With the NCAA Tournament expanding from 68 teams to 76 for the 2026-27 college basketball season, fans of high-major programs will likely be less tolerant than ever when their teams fail to reach the Big Dance. Since all eight of the new spots are going to at-large teams, the expectation is that most of them will end up in the hands of the power leagues. But even with the NCAA Tournament expanding, there are bound to be programs that went dancing last season only to be left out this year.
There is simply too much volatility in the mass transfer era for anyone other than the highest spenders to roll out of bed and sleepwalk to the Big Dance. Baylor and Creighton — two bulwarks of consistencey over the prior decade — each saw streaks of five straight NCAA Tournament appearances end last season. Auburn and Marquette also saw their tournament streaks end at four.
Other high-major programs that made the 2025 NCAA Tournament but then missed it in 2026 included Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Xavier, Marquette and Maryland. For this week's edition of the Dribble Handoff, our writers are predicting which 2026 NCAA Tournament at-large team won't be back in the 2027 Big Dance. Whether it's Jon Scheyer at Duke, Penny Hardaway at Memphis or Matt Painter at Purdue, I always like the idea of people returning to their alma maters to coach at places where they once played.
These marriages don't always go well, obviously. But when they do, there are few things cooler because you know their hearts are really, really in it. Justin Gainey is among the latest to join that club.
The former associate head coach at Tennessee played four seasons at NC State from 1996 to 2000, graduated with a Business Administration degree and then worked alongside Sidney Lowe on the ACC campus from 2006 to 2009. Now, 17 years later, Gainey is back in Raleigh as NC State's coach. And I'm optimistic he'll do well in time.
But Paul McNeil Jr. and Ven-Allen Lubin are the only relevant players back from last season's team that Will Wade snuck into the NCAA Tournament with a No. 11 seed and the recruiting class ranks just 63rd nationally, according to 247Sports. That's not the best combo. But, at least from my perspective, Gainey will need to overachieve with this roster to make the NCAA Tournament in his first season at NC State.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
