Every year, Selection Sunday breeds lots of discussion — most of the time it’s for what in the was the NCAA Selection Committee was thinking in its selections. And while I could go on a rant as to why I don’t think Xavier is a worthy top seed, I want to focus on who SHOULDN’T HAVE gotten in and who SHOULD HAVE gotten in.
Oklahoma, Texas and Syracuse (Syracuse!) qualified for the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame somehow didn’t. I don’t know what in the hell the Selection Committee was thinking.
First of all, I think the only reason why Oklahoma is in is because the committee wanted to see Oklahoma star Trae Young ball one more week before he leaves for the NBA this summer.
I mean sure, the Sooners had great wins earlier this season: at Wichita State, at TCU, USC, Kansas and Texas Tech. However, they also finished the season with a 3-9 record — and a losing record in their conference.
I don’t even know why the hell Texas made it. The Longhorns only had two notable out-of-conference wins: Butler, at Alabama. In addition to a losing conference record, Texas’ RPI is only 51. It’s as if the committee had a damn hard-on for the Big 12!
As for Syracuse, OY!
The Orange has only two wins against the RPI’s top 25, and only four wins against the top 50. Syracuse lost to Georgia Tech, and later at Boston College by double-digits. And they did not have the look of an team whose RPI ranked in the top 40 (the Orange ranked 39th).
Notre Dame was one of the best teams in the country with a healthy Bonzi Colson. The Fighting Irish was a top 10 team after they won the Maui Invitational earlier this season. And get this, they BEAT SYRACUSE!
Look, I get that Notre Dame does not have the sexiest metrics in the world. The Irish’s RPI is above 70, and they had an ugly losing streak during the season (with Colson out due to injury).
I just think that the Irish, with Colson, is a top 10 team. I think they are better than Oklahoma, Texas, and especially Syracuse.
Too bad the NCAA Selection Committee didn’t think so.
Categories: college basketball, college sports
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