D3hoops.com: Notables

The long-awaited NCAA Tournament expansion finally comes in this season, and the men's basketball committee has released the details of the 2006 tournament.

The field expands from 48 teams to 59, in accordance with Division III's new playoff ratio providing one NCAA Tournament slot for every 6.5 teams eligible for the postseason. Thirty-seven conferences receive automatic bids. Teams outside of those conferences are in Pool B, and have four bids set aside for them. After those 41 bids have been handed out, remaining teams are eligible for 18 bids in Pool C. In previous years, only seven or eight Pool C bids were available, meaning on more than one occasion a team with a 23-5 record was left out.

The women's information has not been published yet, but we anticipate 61 or 62 bids being made available. The expansion was made possible for this season when the NCAA's contract extension with CBS for the Division I men's tournament took effect.

Five teams get first-round byes. The teams that play off to face those top seeds will meet in one of Thursday's five first-round games (this year, that's on March 2), which would in theory be games between No. 8 and No. 9 seeds. The other 44 teams meet in 11 four-team regionals on Friday and Saturday, effectively stripping home-court advantage from 11 teams that would otherwise have earned it in previous years. (See midsummer commentary on the subject.)

The Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference lost its automatic bid for 2005-06 when Dominican left to join the Lake Michigan Conference, meaning the NIIC joins the NEAC, Presidents and GSAC, as well as independents, as Pool B hopefuls.

For more about how teams are selected and a primer on the different pools in Division III, check out our FAQ.

October 15, 2005