March Madness seems on its way to increasing 76 teams for the men's and women's national tourneys
The Washington Huskies men's and women's basketball teams ended last year in very different places, respectively.
The women's team won the program's first NCAA tournament game since 2017, finished the season 22-11 and fell by three points in overtime to the TCU Horned Frogs in the Round of 32, coming just shy of a Sweet 16 berth.
The UW women will see several of their best players return from a season ago, including first-team All-Big Ten guard Sayvia Sellers. The Huskies also bolstered their team by adding junior forward Tilda Trygger (North Carolina State), junior guard Brooke Carlson (Colorado State) and senior guard Macey Huard (Oklahoma State) via the transfer portal.
The men's team finished the year with a 16-17 overall record (7-13 in Big Ten play), and fell in the second round of the Big Ten postseason tournament in an 85-82 loss to Wisconsin.
Following the tournament, the UW men's team was not selected to the NCAA tournament as an at-large bid and also wasn't selected to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The program declined an invite to compete in the College Basketball Crown (CBC).
The Washington men's team, unlike the women, were not able to bring back their best players from last season. Third-team All-Big Ten forward Hannes Steinbach entered the 2026 NBA Draft. Guard and Tacoma, Wash., native Zoom Diallo entered the portal and transferred to Kentucky.
Both teams are in various different positions going into the 2026-27 season but a massive new NCAA rule change could benefit both programs.
According to an article from ESPN college basketball insider Pete Thamel, the NCAA has begun formal proceedings to expand both the NCAA men's and women's national tournaments from 68 to 76 teams each.
According to Thamel, the decision is scheduled to be formalized in the coming weeks with mid-May being the target date.
The UW women's team has made the national tournament in two consecutive seasons but was one of the First Four squads in 2025.
The men's team hasn't made the national tournament since 2019. In that span, the program hasn't received an NIT invite. The team has finished above .500 twice, both 17-15 marks in '21-22 and '23-24.
Given the fact both teams play in the Big Ten, their annual strength of schedule would likely give them advantage if they're in an "on-the-bubble" situation compared to other teams.
However, neither program will be able to find their way into the tournament without winning games.
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