the topics. They acknowledged the role of the regular season in shaping the excitement surrounding March Madness and the need to preserve the tournament's unique format right now.

John Calipari on expansion of NCAA Tournament

NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament - Practice Day - Pittsburgh

In the pre-match conference for his team's first-round matchup against Oakland, John Calipari expressed his disapproval of the expansion of the tournament. He talked about the importance of maintaining the current format for the benefit of everybody:

"I hope it stays where it is. You know, I know poeple get mad. They get mad at thecommittee.. But it doesn't matter who the committee is. We're all going to be upset."

He warned that inviting more teams to the tournament would lead to more dissatisfaction among those left out. He urged the selection committee to refrain from changing the system which is already seen as successful.