Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino is making his stance crystal clear: bring on the bigger bracket.

The St. John's basketball legend took to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday to fire back at critics of the NCAA's decision to expand March Madness from 68 to 76 teams, starting with the 2026-27 season for both the men's and women's tournaments.

"When I hear people are upset the NCAA expanded to 76 teams, I think 'why and who cares?' The best teams advance and more teams get to experience the greatest tournament on earth," Pitino wrote, wasting no time cutting through the noise.

At 73, Pitino is no stranger to stirring the pot on college basketball's biggest debates. And this time, he's siding with progress over tradition.

Here's how the expanded tournament will actually work: the opening Thursday's first-round action stays untouched—32 teams tipping off from noon to midnight ET as always. The real shake-up comes before that. The First Four will balloon from eight teams playing four games in Dayton to 24 teams playing 12 games across two sites. Dayton keeps its play-in round hosting duties, with a second location to be announced later.

Pitino's support for expansion isn't a new take. Back at the 2024 Big East Media Day, he told reporters—including USA TODAY Sports—that he wanted college basketball to create 18- to 20-team "super leagues" to "combat football" during the height of conference realignment. Then, in October 2025, he doubled down with CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, saying expanding the field "can only help."

"What makes the difference?" Pitino asked, brushing aside concerns that more teams would dilute the tournament's magic. For him, the answer is simple: more teams means more Cinderella stories, more buzzer-beaters, and more chances for programs to taste the madness.

Love it or hate it, March Madness is getting bigger. And one of the game's most iconic voices is all in.