The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament bracket decides winners and losers before the first play-in games even tip off, but this March has been particularly maddening for certain fanbases.
West Virginia attorney general JB McCuskey is asking the NCAA to provide an explanation for its selection process after West Virginia University appeared in every single expert bracket projection leading up to Sunday’s selection show, making their snub difficult to understand, as reported by WTRF in Wheeling. McCuskey says he is launching the investigation because he believes the public deserves to know what objective metrics are used by the committee to ensure the best 68 teams are in the tournament. “Given the major event that the tournament has become, all fans deserve to know how the selection committee makes its choices,” McCuskey wrote in a letter to the NCAA. “Just for the teams, those criteria affect scheduling, lineup choices, and more.
“And as we look ahead to another season, these student-athletes deserve to know the rules of the game and what they might be up against.”
As reported by Sports Illustrated, the Mountaineers, who finished 19-13 overall and placed seventh in the 16-team Big 12 Conference, were revealed as the first team left out of the 68-team field during the Sunday's selection broadcast on CBS.
According to the selection committee Chair Bubba Cunningham, a significant injury may have played a big part.
"The last four teams that were out, it was a tough call," Cunningham said. "The first team out was West Virginia. They had an outstanding year and unfortunately, knowing Tucker DeVries was hurt ... player availability is something that we talk about quite a bit."
Cunningham is also the director of athletics at the University of North Carolina — the last team to secure tournament slot. This fact has raised eyebrows nationwide. Though Cunningham claims to have recused himself from any committee discussion regarding the Tar Heels and the 2025 field, he reportedly will pocket a $68,000 bonus as UNC athletic director based on their inclusion. The bonuses escalate from there, based on how far the team advances.
"The Tar Heels went 1-12 in Quad 1 games and even had a Quad 3 loss, for heaven's sake," wrote Schuyler Callihan of SI. "West Virginia went 6-10 in Quad 1 games and did not have a single loss below a Quad 2. Pretty interesting, right?"
