Trae Young Shares His Reaction To Oklahoma Turning Down NIT Invitation

Oklahoma was surprisingly left out of the NCAA Tournament this year

The 2024 NCAA Tournament Bracket was revealed yesterday and one of the most surprising decisions that the selection committee made was leaving out Oklahoma. Despite having better metrics than a team like Virginia, the Sooners were left out of the Tournament.

Submitted without comment pic.twitter.com/xVZOabNhsT

— John E. Hoover 🌮 (@johnehoover) March 17, 2024

Not only did Oklahoma get left out of the Tournament, but they were the first team left out by the committee. There were a lot of "bid thieves" this year and one of those teams stole a spot from the Sooners. 

Oklahoma was a top choice for the NIT Tournament after they found out they were left out, but they declined the invitation. Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser had this to say (via All Sooners):

“First and foremost, I loved coaching this group of young men and standing with them as they battled night after night,” OU coach Porter Moser said in a statement on X. “I am devastated for these young men who were left out of the NCAA Tournament, despite having a resume and metrics worthy of being in the field. At a later time, I will have more to say about our body of work and the selection process."

This morning, former Oklahoma superstar and current Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young shared his reaction to Oklahoma deciding to sit out of the NIT this year:

Respect.!
Wish we could’ve used the NIT money from being the #1 seed to spend on these HS kids.. still sounds crazy I’m even saying it🙄 but damn!
I still respect this though, don’t care what anybody say.. nobody watching that NIT 💩 https://t.co/5Of5DY2Owm

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) March 18, 2024

There have been a number of schools that have declined to play in the NIT this year and that is something that has been not well-liked by some, including former Indiana and Georgia head coach Tom Crean. 

Tom Crean (@TomCrean) just went in on teams electing not to play in the NIT. And he’s spot on. pic.twitter.com/FOk1cUJ81i

— Dave Connelly (@DaveConnellySG) March 18, 2024

This year's last four teams in the Tournament were Colorado, Colorado State, Boise State, and Virginia. Oklahoma, Indiana State, Seton Hall, and Pitt were the first four teams left out of this year's NCAA Tournament. 

The NCAA Tournament begins tomorrow with the first four games. 

The Hawks are currently in Los Angeles and will face the Lakers tonight at 10:30 p.m. 

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