INDIANAPOLIS — Get set to print your NCAA Tournament office bracket on a bed sheet.
The NCAA appears set on turning the current 65-team format into a 96-team monster with the top eight seeds in the four regions receiving a first-round bye.
In a sometimes-contentious news conference Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium, site of Saturday’s start of the Final Four, NCAA vice president Greg Shaheen mapped out an expansion plan that could take effect next year.
The NCAA’s current $6 billion contract with CBS ends in 2013, but the NCAA has until July 31 to opt out for a new deal. A 96-team field would not add more days to the Final Four calendar but would add 16 games to the schedule.
“It’s important to point out that across the 88 championships that the association has, the majority of them (75) have expanded,” Shaheen said.
According to the plan, the bottom 64 teams play the first Thursday and Friday. After the second round on Saturday and Sunday, the remaining 32 teams play the following Tuesday and Wednesday.
Those 16 winners advance to the next weekend. During a news conference in which the NCAA trumpeted its improved graduation rate for basketball players, it was noted that 16 teams would miss an entire week of class.
Shaheen refused to address the comment.
Wooden Award finalists.
Jon Scheyer of Duke and West Virginia’s Da’Sean Butler are among 10 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as player of the year. The award will be presented April 9. The other finalists are Kentucky freshmen John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins; James Anderson of Oklahoma State; Sherron Collins of Kansas; Wesley Johnson of Syracuse; Scottie Reynolds of Villanova; Evan Turner of Ohio State; and Greivis Vasquez of Maryland.
“Truck” parked.
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said Thursday it’s “highly unlikely” point guard Darryl “Truck” Bryant will play against Duke. The sophomore had hoped a special shoe would ease pain in his broken right foot, which he injured March 23.
Buffs’ Smith in top five.
CU senior guard Bianca Smith finished fifth in the women’s 3-point contest, won by Detroit’s Brigid Mulroy. Mulroy beat Notre Dame’s Ashley Barlow 16-11 in the women’s final.
Maryland’s Eric Hayes won the men’s 3-point contest, hitting his last shot to beat Ryan Wittman of Cornell 17-15. Hayes then beat Mulroy 22-21.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
