This year's NCAA tournament field has been set, and there was arguably no greater snub from Selection Sunday than the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Despite a 19-13 record with big wins over Arizona and Gonzaga in neutral site games, WVU was left on the outside looking in— and the committee's reasoning was perhaps worse than the decision. Chair Bubba Cunningham referred to the absence of senior Tucker DeVries as a motivating factor to leave the Mountaineers out, even though DeVries has played all of eight games this year and hasn't seen the court in three months.
The snub was seen as so egregious even the conference commissioner felt he had to say something about it. On Monday Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark released a statement via ESPN's Pete Thamel decrying the decision and supporting WVU.
"I was surprised and disappointed to see West Virginia not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament," Yormark said, via Thamel. "In addition to their six Quad 1 wins, the Mountaineers won 10 conference games in one of the toughest leagues in the country. West Virginia deserved a spot, and fans across the country agree. Coach Devries and his team did an incredible job fighting adversity and winning big games all season. Regardless of this disappointing outcome, I’m incredibly proud of how they represented the Big 12 all season."
Yormark adopts a similar tone to that of WVU AD Wren Baker, who said he was "heartbroken" and "can't comprehend" the decision in a statement released on Sunday evening. Even the governor got in on the action, with Patrick Morrisey declaring it "wrong on every level."
A tough break for the Mountaineers.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Big 12 Commissioner Releases Statement on West Virginia NCAA Tournament Snub.
