March Madness 2015: Five biggest snubs from Selection Sunday

Mar 14, 2015; Hartford, CT, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs forward Markus Kennedy (5) reacts after defeating the Temple Owls in the second half during the semifinal round of the American Conference Tournament at XL Center. SMU defeated Temple 69-56. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

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Mar 9, 2015; Albany, NY, USA; Iona Gaels forward David Laury (13) looks at the score board against the Manhattan Jaspers during the second half in the championship game of the MAAC Conference Tournament at Times Union Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /

Iona

The Gaels were 36-8 on the season, undefeated at home, and one win away from an automatic bid in the MAAC Championship before losing to Manhattan in a great game.

To make the run through the MAAC, Iona had to play some fierce competition, but its competition nobody not interested in the MAAC takes seriously. Rider, Monmouth, Manhattan are very good teams, but mid-majors and therefore don’t the press that other teams do.

Iona only had an RPI of 51—not as high as several other teams on the list have, but higher than Purdue, LSU, Ole Miss, Indiana and Pitt, all of whom got at-large bids.

The Gaels had two players scoring over 19 points a game and two more in double-digits, held their competition to 72 points or less, while scoring 79 points per game themselves and outscored their opponents by almost 300 points overall in the season.

While they are clearly not as talented as Wisconsin, Villanova or Kentucky, they fit in well with the lower tier teams like Stephen F. Austin, North Dakota State, or Texas Southern and I feel they very well could beat any of those teams.

That they couldn’t even get a ‘First Four’ bid is a shame, as they were as deserving as a North Florida or Robert Morris.

Perhaps if they had beaten UMASS on the road, or hadn’t lost to Saint Peter’s just before the MAAC Tournament, the selection committee would have given them a longer look.

But more than likely they had their mind made up that the MAAC would get one bid and that’s all.

So it’s off to the NIT for Iona, where they can try to prove their worth by beating the other castoffs from the NCAAs.

Next: Temple

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