If they are going to hold a 32 team tournament without UConn, Villanova, Gonzaga and several others, it's not going to be worth a warm bucket of spit.
But whether they do this or not, it really doesn't matter whether the NCAA is paying or not paying former athletes. Or if the NCAA even exists.
If they don't want UConn, Villanova or Gonzaga, they are going to exclude them anyway, and this lawsuit will have absolutely no impact on that decision.
But I do think they would lose an antitrust suit if they try to exclude the most successful college basketball school in modern history.