Here are this year's four biggest NCAA tournament snubs
It’s as much a rite of March as someone winning the office bracket pool picking by mascot or uniform color.
As soon as the NCAA tournament field is revealed, the griping begins.
The complaints should be fewer than usual this year, however, after the selection committee chose Kansas State, Wake Forest, Providence and USC as the last four at-large teams to make this year’s NCAA tournament field.
All four have flawed resumes, from Kansas State’s sub-.500 Big 12 record, to Wake Forest’s 3-10 record against top 50 opponents, to USC’s 11 victories over teams rated 200th or worse in the RPI. But all four were more deserving than the most prominent teams left out of the field too.
The most outrage this year will emanate from Syracuse, N.Y. and Normal, Ill. Syracuse was one of the last teams left out despite six RPI top-50 victories including wins against Duke, Virginia and Florida State. Illinois State also was a prominent snub even though it had lost just two games since December.
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Here’s a look at this year’s biggest snubs, beginning with a closer look at the Orange and the Redbirds:
1. Syracuse (18-14, 10-8, RPI 84, KenPom 50): Even though Syracuse boasted one of the strongest collections of marquee wins of any bubble team, victories against Duke, Virginia, Florida State and Miami weren’t enough to offset the other flaws on its resume. The Orange went just 2-11 away from the Carrier Dome this season, the pair of victories a one-point win against middling Clemson and an overtime win vs. an N.C. State team that fired its coach just a couple weeks later. The other blight on Syracuse’s résumé was its six losses to teams not expected to make the NCAA tournament, a list that includes a dreadful 33-point drubbing from St. John’s and a terrible loss at Boston College. Those factors help explain why the Orange didn’t receive a bid.
2. Illinois State (27-6, 17-1, RPI 33, KenPom 51): How could Illinois State be left out despite not having lost to anyone besides Wichita State since December? A complete dearth of quality wins is the primary reason. Aside from one win in three games against the Shockers, the only top 125 RPI team the Redbirds have beaten all season is New Mexico, which isn’t even likely to make the NIT. Assembling a quality schedule as a mid-major isn’t easy, but Illinois State probably needed to go 28-5 or even 29-4 this year to get a bid. When you play so few high-profile games, you can’t lose to teams like San Francisco, Tulsa and Murray State in non-conference play.
3. Iowa (18-14, 10-8, RPI 81, KenPom 69): When Iowa reeled off four straight wins to end the season including road wins over Maryland and Wisconsin, it appeared the Hawkeyes might have a chance to ride that late surge to a surprise at-large bid. They instead blew that momentum with a 22-point loss to Indiana in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament. While Iowa also boasted previous victories over Iowa State, Michigan and Purdue, the Hawkeyes’ losses apparently outweighed their quality wins in the eyes of the committee. Not only is 14 typically too many for a bubble team, upsets at the hands of Omaha, Memphis and Nebraska were undoubtedly costly.
4. Cal (21-12, 10-8, RPI 54, KenPom 58): The Bears’ bubble burst when they fell a few baskets shy of upsetting Oregon on Friday night in the Pac-12 semifinals. That left Cal with a 2-8 record against the RPI top 50 this season, the lone victories coming by one over fellow bubble team USC and by 11 over Ivy League champion Princeton. Twenty-one wins from a power conference is typically enough to secure a bid, but the Bears could not overcome going 0-6 against Pac-12 heavyweights Arizona, Oregon and UCLA. It also didn’t help that Cal mixed in losses to San Diego State, Stanford, Utah and Colorado, all top 100 teams but none ever serious threats to reach the NCAA tournament.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
