And It’s Nothing Short of Controversial
By: Justin Walker
Despite nearly every NCAA tournament bracket matrix or “bracketologist” having WVU basketball solidly in the field, the Mountaineer men were left out of the bracket that really mattered.
West Virginia Mountaineer fans across the country were surprised to see WVU’s name not get called as an entrant into the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday. Darian DeVries’ squad was projected to be either a 10-seed or 11-seed by most bracket experts. As seen below, one such service, Bracket Matrix, had the Mountaineers in 111 of 111 brackets.
NCAA Tournament Committee Chair and UNC Athletics Director, Bubba Cunningham, gave an on-air interview with CBS after the brackets were revealed. When talking about the Mountaineers not making the cut, he said, “Player availability is something we talk about quite a bit.” Cunningham referenced the absence of West Virginia forward, Tucker DeVries, who has been out most of the season due to shoulder surgery.
That explanation makes little sense. WVU played over 20 games without DeVries, including the entirety of their Big 12 schedule. During that time they got wins over two top 10 teams. They beat Iowa State at home and defeated Kansas on the road. They had a total of 10 Big 12 Conference wins, with four of those away from Morgantown.
When comparing WVU basketball’s resume with some of the bubble teams who got in, it creates even more confusion. The Mountaineers were 6-10 in Quad 1 games. North Carolina and Xavier, who both got into the field, were a combined 2-21 in such games. West Virginia was also ranked 24th in the RPI. West Virginia Director of Athletics, Wren Baker, put out the following statement on X, which also highlights WVU’s resume.
Head Coach Darian DeVries also put out the following statement.
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Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
