Thursday Dots: March Randomness

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - APRIL 06: Aday Mara #15 of the Michigan Wolverines and Tarris Reed Jr. #5 of the UConn Huskies tip-off in the National Championship of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 06, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will expand to 76 teams beginning in 2027. The move is purely financial, as it does not elevate competition within the tournament. It does create more slots for the UW men’s program, which has struggled mightily in recent years, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pretend to support the expanded format.

The NCAA, college sports decision-makers as a whole, does its best to ignore the advice that says, “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” On the bright side, expanding the tournament won’t cause a drastic shift in the sport, so it isn’t the worst thing ever. Still, it’s very unnecessary.

A look at the new bracket pic.twitter.com/esm18WdUSJ

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 7, 2026

NCAA tournament expansion means on Tuesday/Wednesday there will be 12 games with 24 teams at two different locations with 8 additional at-large bids.https://t.co/DsfHWOxYFzhttps://t.co/vbUGR7yEqD

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) May 7, 2026

These 8 teams would've made the NCAA Tournament this past season if a 76-team field would've been in place.

The NCAA announced today that they will be expanding March Madness to include 76 teams. Do you like this move? pic.twitter.com/4QcBZQTpXd

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) May 7, 2026

Football:

NEWS: UW-commit 2027 4️ DL Jon Ioane (Tustin – CA) received a visit from Huskies DL coach Jason Kaufusi on Wednesday.

Ioane has his official visit to Washington set for June 5-7. @jonnioane@CoachKaufusi@Tiller_Football

UW OV Tracker: https://t.co/LRHyuJVWas

— Kevin Cacabelos (@SeaTownKev) May 7, 2026

Hear from @UW_Football’s Rashid Williams and Emmanuel Karnley and what they’re looking forward to this season in Seattle ️ pic.twitter.com/nko8eM19He

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) May 7, 2026

Basketball:

BREAKING – 2026 PG Zamir “Bam” Paschal (Central Catholic – OR) made a visit to Washington per his Instagram. Received an offer on his visit.

Also has offers from Portland State and Portland.

Huskies in need of PG depth behind USF transfer Ryan Beasley. @BamPaschalpic.twitter.com/OtQGZhGopE

— Kevin Cacabelos (@SeaTownKev) May 7, 2026

Athletics:

BANG

4 Huskies earn B1G honors and 3 qualify for the Corvallis Regional with a chance to advance to the NCAA Championships ️#GoHuskies x @UW_MGolfpic.twitter.com/hoWOJxxN6s

— Washington Athletics (@UWAthletics) May 7, 2026

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