96 teams seems like a lot to us. Here’s why:

1. Bracket-ow-logy:  Too many teams means that those bracket guys will NEVER shut up.  (Though maybe we should listen more…half our final four is gone!) More importantly, though, it means that casual fans will be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, and watch less.

2. Not Helping the Little Guy: Those who like the idea of switching to 96 teams say that it’ll mean more bids for traditional one-bid conferences, but we don’t buy it.  We think what’ll happen is that you’ll get twelve Big East teams in the Dance instead of five…bigger money, bigger name teams, nothing in there helps the little ones.

3. Too Many Days: This might be the biggest one: when March Madness is on a Thursday and Friday, it’s an Event.  Doctors tell you to go get a vasectomy on Wednesday so you can chill Thursday and Friday.  Guys take off work.  College kids skip class.  But if there are two weeks like that, it’s a lot harder to justify.  March Madness is like a holiday, but making it longer wouldn’t help that…it would dilute it.

4. Worse Games: It’s hard to get excited by the idea of a 9-seed versus a 24-seed game. Even if you’re team’s in it.

So, what to do?

We like the idea of adding a few more play-in games.  Perhaps every sixteen seed game should be a play-in?  That would give more teams a shot at the bigtime, add a day of solid basketball (the play-in day, where there’s now only one game), and provide exposure for lots more schools.

What do you think?