Did the NCAA Tournament Committee Get it Right?

You see the headline, you know why you’re here. The March Madness bracket was set last night as the NCAA Tournament Committee slotted the 32 automatic qualifying bids and gave out 36 other at large spots to teams in the field of 68. With fitting in teams, comes leaving some out, and of course, you can’t keep everyone happy. There were some harsh feelings around the College Hoops world last night leaving us all asking the million dollar question, one that is familiar in college sports:

Did the committee put in the correct teams?

Let’s discuss.

Who Received Invites to the NCAA Tournament?

Alright, let’s talk bubble. The four teams playing for the final 11 seeds are San Diego State against North Carolina, and Texas against Xavier. The Tar Heels were listed as the last team in, but their spot could’ve easily been given to a few other teams. West Virginia certainly feels snubbed with their 6 Quad 1 wins, including against #3 Gonzaga and #24 Arizona on a neutral court, and upsetting then #7 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. Boise State also was on the cusp of dancing, but fell just short in the committee’s eyes. The Hoosiers of Indiana also just missed out.

Before we talk about who was more deserving, let’s get one thing straight. There is no big conspiracy to get certain teams into the tournament. The committee simply makes their choice. Do they get it wrong? Sure, sometimes, but ultimately there is no sort of foul play going on. The chair of the NCAA Tournament Committee is Bubba Cunningham, who also happens to be the Athletic Director of North Carolina…the last controversial team to be slotted in the bracket.

The internet has run away with the idea that this is the ONLY reason why the Tar Heels made the tournament, and while I agree that UNC shouldn’t have gotten in, this theory is preposterous and has no merit. Give it up haters, try again next year.

Let’s Look at the Resumes

Here are the resumes from the seven schools mentioned above, who were essentially playing for four remaining spots. Starting with the four that got in.

San Diego State

• 21-9 (14-6) – Mountain West
• NET: 52
• Quad 1: 3-6
• Quad 2: 5-2
• Quads 3-4: 12-1
• Key Wins: #21 Creighton*, #6 Houston* @ Boise
• Bad Losses: vs UNLV, @ UNLV, vs Utah State

North Carolina Tar Heels

• 22-13 (13-7) – ACC
• NET: 36
• Quad 1: 1-12
• Quad 2: 8-0
• Quads 3-4: 13-1
• Key Wins: vs #18 UCLA*
• Bad Losses: vs Stanford

Xavier Musketeers

• 21-11 (13-7) – Big East
• NET: 45
• Quad 1: 1-9
• Quad 2: 8-2
• Quads 3-4: 12-0
• Key Wins: @ #7 Marquette, vs #19 UConn
• Bad Losses: @ TCU, @ Georgetown, @ Villanova

Texas Longhorns

• 19-15 (6-12) – SEC
• NET: 39
• Quad 1: 7-10
• Quad 2: 3-5
• Quads 3-4: 9-0
• Key Wins: vs #13 Texas A&M, #14 Texas A&M*, vs #15 Kentucky, vs #22 Missouri
• Bad Losses: @ South Carolina, vs Oklahoma, vs Arkansas

Now let’s look at the teams who got left out of the NCAA Tournament this year.

West Virginia Mountaineers

• 19-13 (10-10) – Big 12
• NET: 51
• Quad 1: 6-10
• Quad 2: 4-3
• Quads 3-4: 9-0
• Key Wins: #3 Gonzaga*, #24 Arizona*, @ #7 Kansas, vs #2 Iowa State
• Bad Losses: vs ASU, vs Colorado*

Indiana Hoosiers

• 19-13 (10-10) – Big Ten
• NET: 54
• Quad 1: 4-13
• Quad 2: 5-0
• Quads 3-4: 10-0
• Key Wins: @ #11 Michigan State, vs #13 Purdue
• Bad Losses: @ Iowa, @ Nebraska

Boise State Broncos

• 24-10 (14-6) – Mountain West
• NET: 44
• Quad 1: 3-6
• Quad 2: 5-2
• Quads 3-4: 15-2
• Key Wins: vs Clemson, Saint Mary’s*
• Bad Losses: Boston College*, Washington State

Did They Get it Right?

It really doesn’t matter if they got it right or not. There’s no changing it now. However, this should be a wake up call for the committee to change the First Four. Instead of having four 16 seeds play in to the Round of 64, despite getting an automatic qualifying bid, I think the First Four should be reserved for eight teams on the bubble, playing for the final four at large bids (11 seeds).

Would this push some teams that are clearly 16 seed caliber into the 15 seed range? Yes. But it would also put these schools in the original 64 team bracket, which I believed they earned.

I think Boise had the best case after finishing six spots higher in the NET rankings than their conference rival, SDSU, and also beat them recently in the Mountain West conference tournament. If the committee put this plan into action this year, here is what the bubble would look like to me.

Potential First Four If All 11 Seeds Played In

If I was in charge, the bubble would look different. I would replace West Virginia as the #9 Seed in the West Region for Oklahoma. And then have the following play-in games in the First Four for the final spots in the Round of 64 (11 seeds).

• San Diego State vs North Carolina
• Xavier vs Texas
• Boise State vs Oklahoma
• Indiana vs UC Irvine (Go Anteaters)

Feel free to disagree, but you’ll be arguing with a wall.

Still Didn’t Get Your NCAA Basketball Fix?

Here at Betting News, we offer Free Expert Picks for every major sports league. We also host daily streams on our Twitch Channel with our best bets, as well as sweat out games on Playback! Be sure to tune into everything we have going on at our Youtube, TikTok, and X pages as well.

For more College Hoops action, check out these pages below.

• NCAA Basketball Expert Picks
• College Hoops Betting Guide
• College Basketball Championship Odds
• March Madness Bracket Projections
• Potential NCAA Title Dark Horses

Check Out All of Our Resources at Betting News