Air Force men’s basketball coach Jeff Reynolds said Monday he has mixed feelings about the likely expansion of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament to 96 teams.

On Thursday, NCAA vice president Greg Shaheen unveiled a detailed plan for the proposed 96-team tournament, which could be implemented next year if the NCAA opts out of its contract with CBS. The tournament currently includes 65 teams.

“I’m mixed on it,” said Reynolds, who was traveling back from the Final Four in Indianapolis, where the National Association of Basketball Coaches held its annual convention. “I think in some ways it could be very positive for college basketball and in other ways I think it could have negative repercussions on the game and the meaning of the regular season.”

As for the positives, Reynolds said expansion would benefit coaches.

“There’s a lot of pressure on coaches to get to the NCAA Tournament,” he said. “If they allow 96 teams, it takes some of the pressure off those coaches, because ultimately that’s how many are judged.”

He also noted that more players would get to participate in one of the most popular and most-viewed sporting events in the world. Currently there are more than 330 NCAA Division I basketball teams, so less than 20 percent participate in the tournament each year.

“It certainly would give more college basketball players a chance to make their dream,” Reynolds said. “Now, does that dream mean as much with 96 teams? Does it have the same value? I don’t know.”

Jeff Reynolds Photo by THE GAZETTE FILE