Big Ten Daily (Feb. 14): Is March Madness Expansion Inevitable?

A recent report from Yahoo Sports indicates expansion could be coming to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Would the growth of March Madness help or hinder the best sporting event on the calendar?

Fans of March Madness, look away. A recent report indicates that the most sacred tournament in sports might be undergoing some serious changes in the future.

Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger reported that there's a push to expand the NCAA men's basketball tournament, particularly from Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark.

Currently, the field is set at 68 teams. And while March Madness is considered the most entertaining event on the sports calendar, Yormark argues that there needs to be more inclusion to improve the product.

“I want to see the best teams competing for a national championship, no different than (the Big Ten and SEC) want to see in football,” Yormark said. “I’m not sure that is currently happening.”

Yormark's comment basically boils down to whether or not you believe more teams from Power 6 conferences deserve the opportunity to compete for a national championship.

Reading between the lines, it seems like Yormark doesn't believe mid-major programs should take up such a large piece of the pie when it comes to tournament play. But isn't that what makes March Madness so special?

The tournament has undergone expansion changes in the past and survived. It jumped from 32 teams to 40 teams in 1979. The following year, the field expanded to 48. March Madness then made a big jump to 64 teams in 1985 before getting to its current total (68) in 2011.

Right now, the NCAA Tournament has 32 automatic qualifying spots — 26 of which are handed to teams from non-power leagues. It leaves 36 at-large bids available, a majority of which go to teams from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.

Aren't those power leagues getting enough money? And that brings us to the bigger point: Money.

An expanded tournament field undoubtedly means a larger profit for the NCAA. That, in turn, results in a bigger payout for conferences.

"The basketball tournament is the NCAA’s largest and most vital revenue stream, keeping afloat the organization itself as well as helping subsidize hundreds of small-college athletic departments," Dellenger reports. "As part of a tournament television deal with CBS and Turner running through 2032, the NCAA distributes annually around $700 million to its schools, both in base amounts and in units earned through advancing in the event."

Even Yormark admits that money would be a huge factor in deciding whether or not the NCAA Tournament field ultimately expands past 68 teams.

“If you contribute more, you want more,” he said.

Would March Madness survive if the field expanded? It always has. But college basketball purists love the tournament at 68 teams — and would love for it to stay at that number for the foreseeable future.

Terrence Shannon Jr. goes off vs. Michigan

Illinois had no trouble with Michigan on Tuesday night, taking down the Wolverines 97-68 in front of a home crowd. Terrence Shannon Jr. put on quite a show, too.

The guard scored 31 points and made 11-of-15 shots from the floor in the victory. He also grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists for the Fighting Illini.

Shannon's performance marked the third time this season he's eclipsed 30 points this season. He dropped 33 in a 98-89 victory over Florida Atlantic in early December. The guard scored 30 in a 97-73 win over Missouri a few weeks later.

Michigan isn't exactly the standard in the Big Ten right now, but Illinois' win was undoubtedly important. It kept the Illini within two games of conference leader Purdue, with a showdown with the Boilermakers still on the schedule in March.

There's still a lot of basketball left to be played, but Illinois is still in the hunt for a Big Ten regular season title.

Wisconsin snaps losing streak

After four long games, Wisconsin finally got back in the win column. The Badgers took down Ohio State on Tuesday evening, snapping a four-game losing streak — which included a pair of ugly defeats to Michigan and Rutgers.

Wisconsin was extremely well-balanced in the effort on Tuesday. Both Steven Crowl and AJ Storr recorded double-doubles in the win. Chucky Hepburn also had a tremendous outing

Crowl ended the game with a team-high 16 points and collected 10 rebounds. Storr led the charge on the boards, grabbing 12 to go along with 14 points. Hepburn scored nine points, dished seven assists and had five rebounds in the win.

Unfortunately for the Badgers, the four-game losing streak put them behind the 8-ball for the Big Ten title race. They're not completely out of it, but it's an uphill climb.

Tuesday night's win was big in terms of confidence and trying to regain some of the momentum Wisconsin had earlier in the year.

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