Selection Sunday always brings about controversy on which teams were left out of the NCAA basketball tournament, but this year only one team got snubbed.
Despite the crocodile tears being shed by the basketball gurus at ESPN over the snubs given to Virginia Tech, Alabama and St. Mary’s, those teams didn’t deserve tournament bids.
This year the selection committee clearly gave more preference to those teams with stronger strength of schedule rankings.
Four teams – UAB, Clemson, Southern California and Virginia Commonwealth – were among those schools that many believed shouldn’t have been invited to the tournament. But the Blazers, Tigers and Trojans all had superior SOS rankings than Virginia Tech.
VCU had a slightly higher SOS than the Hokies, but their RPI rating of 53 was much better and they had an 8-8 record against the RPI top 100.
The Hokies had an RPI of 65, an SOS of 87 and an 8-8 record versus the RPI top 100. The Crimson Tide had an RPI of 75, an SOS of 114 and were 5-8 against the RPI top 100. The Gaels had a solid RPI of 50, but their SOS was 116 and their record against the RPI top 100 was 3-6.
After all the hand-wringing is done about Virginia Tech getting robbed and Virginia Commonwealth receiving a bid, the team that can scream the loudest for being left out of the big dance is Colorado.
The Buffaloes are really the only team that has a legitimate beef with the selection committee, finishing with an RPI rating of 64, a strength of schedule rank of 53 and an 8-10 record against the RPI top 100.
Jay Bilas ripped the selection committee for failing to invite Virginia Tech and Colorado, saying this is one year that the committee seriously dropped the ball.
Ironically, the chair of this year’s selection committee was Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, who has come under fire for how he handled the situation involving Buckeyes’ football coach Jim Tressel.
Aside from Colorado’s omission and perhaps some seeding questions, the selection committee did a pretty good job picking the field for this year’s tournament.
Take a look at the bracket for the 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament.
