NCAA Tournament: Was Boise State snubbed?

North Carolina, Texas, Xavier were controversial at-large selections

Boise State Broncos guard Alvaro Cardenas. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

As is tradition, the men’s basketball selection committee drew plenty of heat over the final at-large choices for the NCAA Tournament.

Three of the final four at-large selections — North Carolina (22-13), Texas (19-15) and Xavier (21-11) — were controversial picks. North Carolina and Xavier hold a combined Quad 1 record of 2-23 while Texas finished in a tie for 13th place in the SEC. 

West Virginia (19-13) — the first team out — was not considered a bubble team by most prognosticators. Indiana (19-13) and Boise State (24-10) were also pushed aside by the selection committee. 

Of the 111 NCAA Tournament projections listed by BracketMatrix, West Virginia (included in all 111 brackets), Indiana (90) and Boise State (36) were the three worst snubs. The three biggest surprise inclusions were North Carolina (27), Xavier (30) and Texas (50). 

North Carolina had the weakest case of the bunch with a 1-12 record against Quad 1 opponents. The Tar Heels went a combined 0-5 against Clemson, Duke and Louisville, the ACC’s other NCAA Tournament representatives. 

But North Carolina had the ultimate trump card: Tar Heels athletic director Bubba Cunningham was the chairman of the selection committee. 

Xavier’s Quad 1 record also lags behind at 1-9, but the Musketeers do own victories over NCAA Tournament teams Creighton, Marquette and UConn. 

Texas’ poor overall and conference records were offset by a 7-10 mark in Quad 1 games. Fourteen SEC teams were selected for the NCAA Tournament, the most bids for a single conference in tournament history. 

West Virginia has the biggest gripe after finishing in a tie for seventh in the Big 12 with a 10-10 conference record. The Mountaineers boast six Quad 1 victories, triple the number of North Carolina and Xavier combined. 

The Broncos hold a 3-6 Quad 1 record with victories over five NCAA Tournament teams: Clemson and Saint Mary’s in non-conference and New Mexico (twice), San Diego State and Utah State in MWC play. Boise State has more wins (one) over ACC NCAA Tournament participants than North Carolina (zero). 

Despite the high-end wins, Boise State was undone by non-conference losses to Washington State (NCAA NET Ranking No. 112) and Boston College (No. 202).

Four MWC teams received NCAA Tournament bids: New Mexico (10 seed), Utah State (10 seed), San Diego State (11 seed) and Colorado State (12 seed). The Aztecs were the second-to-last team in and will face North Carolina in the First Four at 7:10 p.m. Mountain time Tuesday. 

San Diego State took down Houston, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, back in November. The Aztecs also defeated Creighton in non-conference play and went 2-1 against Boise State. 

“San Diego State really had a couple of great wins early in the year in their non-conference schedule,” Cunningham said. “We felt like they scheduled themselves really pretty well. They didn’t have quite as much success in the league this year, but particularly that win against Houston really buoyed their resume in the minds of the committee.”

Boise State’s season will continue in the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament with a March 31 matchup against George Washington at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. 

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