NCAA Tournament 2017: 5 biggest snubs on Selection Sunday

4. Illinois State Redbirds

Before we even get started talking about the Illinois State Redbirds, we’ll address the obvious criticism about this team. Playing in the Missouri Valley Conference, Illinois State finished the year ranked No. 136 in terms of strength of schedule. For a team to rank that low, you have to post a near-pristine overall record. Though it wasn’t near-undefeated, the Redbirds did post an impressive 27-6 overall record. What’s more, their one conference loss in the season came against a quality Wichita State Shockers team.

More importantly, though, Illinois State also beat the Shockers the other time that the two teams met in the regular season. Yes, the Redbirds’ losses were much more emphatic than their win. However, they beat a tournament team that has played good competition and has been March-tested before. That’s a quality win to bolster a solid overall record and an impressive 17-1 record in the conference.

Perhaps what Illinois State speaks to more than anything, though, is how poorly the selection committee evaluated that Wichita State team. While most experts had them projected to be a No. 8 seed or higher, they ultimately wound up as a No. 10 with a 30-4 overall record and some quality wins. That speaks volumes about what the committee actually thinks about them and, in turn, kills any case that the Redbirds had as that’s their quality win. But considering how wrong that evaluation of the Shockers is, that makes their evaluation of Illinois State poor as well.