John Calipari Speaks Out Against NCAA Tournament Expansion

The NCAA Tournament is the greatest event in American sports. There’s nothing quite like the 68-team single-elimination tournament. It’s perfect the way it is, but the suits that run college sports are trying to alter it to make more money.

Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti, the SEC and Big Ten commissioners, are leading the charge in changes across the college athletics landscape. The SEC kicked off the latest wave of conference realignment. It has led to an expansion of the CFB Playoff, driving up revenue for each league.

After seeing the additional dollars in football, they want to make more money in college basketball too. The tournament field could be expanded, with sources telling ESPN that could be capped at around 80 teams. The number of at-large bids would grow, adding more power conference teams, and giving those conferences more money.

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John Calipari is Anti-Expansion

After discussing his homecoming to Pittsburgh, John Calipari concluded his Wednesday press conference by answering a question about NCAA Tournament expansion. The Kentucky coach believes the 68-team tournament should remain intact.

“I hope it stays where it is,” Calipari said. “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. I’ve said go the S-curve the whole way down and rank them one through 68 and go like like that. Well, we can’t because of this and leagues and all that.

“But it doesn’t matter who the committee is. We’re all going to be upset. You know who’s going to be upset now and I love it? Football coaches because it don’t matter that it was four and there are two that are mad. Now they’re going to how many? So there are going to be 18 that are mad. And it’s part of the NCAA Tournament not getting in, getting in, bad seed, good seed.”

In the early years of Calipari’s tenure, he spent the evening of almost every Selection Sunday complaining about Kentucky’s draw on ESPN. Here’s the thing: the Cats have gone on their deepest runs when they appear to have the most difficult draw.

“When you give a good team a bad seed, it’s not them you’re screwing. It’s everybody they play that shouldn’t have to play that team that early. And so it’s part of what it is.

“Let’s keep it at (68 teams) — it’s too good a thing. It’s the event. Like you could tell I’m excited about coaching in this. Yeah, I’m excited about being home. But they could have sent us to Spokane. I already talked to Mark Few. I was going to stay at his house, watch his dogs.”

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Tom Izzo makes odd NCAA Tournament Comments

Michigan State was one of those teams who had to sweat it out on Selection Sunday. A preseason top five team, at one point late in the season it looked like they may not make it to the Big Dance.

“Four days ago Saturday night, I was sitting there, and I saw some things on the tube, I was hoping they’d expand it to a hundred. But I do think it’s a delicate issue. I really do,” Tom Izzo said before his team takes on Mississippi State in Charlotte.

Izzo elaborated even further and contradicted himself. He likes the Cinderella stories, but he also thinks early upsets are bad for the NCAA Tournament. Huh?

“I’m a Division II guy, you know, so I’m always looking for the little guys. I’m not very big myself, so I always have an appreciation, and maybe that would be a reason to expand,” he said.

“I just think what’s happening now, everybody likes the upsets in the first weekend, but I’m not sure moving on that’s what’s best for the game. I think it’s got to be looked at seriously.”

Izzo made it clear that he does not have all of the right answers for creating the perfect NCAA Tournament. That means it’s probably best kept the way it is.

“I’m not going to get into all of my beliefs on all that right now, but there’s a great, great game here, and I don’t want it to be damaged. I do worry about it. I’m on every committee I could be on to help solve that, and I would love to talk to him and our commissioner. I know they’ve been talking a lot. I just don’t know what the answers are.”