March Madness 2019: 5 biggest NCAA Tournament snubs

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 14: North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Markell Johnson (11) passes underneath to North Carolina State Wolfpack forward DJ Funderburk (0) during the ACC basketball tournament between the NC State Wolfpack and the Virginia Cavaliers on March 14, 2019, at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC. (Photo by William Howard/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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BLOOMINGTON, IN – MARCH 02: Romeo Langford #0 of the Indiana Hoosiers shoots a free throw during the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Assembly Hall on March 2, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Indiana and UNC Greensboro are among the biggest snubs when they were not included in the NCAA Tournament and March Madness.

It’s an annual tradition for the Selection Committee to get grief after the brackets are revealed, but the source of that grief is usually coming from mid-major schools. Teams like Belmont have gotten snubbed in the past for falling in the finals of their conference tournaments, but this committee rewarded them at the expense of some of the big guys.

This committee clearly placed an emphasis on teams that didn’t lose a ton of games, but that certainly worked against high major teams that play in tough leagues that had quite a few quality wins on their resume. In the end, however, they will have to settle for a trip to the NIT.

Let’s take a look at the five biggest snubs from this year’s tournament, beginning with the N.C. State Wolfpack.

5. NC State

The Wolfpack certainly have a gripe with the committee. N.C. State went 22-11 on the year, including a solid 9-9 mark in the ACC, the toughest conference in the country.

That .500 mark in league play was better than several teams that made the field, including Oklahoma and St. John’s, both of whom posted losing records in their leagues. N.C. State also had a solid list of high quality wins, including a non-conference victory over Auburn and a win over Syracuse that helped the Wolfpack climb to a NET rating of 33.

That mark was the highest of any team not to make the field, but the Wolfpack doomed themselves by failing to beat any of the ACC’s elites despite numerous opportunities to do so. A non-conference schedule ranked 353rd in the country also did Kevin Keatts’ squad no favors as the Wolfpack wasted an opportunity to build a stronger resume with poor scheduling.

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