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Michigan State

Tom Izzo explains why he is in favor of NCAA Tournament expansion

FaceProfileby: Thomas Goldkamp07/20/25
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo applauds after a play against Oregon during the first half of Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. - Junfu Han, USA TODAY Sports
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo applauds after a play against Oregon during the first half of Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Credit: Junfu Han, USA TODAY Sports

With talk of NCAA Tournament expansion taking over the offseason, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has weighed in. One of the veteran voices in the game, his opinion holds weight.

And Izzo is in favor of expansion. He wants to see the tournament provide more opportunities for teams.

“There’s a lot more Division I teams, No. 1,” Izzo said in an interview with Rick Pizzo on the Big Ten men’s basketball channel on YouTube. “And there’s a lot more people that put money into basketball, No. 2. And we see that football went from four to 12, now they’re talking 16 or 18.”

How the NCAA Tournament expansion might take place is a key component in the discussion. For now, it appears the appetite is mainly to increase the number of play-in games. That could mean adding four schools or eight schools.

A bigger expansion might not yet be in the cards. Izzo pointed to some of the dangers in expanding too much, too soon.

“I think you can water down a tournament,” the Spartans head man said. “I don’t think we should be going to 100. I don’t know what the right number would be, but if you look at it, how many better teams are there today than there were 20 years ago? There’s a lot better teams and there’s a lot more of them. There’s what, 363 or something? So I think that should play some of the part in it.”

The main key is making sure any potential NCAA Tournament expansion doesn’t take away from what makes March Madness March Madness in the first place. Izzo knows there’s a certain magic to the postseason. He’s been a part of too many special moments to count.

That’s what he wants to see preserved in an NCAA Tournament expansion. Keep the essence of the sport intact.

“I don’t want to lose… there’s something about, even though I’ve been a part of Cinderella’s slipper not fitting, I’ve lost to a 15-seed or a 14-seed, but that is what makes the tournament,” Izzo said. “And I think keeping those teams in and maybe expanding a little more so you get more of the better teams in could be good. But at 68 it’s not broken. I just think we’re getting more teams, people are putting more money into basketball, so there’s better teams.”