CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein Rips the North Carolina Over West Virginia Decision

Heading into Selection Sunday, the West Virginia Mountaineers appeared to be in a pretty good spot to make the NCAA Tournament despite losing a second-round game to Colorado in the Big 12 Conference tournament.

Their overall body of work showed that they were deserving of a spot in the 68-team field and had a much stronger resume than the team that they were bumped out for, North Carolina.

CBS college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein couldn't believe the Tar Heels got in over the Mountaineers or the Indiana Hoosiers.

“If the criteria for the NCAA Tournament in terms of getting an at-large bid is to beat other NCAA Tournament teams, how in the world could North Carolina get an at-large bid over Indiana and over West Virginia? Indiana, unlike North Carolina, has no Quad 3 and 4 losses. Indiana went on the road to East Lansing and beat Michigan State, who is a two-seed, and beat Purdue on its home floor and is a four-seed and Indiana did not get in the NCAA Tournament. Then let’s talk about West Virginia. West Virginia won a game at Allen Fieldhouse. West Virginia beat Gonzaga on a neutral court. They beat Arizona on a neutral court. It also beat Iowa State. And North Carolina is in over those two teams? I’m just waiting for somebody to say we got some swamp water to sell you in Florida.”

"How in the world could North Carolina get an at-large bid over Indiana and over West Virginia?"@JonRothstein says he thinks some of the other bubble teams deserved to make the Tournament over UNC. pic.twitter.com/9p12YHynOU
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 17, 2025

West Virginia had a 6-10 record in Quad 1 games, while North Carolina was 1-12. The Mountaineers didn't have a single loss below Quad 2, while the Tar Heels had a Quad 3 loss. It's pretty simple: the wrong team got in.

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