Here's what Ohio State coach Jake Diebler thinks about potential NCAA Tournament expansion

Jake Diebler is in favor of NCAA Tournament expansion, but it might not be for the reasons youd expect.Entering his second season as the Ohio State mens basketball coach, Diebler oversaw a team that essentially came up one win short of making the field of 68.

Most national analysts said the Buckeyes finished 2024-25 as one of the first four teams left out, marking a third straight season that saw them watching March Madness from home instead of participating.More Ohio State basketball: Ohio State basketball misses March Madness, won't play in 2025 NCAA TournamentThis summer, talk of expanding the tournament to 72 or perhaps 76 teams has increased among the sports leadership.

On July 24, CBS Sports published a story that expansion could happen sometime this fall, but its growing increasingly unlikely that any change will take place for the 2026 event.Should it ever take place, Diebler said hes in favor because it would increase the opportunities for players to experience what he termed the best sporting event in the world.Its such an unbelievable experience that I think if you can create that experience for a few more kids, at the end of the day thats probably what Id (do), he said.

Ultimately, if you were like, you have to choose one or the other, Id say lets do it and lets provide the opportunity to be in the best sporting event in the world to a few more kids to experience.Expanding to 72 teams, Diebler said, would mean that roughly 60 more basketball players get to participate in March Madness.

Ohio State likely would've made it last year with an expanded field, and Diebler said he wants to be careful that whatever changes come, such a feat remains an accomplishment.

It still needs to be earned, right? he said.

You cant have below .500 teams getting in the tournament and stuff like that, but I think theres an element of making sure that its earned and that its hard to earn.Regardless of what happens, Diebler said he wont be clamoring for one outcome rather than the other.It is a beautiful thing the way it is, he said.

It was beautiful at 64, it still stayed beautiful at 68.

I dont know what the right number is.

I would be for (expansion), ultimately, but Im not one of those guys thats going to sit up here and beat a drum of, We need reform.

In a July 29 update published to ESPN, bracketologist Joe Lunardi projects the Buckeyes as a No.

6 seed in the 68-team 2026 NCAA Tournament.Ohio State men's basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at [email protected], on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.Get more Ohio State basketball news by listening to our podcasts.oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here's what Ohio State's Jake Diebler thinks of NCAA Tournament expansion.

This article has been shared from the original article on yahoo, here is the link to the original article.