After years of discussion, the NCAA is taking the final steps to expand the men's and women's NCAA Tournament from 68 to 76 teams beginning in the upcoming 2026-27 season, according to a report from Pete Thamel of ESPN. The expansion is expected to be formalized by mid-May, with Thamel noting the final few steps "are just formalities" with a source saying "they have what they need to move forward." This becomes the second major expansion to March Madness since 1985, when the 64-team bracket was originally implemented. The tournament expanded to 68 teams in 2011, with eight teams playing four games in Dayton, OH, between Tuesday and Wednesday before the rest of the field started play on Thursday. That will now expand to 12 games played by 24 teams at two different sites, with one expected to remain in Dayton. Sources: The NCAA has initiated the final steps to expand the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments to 76 teams.…