West Virginia governor’s NCAA Tournament complaints hold no water
On Monday, first-term West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey pouted about West Virginia’s men’s basketball team being overlooked for a bid in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, going as far as calling the alleged snub “a miscarriage of justice and robbery at the highest levels.” (h/t ESPN)
Spare us the histrionics. It’s a tired act we’ve seen before.
West Virginia (19-13, 10-10 Big 12) has no business whining about failing to make the 68-team field as an at-large. As with every other team on the bubble — including those that made the tournament — there are valid reasons why the Mountaineers shouldn’t have received an invite.
West Virginia lost by 24 at mediocre Pittsburgh (17-15, 8-12 ACC) in November, followed by regular-season conference game losses to Arizona State (13-19, 4-16 Big 12), Kansas State (16-17, 9-11 Big 12) and TCU (16-16, 9-11 Big 12). The Mountaineers exited the Big 12 Tournament in the first round with a 67-60 loss to last-place Colorado (14-20, 3-17 Big 12).
Per KenPom, West Virginia ranks No. 53.
“Any way you slice it, this thing reeks of corruption,” Morrisey said on Monday, while West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey requested more transparency from the NCAA’s selection committee.
“What we are asking for is a level of detail and a level of transparency, level of accountability,” McCuskey said, “so teams like West Virginia can plan in the future and say, ‘What are we supposed to do to get into the tournament?'”
Don’t lose to bad teams, for starters. Shooting better than 42.5% (No. 296 in the country) could help, too.
The NCAA also explained before Sunday’s bracket reveal that Quad 2 results factored into the equation, which helps explain why North Carolina (22-13, 13-7 ACC), the last team in the field, got in over West Virginia.
The Tar Heels were 8-0 in Quad 2 games, while the Mountaineers were 4-3.
North Carolina also ranked No. 36 in NET, an evaluation tool long established as a key metric the selection committee uses to fill the bracket. West Virginia was No. 51.
Player availability was also considered, and West Virginia has been without one of its top players, guard Tucker DeVries, who was announced out for the rest of the season in early February.
It’s no mystery why the Mountaineers didn’t get a ticket to March Madness, at least to those who’ve been paying attention.
