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2026 NCAA Tournament General Discussion

Let's be real, being able to buy the best players in the portal is a major advantage that no one saw coming for May at UM. I was a May skeptic because he had a team at FAU that followed up the Final Four run with a huge disappointment of a season with basically the same core group of players. He obviously has an eye for talent and has shown he can get very good players - in some years that plus a really good draw is all you need. No one saw UM investing in hoops like they had not been before.

Michigan Hoops' NIL Spendings Revealed as Similar Info for Rival Nowhere to be Found

On3 reported what Michigan basketball spent in NIL for the 2025-26 season

With the Sweet 16 tipping off on Thursday night, On3's Pete Nakos published a report on what each program that remains in the NCAA Tournament spent on their rosters for the 2025-26 season.

To no surprise, Michigan was reported to be one of the biggest spenders in college basketball for the roster head coach Dusty May assembled in the offseason. Nakos' reports states the Wolverines spent at least $10 million on its 2025-26 team.

However, narratives that rival fans have floated around—some of which insinuated the Wolverines paid UAB transfer and Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg $10 million alone, or that Michigan spent far and away more money on its roster than any other member of the Big Ten, have proven to be categorically false, according to this report.

Joining Michigan out of the remaining Sweet 16 in the "$10 million" club are Arkansas, Duke, Houston, St. John's and Texas. Kentucky, who is now out of the tournament, is reported to have spent $22 million on its roster this season.

While Houston, Duke and Arkansas all went big on its high school recruiting classes this season, Michigan went big in the portal with Lendeborg while St. John's retained forward Zuby Ejiofor.

Three other Big Ten teams remaining in the Sweet 16 come in right behind the Wolverines in terms of spending, including Illinois, Iowa and Purdue, who were reported by Nakos to have spent in the $8-$10 million range on its rosters this season.

Alabama, Arizona, Tennessee and UConn are the other teams in the Sweet 16 reported to have spent in the $8-$10 million range.

The two programs getting the most "bang for their buck" includes Iowa State and Nebraska, with Iowa State having spent roughly $6.5 million and Nebraska's payroll sitting around $4.5 million, according to the On3 report.
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May commented on narratives that fanbases created about Michigan's budget earlier in the season, jokingly saying he was ready for the IRS to open the books on programs in college basketball to reveal true numbers.

"I’m ready for the IRS to come in and open up the books and show what people spent versus what the spin zone has said they spent,” May said.... :lol:

The spending in college basketball is only expected to increase next season, according to the On3 report, with the high end budgets expected to be in the $12 to $15 million range.

Just sayin': I think it is given that the top teams are spending something in the $10M range. I don't know how much NIL money the Ohio State basketball program was allocated the past 2 seasons; maybe they were outbid on the players that they actually wanted. I think it is given that the top teams are spending something in the $10M range. However, I do not think that Ohio State (Jake Diebler) "chose very wisely" in most of the portal transfers that they got. Ohio State is being hurt in their depth by not being able to keep solid players that my be 2nd string and/or role players too.
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When Ohio State made it to the Final Four

Thanks for that write up. Saw most, remember less. Do still have burned in my skull, the two losses to Cincinnati. Paul Hogue (he of coke bottle glasses), and Moe Thacker took apart Jerry, Hondo, Mel, Larry twice.....probably spawned the lack of scheduling between the two schools for several decades.


1961 was a close game and went OT; the game could of went either way. The Bucks played pretty solid. Lucas had 27 points & 12 rebounds. See box score:

1962 was a different story. Lucas had a knee injury and wasn't even close to 100%. Yeah, Hogue and Thacker dominated for the Juggalos. See box score:
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March Madness

NCAA Tournament Expected to Expand to 76 Teams

Money. Money. Money.

College basketball fans didn't ask for it, and neither did the majority of coaches and players. However, money talks, and the NCAA is expected to expand March Madness from 68 teams to 76 as early as 2027, according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

Barring something unforeseen, “it will happen,” says one high-placed source.
According to a proposal socialized with members last year, eight games would be added to the current “First Four” played over Tuesday and Wednesday of the first week of the event. This new “opening round” — the verbiage used to describe it — would feature 24 teams playing in 12 games over the two days at two sites (Dayton and another). Those involved in the negotiations caution that plenty of this could change through the course of continuing talks with TV partners Warner Bros. Discovery and CBS.
The 12 winners of the opening-round games — likely six games pitting lower-seeded automatic qualifiers and six pitting at-large teams — advance to an awaiting 52 teams in the original bracket. Under this concept, eight teams are extracted from the main bracket, plus the eight new at-large selections from expansion.
Whether we like it or not, this will likely mean more mediocre high-major teams rather than mid-major programs.

NCAA president Charlie Baker believes that giving more high-major teams a chance is a net positive, as evidenced by No. 11 seeds Texas and Miami (Ohio), who proved it in their own respective ways over the last couple of weeks.

“There are every year some really good teams that don’t get to the tournament for a bunch of reasons,” Baker said last fall. “One of the reasons is we have 32 automatic qualifiers [for conference champions]. I love that and think it’s great and never want that to change, but that means there’s only 36 slots left for everybody else.”

The NCAA Tournament has expanded over the last nine decades, but has done so more rapidly over the last 15 years, much like it did in the 1979-80 season.
  • 1939: The tournament started with eight teams
  • 1951: Expanded to 16
  • 1975: Expanded to 32
  • 1979: Expanded to 40
  • 1980: Expanded to 48
  • 1985: Expanded to 64
  • 2001: Expanded to 65
  • 2011: Expanded to 68, introducing the "First Four"
For what it's worth, the bubble teams this season, who barely missed the NCAA Tournament but will surely make it if it expands by six teams yet again, included Auburn (17-16), Indiana (18-14), New Mexico (23-10), Oklahoma (19-15) and San Diego State (22-11).
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Ohio State Wrestling (2015/2017/2018 B1G Champs, 2015 National Champs, 2019 National Runners-up)

They have by far the largest NIL pot. Some kids go there knowing they could be a paid backup. But the big names get a handsome payoff. Nobody is close to their NIL pool.

I think Stanford coach called PSU at $1.8M and Iowa State even at $1M.
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C Ivan Njegovan (Official Thread)

Was in Ace Hardware on 5th Ave yesterday and Ivan came in with Colin White. I'm about 6'5 with my shoes on and it was ridiculous standing next to him. I used to think it would be cool to be 7ft but F that! What a hassle that has to be.

Btw both kids were very polite. Told them keep their heads up it was a good year just tear em up next year. Definitely a fan of both but they both need to add some muscle to bang in the B1G
You could have got the inside scoop on where White will be playing next year.
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BP Fantasy Baseball est. 2008 (Current Champion = Ahiacitian)

Someone like to explain how Infinity gets calculated at the end of the week for K:BB?

I have 2 guys now, and sure you guys have it as well, that don't appear to be counting in that category yet for the week.
Depends on if they have 0K’s and 0BB’s, or 1+K’s and 0BB’s.
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