Latest news with #BillSelf
Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
March Madness bracket expansion would add value and could be decided in next few months, Baker says
'We've had good conversations with CBS and WBD,' Baker said, referring to Warner Bros. Discovery, whose holdings include the Turner networks that air NCAA Tournament games. 'Our goal here is to try to sort of get to either yes or no sometime in the next few months because there's a lot of logistical work that would be associated with doing this. If we were to go down this road, you just think about the opening weekends, who has to travel the longest, it gets complicated.' The NCAA Tournament expanded from 64 to 68 teams in 2011. The change introduced the First Four round, a set of pre-tournament games in which the four lowest-seeded at-large teams and four lowest-seeded conference champions compete for spots in the traditional 64-team bracket. Advertisement Baker indicated that the current formula has flaws and said it would be beneficial to give more opportunities to worthy teams. 'If you have a tournament that's got 64 or 68 teams in it, you're going to have a bunch of teams that are probably among what most people would consider to be the best 68 or 70 teams in the country that aren't going to make the tournament, period,' Baker said. 'The point behind going from 68 to 72 or 76 is to basically give some of those schools that were probably among the 72, 76, 68, 64 best teams in the country a way into the tournament.' Advertisement Baker cited a competitive Indiana State team falling short of the tournament as an example. Indiana State went on to play Seton Hall in the 2024 NIT title game, which he referred to as one of the best games that spring. Kansas coach Bill Self said fellow Big 12 coaches seem to favor an NCAA tourney expansion. The Big 12 had seven bids in 2025, half the total of the SEC. 'There was a little bit that was brought forth and the consensus among the coaches, even though it was very little, would be in favor of that,' he said. 'I don't know if you could make it where it was totally equitable all the way across the board for everybody. Certainly, there's going to be outliers on every situation.' Changes could come as soon as this upcoming season, but negotiations will have to move quickly. 'That would be the goal — to try and do this for next year, which is why the window to actually negotiate it will probably end sometime early summer,' he said.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
NCAA president weighing tournament expansion to 76 teams
March Madness could soon become even bigger, if Charlie Baker has his way. Speaking Thursday during the Big 12 spring meetings, the NCAA president said he sees value in expanding the NCAA Tournament to potentially 76 teams with hopes of coming to a decision on the matter in the next few months. "We've had good conversations with CBS and WBD (Warner Bros. Discover)," Baker said. "Our goal here is to try to sort of get to either yes or no sometime in the next few months because there's a lot of logistical work that would be associated with doing this. "If we were to go down this road, you just think about the opening weekends, who has to travel the longest, it gets complicated." The tournament field expanded from 65 teams to 68 in 2011, creating the First Four round that pits the two lowest-seeded at-large teams against one another as well as the two lowest-seeded conference champions for a chance to reach the traditional 64-team bracket. Baker said he has discussed growing the field to 72 or even 76 teams. As the NCAA president put it, the current format contains flaws, noting that even with 68 teams in the field, there are still some who believe their teams were snubbed. "The point behind going from 68 to 72 or 76," Baker said, "is to basically give some of those schools that were probably among the 72, 76, 68, 64 best teams in the country a way into the tournament." Kansas coach Bill Self said Big 12 coaches favor expansion. His conference featured seven tournament entrants in 2025, compared with 14 boasted by the SEC. "There was a little bit that was brought forth and the consensus among the coaches, even though it was very little, would be in favor of that," Self said. "I don't know if you could make it where it was totally equitable all the way across the board for everybody. Certainly, there's going to be outliers on every situation." --Field Level Media
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Bill Self: Big 12 coaches support tourney expansion
