ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi Believes West Virginia was "Robbed" of an At-Large Bid

One of the top bracketology experts can't believe WVU isn't in the NCAA Tournament.

Mar 12, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Joseph Yesufu (1) shoots the ball during the first half against the Colorado Buffaloes at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images / William Purnell-Imagn Images

The West Virginia Mountaineers are being talked about nationally, but not in the fashion its fans would like. They were undoubtedly this year's biggest NCAA Tournament snub, being left out of the field despite having six Quad 1 wins, which is a metric that the selection committee stresses says holds a lot of weight. Apparently not.

The team that was put in over WVU, North Carolina, went 1-12 in Quad 1 opportunities and also had a Quad 3 loss on its resume. West Virginia doesn't have a single loss below Quad 2.

In the weeks leading up to Selection Sunday, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi consistently had West Virginia on the right side of the bubble. In his final bracketology projection, he had the Mountaineers as a No. 10 seed in the South Region, facing No. 7 Missouri. Lunardi didn't even have WVU in his "Last Four In" and instead had them safely in under the "Last Four Byes" category.

Once the bracket was revealed, Lunardi gave his thoughts on the field and noted West Virginia being excluded as one of the few things that stood out

"West Virginia was robbed of a spot. The Mountaineers beat Gonzaga and Arizona in Maui. They also beat Kansas and Iowa State on the way to a 10-10 finish in the Big 12. That's more than enough when compared with many other teams in this field."

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