I have a bone to pick with the NCAA selection committee. Not just because South Carolina was not included in the field. Not just because a 19-13 Syracuse team was given a 10-seed despite having the worst RPI of any at-large team in tournament history. Not just because Tulsa, who none of the experts had anywhere near the bracket, was given a bid. No, I am upset with the committee for the entire combination of poor choices they made in determining at-large bid recipients, as teams who are capable of making runs in the tournament find themselves on the outside looking in, while teams in the field will likely get blown out in their first game.
Judging from the First Four, it appears that the final four teams to receive bids were the Michigan Wolverines, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Wichita State Shockers. Two of these picks are justified, as Michigan just knocked off the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament, the Indiana Hoosiers, and Wichita State lost just two games to teams outside of the tournament while defeating a ranked Utah team during the regular season. However, Vanderbilt is a bit of a stretch, and ESPN's bracketologist Joe Lunardi calls the selection of Tulsa "indefensible by every known standard." Both the Commodores and the Golden Hurricane were defeated by the Gamecocks during the regular season, and Tulsa also lost to Memphis, another team that fell at the hands of South Carolina, by double digits twice, including a 22-point loss in the AAC Tournament. The Golden Hurricane also has the worst loss of the group, having dropped a game to Oral Roberts (yes, the Gamecocks beat the Golden Eagles this season, too), who finished 14-17 in the Summit League.
As for the Commodores, the SEC's fifth seed also fell to South Carolina this season, but they do have quality wins over Kentucky and Texas A&M, both in Nashville. However, Vandy has some bad losses as well, having dropped games against Arkansas, Mississippi State and Tennessee, who went a combined 22-32 in conference play. The best argument for the Commodores is their non-conference strength of schedule, as they played Kansas, Baylor, Dayton and Purdue early in the season. However, losing all four of those games shouldn't boost Vanderbilt's resume, especially with the low caliber of the other teams on the team's nonconference schedule. Head-to-head is the easiest way to measure the difference in two otherwise equal (or close to equal) teams, and South Carolina's wins over Tulsa and Vanderbilt seem to be irrelevant to the committee.
This article isn't just to discuss the robbery to which the Gamecocks have fallen victims, as the committee showed no love or mid-majors. St. Mary's lost the WCC Championship to Gonzaga, a team many people predict could be a sleeper in the tournament, which dropped their record to 27-5 for the season. The Gaels also beat Gonzaga twice, added wins over BYU and Stanford, and fell by just four points to Cal, one of the more talented teams in the field. The metrics gave St. Mary's some love, ranking them 31 in BPI, ahead of Syracuse (39), and 34 in the Pomeroy Ratings, well ahead of 10-seed Temple, who came in at 86. A 27-7 Monmouth had a strong resume as well with wins over Notre Dame and Southern Cal and close losses to Dayton and Iona (a better team than you might want to believe). The Hawks' case seems to have fallen on deaf ears, however, likely because of the down years of UCLA and Georgetown, two teams Monmouth defeated in the non-conference who did not live up to their usual standards this season.
All of that brings us to the greatest enigma of them all: Syracuse. The Orange played nine games this season without coach Jim Boeheim due to a suspension regarding numerous NCAA violations. During that stretch, Syracuse went just 4-5, losing a home game to Clemson and suffering an ugly 12-point loss to St. John's (I hate to keep doing this, but South Carolina beat them, too). A perennial powerhouse, the Orange did come up with some quality wins this season, beating Connecticut and Texas A&M in November before topping Duke and Notre Dame during conference play. It appears the committee has discounted the losses the team suffered while Boeheim was away from the bench, which essentially sends this message: We will suspend you for cheating, but have no fear! The committee will completely ignore what happens while your team is not at full strength. Not exactly the best message for the NCAA, which seems to always be under fire.
Simply put, the committee made some mistakes this year in choosing between bubble teams. Plenty of teams outside the field have a strong case, and St. Mary's may grow increasingly upset with every Gonzaga win in the tournament. Such is the madness of March, however, as the selection never goes without controversy.