May 28 - Men's basketball coaches in the Big 12 are in favor of expanding the NCAA Tournament, Kansas coach Bill Self told reporters Wednesday. Self said the coaches discussed the topic at the conference's spring meetings in Orlando, Fla., and supported increasing the number of participating schools. This 2025 NCAA Tournament marked the 40th men's bracket since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. In 2011, the NCAA added the First Four round, increasing the field to 68. A potential expansion to 72 or 76 teams, perhaps as soon as 2026, has been under consideration for at least a couple of years. NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt told CBS Sports in February that "committees are continuing their ongoing analysis of whether or not to expand the championships, and if so, how to go about doing that." Gavitt said organizers are still studying the financial burden and travel demands of staging a larger tournament, while also weighing opinions on whether expanded fields would water down the competitive viability of the events. Seven Big 12 teams made the men's NCAA Tournament in 2025, including recent conference additions Arizona, BYU and Houston. Self, 62, has led the Jayhawks to the NCAA Tournament every season it has been held since he took over in 2003-04, winning championships in 2008 and 2022. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kansas Coach Bill Self Suffers Major Transfer Portal Blow on Thursday
Bill Self has led the Kansas Jayhawks since 2003, and until this past season, he had only experienced one first-round exit in the NCAA Tournament. Further, this year marked the first time Kansas, under Self, failed to be ranked in the final AP Poll. Self wants to put this past season on the back burner and pay attention to the 2025 college basketball season. He's already brought in St. Bonaventure SG Melvin Council Jr., Illinois SG Tre White and Loyola Chicago G Jayden Dawson through the transfer portal. Advertisement Kansas also has three true freshmen coming in through the high school ranks: five-star SG Darryn Peterson, four-star SF Samis Calderon, four-star PF Bryson Tiller and three-star SG Corbin Allen. Even after all those additions, the Jayhawks still needed a high-profile frontcourt player. On Tuesday, Bill Self hosted Texas Tech transfer Darrion Williams, one of the top players in the portal, who had recently withdrawn from the NBA Draft, for an official visit. He left Lawrence without committing. Then, just two days later on Thursday, Williams announced his commitment to Will Wade and NC State in a collaborative post with On3's Joe Tipton "Texas Tech transfer Darrion Williams, one of the top players in the portal, has committed to NC State, he told On3," Tipton wrote. Williams played a key role in Texas Tech's run to the Elite Eight this past season, averaging 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. After transferring from Nevada, the 6-foot-6 rising senior spent two seasons with the Red Raiders, where he played his freshman year. Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Williams becomes the seventh player to commit to NC State this offseason after the program hired Wade in March. Advertisement The others include Butler PF Colt Langdon, Houston SF Terrance Arceneaux, McNeese State PG Quadir Copeland, McNeese State SG Alyn Breed, Michigan State PG Tre Holloman and Florida State PF Jerry Deng. Related: Kansas Coach Bill Self Makes Final Decision on Retirement Kansas Coach Bill Self Suffers Major Transfer Portal Blow on Thursday first appeared on Athlon Sports on May 22, 2025
New York Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
NC State lands Texas Tech transfer Darrion Williams in recruiting win for Will Wade
New North Carolina State head coach Will Wade has picked up a commitment from Texas Tech transfer Darrion Williams, according to multiple reports. Williams, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound forward, spent the past two seasons with the Red Raiders after starting his college career with Nevada. He was named to the All-Big 12 first team last season as a junior after averaging 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He entered the 2025 NBA Draft but withdrew after the NBA Combine. Advertisement His junior season in Lubbock followed a sophomore campaign that saw him named to the All-Big 12 Newcomer Team. It is a massive recruiting win for Wade to beat out Kansas and land Williams. The Wolfpack had a solid core on the perimeter but needed a frontcourt scorer. Williams was the highest-rated player left in our portal rankings and is one of the best mismatch forwards in college basketball. He can score in a variety of ways, whether it's spotting up from 3, beating bigger guys off the dribble or picking on smaller players with dribble downs. He thrived in Texas Tech's system and is best when put in space and allowed to use his strength to get where he wants on the floor. This is a disappointing week for Kansas, which lost out on both Williams and Dame Sarr. The hope was for the Jayhawks to land at least one of those two. Kansas coach Bill Self told me last week that he's looking to add one more scorer who can average 14-15 points per game. There aren't many of those guys left in the portal and KU might have to look overseas or adjust and maybe spend the money it had left for a scorer on more size up front.
