Dan Dickau wants to see the NCAA Tournament shrink to 64 teams: 'Take the first four out'

Former Gonzaga All-American doesn’t want teams that don’t 'produce throughout the bulk of the season' earning at-large bids over other deserving teams
Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

It didn’t take a full half of basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers to confirm what some fans and analysts had already thought — they didn’t look like an NCAA Tournament-caliber team.

Virginia, ranked 54th in the NET with two quad one wins and a hard-to-watch offense, was getting pummeled in the 2024 First Four by Colorado State out of the Mountain West. The Rams, who finished tied for sixth place in the Mountain West standings, walloped the ACC’s third-place team by 25 points in a game that was decided by halftime. Some had already questioned the Cavaliers’ resume after they earned a 10-seed from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

Conversely, a team like Indiana State, which went 27-6 and ranked 28th in the NET, was left out of the 68-team bracket. The Sycamores had one of the game’s most popular players in Robbie Avila, though the lack of quality opponents (a problem most mid-majors struggle with these days) kept them out of the tournament. Instead, a team that lost five of its last nine games and failed to score 50 points in four of their last six regular season games got a nod.

Just a few days prior to Virginia's loss, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey suggested that the NCAA Tournament should expand beyond 68 teams, citing that conference expansion will raise the level of competition. Essentially, more opportunities for the bigger schools playing in 16- and 18-team leagues. Virginia’s loss to a mid-major didn’t help his case, nor did his own league's performances on the game's biggest stage.

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Five of the SEC’s eight schools lost in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, as Kentucky fell short to 14-seed Oakland while Auburn, the league’s champion, was upset by 12-seed Yale, the Ivy League’s runner-up. In total the tournament featured eight teams from mid-major leagues earn an at-large bid, the most since 2014. Yet only two of those (Gonzaga and San Diego State) made it to the Sweet 16.

As some power conference leaders seek to expand the tournament beyond 68 teams, former Gonzaga All-American Dan Dickau wants the exact opposite.

“Take the first four out [of the NCAA Tournament],” Dickau said. “Get rid of power conference teams that didn’t really produce throughout the bulk of the season to allow those teams that have to go to Dayton in the First Four, the ability to have a true NCAA Tournament experience.”

“You’ll have 16-seeds playing 16-seeds [in the First Four]. They worked their butt off throughout the year and then they won their conference tournament title, and now you got to go play in Dayton? That doesn’t necessarily feel like the NCAA Tournament,” Dickau said. “You’re getting on a flight Sunday night right after Selection Sunday. Your staff hardly has any time to prepare, your players don’t really have time to enjoy the atmosphere that they’re being thrusted into. So I would say shift it back to 64 [teams].”

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Cole Forsman
COLE FORSMAN

Cole Forsman is a reporter for Gonzaga Bulldogs On SI. Cole holds a degree in Journalism and Sports Management from Gonzaga University.