‘Robbery at the Highest Level!’ Governor Launches Probe Into NCAA After West Virginia’s Snub from March Madness
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West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Monday announced the start of an investigation into the NCAA after WVU wasn’t selected for the men’s basketball tournament.
On Sunday, the selection committee revealed its picks for the upcoming 68-team tournament. As it the case every season, some decisions proved to be more controversial than others.
One such decision was the committee’s choice to exclude West Virginia University. The Mountaineers finished the regular season with a record of 19-13; and although that record was worse than the University of North Carolina’s, for example, WVU had the Tar Heels beat in a number of other important metrics.
That includes the quality of wins based on a sophisticated, data-driven system used to produce NET rankings. In this system, teams are placed in four quadrants. Wins against teams in “Quad 1” — the highest tier in the system — are the most valuable.
Morrisey noted that during an afternoon presser announcing the investigation.
“West Virginia had six Quad 1 wins,” Morrisey said, “and that was combined with an undefeated record against Quad 3 and Quad 4 opponents, three wins against top-10 teams, and the 24th-toughest schedule in America. West Virginia deserved to be in the NCAA tournament. This was a miscarriage of justice and robbery at the highest level.
“Now, who was the last team to get into the tournament, ahead of the Mountaineers? That would be the University of North Carolina. Now, let’s see how their resume stacks up. The Tar Heels went 1-12 in Quad 1 games, and even had a Quad 3 loss. And we keep hearing about the importance of these Quad 1 wins, but UNC couldn’t even get more than one. They also had the 25th-toughest schedule in America, right behind WVU.”
The basis of the investigation, Morrisey continued, came from the fact that UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham is the “head of the tournament selection committee.”
“Now, it’s being reported by a number of outlets that Cunningham had a significant bonus incentive — at least $70,000 — to get into the tournament,” Morrisey said, “arguably more if they advance, with more incentives on the way.”
