'Devastated and Heartbroken': Buzz Williams Slams NCAA Snub, Calls System 'Flawed'

Texas A&M coach doesn't understand how 12 SEC wins weren't enough for at-large bid

Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said the process that kept the Aggies out of the NCAA Tournament is “wrong” and “flawed,” and he’s “lost faith in the system.”

In the wake of the Aggies’ 74-62 win over Alcorn State to open the NIT Tuesday night, Williams opened his postgame press conference with an eight-minute statement deriding the NCAA snub and lack of transparency behind the selection methodology.

“After studying this non-stop for the past two days and looking at it from every vantage point, it defies logic that we are not in the NCAA Tournament,” he said. “Despite repeated pleas, I have only been given generalities by those above me – not data-specific evidence – on why we weren’t invited.

“Without logical reasoning behind the decision, while knowing I still must explain this to our guys and their families, it has caused me to lose all respect and faith in the system, and those that are in it. What has transpired is wrong.”

Buzz Williams

Buzz Williams

Aggies

Texas A&M (24-12) reached the SEC Tournament championship game, part of a seven-game winning streak that included three wins over ranked teams currently in the NCAA tourney. Many fellow coaches and college basketball observers felt that was enough to get the Aggies into the field of 68.

Instead, A&M settled for a No. 1 seed in the NIT.

“We won five of our last six to finish the regular season and won three of our last four games last week while advancing to the championship game of the conference tournament,” Williams said. “That ending propelled us to a total of 12 SEC wins for the season. We found out Sunday afternoon that those numbers weren’t good enough to be invited as an at-large team. We were and are completely devastated and heartbroken.

“‘Sad’ is the wrong word because it doesn’t completely express the totality of our emotions. Since our return late Sunday night, I have spent all of my waking hours trying to better understand the data on how those 12 SEC-competition-only wins weren’t enough. While knowing that the four teams in our league that won more than that were all a 4-seed or higher.”

Those four teams are Auburn (2-seed), Tennessee (3-seed), Kentucky (2-seed) and Arkansas (4-seed). Alabama (6-seed) and LSU (6-seed) are also in the tournament.

The Aggies beat Auburn, Arkansas and Alabama during their late-season run. Texas A&M also owns an early-season win over Notre Dame, which is an 11-seed.

Aggies

Aggies

Aggies

“The process is obviously flawed, and it is apparent that there is way more included that is unseen and unknown in the selection of the 36 at-large teams than what the public is made aware of,” Williams said. “Until there is complete transparency and accountability, the system will stay broken, and this will continue to happen.

“Like many other things I have seen with the NCAA in my career, especially in my tenure here, allowing a personal bias to impact the process should not be allowed. Our players and staff earned the right to play in the greatest tournament in the world, and it disgusts me in a way I can’t articulate that the system, and the adults in it, prohibited that from happening, because several in our program will never have that opportunity again.”

Williams also called out the makeup of the selection committee

“As I began to do research, the first thing I wanted to learn was how members were selected to the committee and how the section of those members even worked,” he said. “In other words, what committee selected the committee?

“I wanted to research who was on the committee for this year’s tournament, their career paths, and how they were appointed to their position on the committee, so that once they were appointed, what data is it that they study. When, where, and how often do they meet? And when they meet, what are the topics of discussion, and during it all, what metrics do they look at, and what is most important?”

In the end, an exasperated Williams didn’t get the answers he was searching for.

“Despite how disenchanted I have become with all of this I will always stand up for our players and the families they represent,” he said. “Regardless of the opinion of anyone, that is the least that I can do. Our focus is now on what we can control.”

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