Keep in mind the tourny only went to 64 teams in 1985, so this metric will be biased towards more recent years.
They are not expanding this thing further, are they?
Well technically they expanded to 68 with the 4 play in games.
The 4 play-in games were added in 2011. The tournament has held this format with 68 teams since then, although there has been some talk of more expansion.
That’s an interesting question. The ongoing consolidation of big-time college athletic programs into a few mega conferences is entirely driven by football, but it has implications for basketball. Specifically, these teams and their big alumni bases are going to demand more at-large bids in the tournament so that the eighth ranked team in a “Big 16” gets a chance at the postseason. That has to either come from expanding the field or denying smaller conferences bids (which is bad optics).
I would not be surprised at all to see the field expanded to 80 or more teams in the next few years.
Another consideration is that when the field first expanded to 64 teams in the mid 1980s, there were only 250 or so Division I teams, IIRC. Now there are something like 360, and the tournament field has only expanded by four in that time. That’s a lot of extra teams that are not going to the tournament. (I’m not saying that this is a good or bad thing.)
Expansion would kill the quite exciting tournament format I think. The very busy Thursday/Friday does feature multiple games going at the same time, but it’s reasonable enough to follow. Either they’d have to add another day which could mean more money but potentially kill the interest a bit (that’s half a work week at least)
Although, it would mean more games to bet on and it does seem like they’re catering to gambling these days above all.
Well, the highest seeded team in the Final Four is the #4 seeded UConn, so it has been a real blood bath. Sheesh, this tournament is a sports version of Squid Games. 
A recent NCAA report called for tournaments in sports with at least 200 Division I schools to have at least 25% of the teams qualify. In men’s basketball, that would be 91 teams.
I can see 80 happening - for the men, have a “First Four” city in each region (say, Dayton, Atlanta, Kansas City, and Las Vegas); for the women, have a First Four game at all 16 of the first weekend sites. Anything more than that, and you start having logistical problems; the most workable solution I can think of is, make it 96 teams, get rid of the separate First Four cities, and have each of the eight “pods” have three rounds instead of two.
For example, this year’s Birmingham pod would work something like this:
Tue - #9 West Virginia vs #24 and #16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs #17 in Alabama’s region
Wed - #9 Auburn vs #24 and #16 Northern Kentucky vs #17 in Houston’s region
Thu - #1 Alabama vs the Tuesday 16-17 winner; #8 Maryland vs the Tuesday 9-24 winner
Fri - #1 Houston vs the Wednesday 16-17 winner; #8 Iowa vs the Wednesday 9-24 winner
Sat - Thursday’s winners play each other
Sun - Friday’s winners play each other
One unintended consequence: since it is likely that all of the 16 and 17 seeds are at-large teams, it will make 16 over 1 (and 17 over 1, for that matter) upsets more likely.
UConn destroyed Gonzaga and every other opponent so far. I think they’ve got this.
32 teams go to the NIT as well. It’s no longer as prestigous as the NCAA tournament but it’s not nothing. So all told, 100 (68+32) teams out of 360 make it to March tournaments.
Has the women’s championship game ever not had a #1 seed?
One of my favorite moments each year is watching this:
One Shining Moment
By David Barrett
The ball is tipped
and there you are
you’re running for your life
you’re a shooting star
And all the years
no one knows
just how hard you worked
but now it shows…
in ONE SHINING MOMENT, IT’S ALL ON THE LINE
in ONE SHINING MOMENT, THEY’RE FROZEN IN TIME
But time is short
and the road is long
in the blinking of an eye
that moment’s gone
And when it’s done
win or lose
you always did your best
cause inside you knew…
that in ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU REACHED DEEP INSIDE
ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU KNEW YOU WERE ALIVE
Feel the beat of your heart
feel the wind in your face
it’s more than a contest
it’s more than a race…
And when it’s done
win or lose
you always did your best
cause inside you knew…
in ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU REACHED FOR THE SKY
in ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU KNEW
in ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU WERE WILLING TO TRY
in ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU KNEW
ONE SHINING MOMENT…
The NIT tournament has a long and storied history, but essentially it became what it is today in 1975. That’s when it started becoming less prestigious than the NCAA tournament.
Plus the 16 in the CBI tournament, so that’s 116 in all
OK, that was exciting.
Was happy to be watching with my son. We have no team in this tournament now, so we are just hoping for big moments. It delivered.
The women’s final is happening now and is pretty competitive.
I didn’t realize women played quarters while men play halves.
I agree. If San Diego State qualifies as this years “Cinderella”, I’m afraid their chariot is going to turn into a pumpkin around 8:20 pm eastern time. LOL
I find it great that, for the first time in 14 years, the lady UConn team did not make the Final Four, so the men did just so everyone there would feel better. 
UConn is 4-0 in championship games and is a heavy favorite tonight.
Will Cinderella dance tonight?