Calipari slams talk of expanded NCAA tournament

• Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff WriterMar 20, 2024, 06:41 PM ET

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  • Previously covered the Kansas City Chiefs for the Kansas City Star and Oklahoma University for the Oklahoman.PITTSBURGH– Count Kentucky

basketball coach John Calipari amongst the ever-growing group of outspoken critics versus broadening the NCAA tournament.Speaking Wednesday from Pittsburgh ahead of his No. 3-seeded Wildcats’

first-round matchup versus No. 14-seed Oakland, Calipari advised authorities to keep the competition from ballooning previous its current 68-team format.Sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel last week there are ongoing conversations about expanding the guys’s tournament to one including no greater than 80 teams. “I hope it stays where it is,”Calipari stated.”You understand, I understand people get mad. They get mad at the committee. You will not think this.

I have actually seethed at that committee a couple of times. However you might be mad due to the fact that of your seed or where they have actually shipped you to. … However it doesn’t matter who the committee is. We’re all going to be disturbed. “Editor’s Picks 2 Related Calipari described the recently expanded format for the College Football Playoff and how more teams getting in will likewise indicate more groups being angry over being overlooked.”This

is a company trip for me, “Calipari stated. “And I’ll say everybody that remains in this thing, I would say they ‘d state the exact same thing– keep it where it is. Do not mess with something that’s terrific.”Oakland coach Greg Kampe, who remains in his 40th season with the Golden Grizzlies, echoed Calipari in spurning the possibility of a tournament with as many as 80 teams. “This is the holy grail for mid-majors

, right? It is, “Kampe stated.” And I have actually said this often times over the recently. The NCAA basketball tournament– please don’t change it, please don’t change it.

However it is among the three greatest sporting occasions on the planet. “Thamel reported that a person effect of broadening the field and revamping the credentials and quote process could be fewer mid-major groups making the tournament’s primary draw. The inclusion of more Power 5 programs could imply teams from smaller sized, one-bid conferences need to win their method into the main bracket through play-in games comparable to the tournament’s existing First 4 format, decreasing the possibility of Cinderella groups making deep tournament runs.In making his argument, Kampe spoke about the magic of the underdog and cited Jimmy Chitwood, the imaginary character in the movie “Hoosiers.”Chitwood’s character was inspired by Bobby Plump, the real-life player who struck the game-winning shot to lift Milan High School to an improbable Indiana state high school basketball championship in 1954. Kampe said he would support broadening the competition if it assists smaller programs like Oakland to make the field.”If that’s the only method we’re going to remain in it, then I’m for it,”he said.”What I’m saying is, do not keep us out. You understand, we’re what make this competition– the little guy. Why does everybody love “Hoosiers,”right? The greatest movie. Why? Due to the fact that the little guy. … That’s what college basketball is. That’s why it’s one of the 3

greatest sporting occasions in the world. … Do not take that far from us. “NC State coach Kevin Keatts didn’t concur with his coaching peers. To Keatts, tournament growth would benefit players from programs of all sizes. Like Calipari, he utilized college football to make his argument, citing the bowl system as a way for athletes to get postseason experience.”I totally disagree with them,”Keatts stated.” And not just because I simply wish to disagree with them. I believe there should be some expansion. I just think it’s a lot of student-athletes that do not get the chance to play in postseason. When you take a look at football, they do not have that problem. You can make a bowl game in under.500 now, and the experience of– you know, we speak about the student-athlete experience, and the only thing that truly, in my opinion, that has actually not changed is broadening the competition. And I do not have a number. I do not know what that must be. But I do believe we need to give more schools opportunities to be able to get in the competition. “All of our conferences, all of our Power 5 conferences are going to 17, 18 groups. The ACC, which I believe is actually unfair, we’re getting 5 out of 15. If we get 7 out of 18, it’s not a lovely number.”Before taking over at NC State in 2017, Keatts invested 3 seasons at UNC-Wilmington, leading the school to two NCAA competition appearances. He said his time with the Seahawks affected his view on an expanded competition.”When I was at a mid-major, I thought I ought to have a chance,” he stated.”I was at UNCW, we had won 28 games, and if I didn’t win that championship game, no matter what I did, I

would not have the opportunity to play in the tournament. So in some way we got ta figure it out, and I’m not stating you got ta load it up with high-major teams. I’m stating that more student-athletes, in my opinion, ought to have the chance to play

in the very best postseason tournament in college.”