West Virginia Shockingly Robbed of an NCAA Tournament Bid, Passed Up by Blue Blood

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West Virginia was surprisingly left OUT of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Sunday evening despite having a resume that many thought was strong enough to be in the 68-team field comfortably.

Here’s our initial thoughts on the the committee leaving out the Mountaineers.

I’m stunned. The moment I saw North Carolina pop on the screen I had a feeling West Virginia could be in trouble. I have no idea how the Tar Heels had the resume to get in, regardless of WVU’s status. Folks, they went 1-12 in Quad 1 games and had a Quad 3 loss. Who are their quality wins? UCLA and who else? Take your time, I have all day. It’s blue blood bias.

Now, of course, West Virginia did themselves absolutely no favors by losing to Colorado in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament, but if we’re talking the overall body of work, WVU should have been in.

The Mountaineers beat several tournament teams, including Iowa State, Gonzaga, Kansas, and Arizona, and got to 19 wins without one of its top two players in Tucker DeVries. At the end of the day, it doesn’t take away from the phenomenal first season Darian DeVries had on the job. The future is bright despite tonight’s result.

This is one of those scenarios where West Virginia should have handled its business and left no doubt to leave them out of the NCAA tournament, and they could have solified their spot in the 68 team field with a win over Colorado in the second round of the Big 12 Championship.

While West Virginia did have more quad wins than North Carolina, Xavier, and San Diego State combined, they all ranked higher in the NET rankings than the Mountaineers. It makes little sense considering the wins and losses, but its what the commitee takes into consideration.

The committee moves the goal posts every season (we see it in football as well), and if you’re a program vying for a poststeason selection, you better win, especially when you’re pinned against the blue bloods and ESPN’s investment into the SEC.