diff --git a/src/srun/opt.c b/src/srun/opt.c
index 3963683c97171c5a50b0c65ed9d1180f18daa1bd..95d71b6bd33dff4b16a18663d0196fb18239ff66 100644
--- a/src/srun/opt.c
+++ b/src/srun/opt.c
@@ -874,12 +874,8 @@ _opt_verify(poptContext optctx)
 		verified = false;
 	}
 
-	if (opt.distribution == SRUN_DIST_UNKNOWN) {
-		if (opt.nprocs <= opt.nodes)
-			opt.distribution = SRUN_DIST_CYCLIC;
-		else
-			opt.distribution = SRUN_DIST_BLOCK;
-	}
+	if (opt.distribution == SRUN_DIST_UNKNOWN)
+		opt.distribution = SRUN_DIST_CYCLIC;
 
 	if (opt.mincpus < opt.cpus_per_task)
 		opt.mincpus = opt.cpus_per_task;