Committee Chair Doubles Down on DeVries Injury, Gets Grilled in Interview with Chris Russo

Bubba Cunningham still hasn't listed one true reason why West Virginia was undeserving of a tournament bid.

West Virginia University forward Tucker DeVries / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Just about everyone in the country who watched the Selection Sunday show was floored when they saw North Carolina secure the last spot in the 2025 NCAA Tournament over a West Virginia team that was clearly more deserving.

Shortly after the bracket was revealed, chair of the committee, Bubba Cunningham, who is also the athletic director at North Carolina, gave a pathetic explanation as to why the Mountaineers were left out. He pointed to the injury of Tucker DeVries, who has been out for several months now, making the decision to exclude WVU even more ridiculous.

Chris "Mad Dog" Russo recently interviewed Cunningham and asked him to once again explain why the Mountaineers weren't a part of the tournament. Cunningham doubled down.

“The injury to DeVries is one of the factors because player availability is one of the things we take a look at. They had a few great wins early in the year when he was eligible. They had a great year all year long without him. But ultimately when the final decision came by the committee and the voting was done, they was just on the outside looking in. It’s really disappointing for any team that doesn’t make the field. Carolina wasn’t in until a Memphis win and ended up being the extra team in.”

Russo immediately sniffed out the garbage response and pressed Cunningham with facts.

“But DeVries got hurt in November. They played a full schedule without him. They won ten league games. They won at Kansas. They beat Iowa State, who’s a three-seed. I mean I would hope that you guys didn’t kill the team’s season, those kids on that team, who played three months without that player and you said, you know what? The player is out so we’re not going to put him in the tournament because that’s not fair. You can’t have that team play all year and tell me they’re not going to make it because DeVries is out. That’s not a fair thing to do to that team. Hopefully the committee didn’t do that.”

“That’s not what happened at all," Cunningham responded. "They had an outstanding year. But we also know that a couple of their wins early were when he was eligible. They were 13-10 after he went out, so that’s part of the reason that the committee made the decision that they made.”

.@MadDogUnleashed pulled no punches to Bubba Cunningham on their decision to leave out West Virginia.

"You can't have that team play all year & now you tell me they're not going to make it because DeVries is out. That's not a fair thing to do."

The Committee Chair's response ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/5mmJmJhXFI

— Mad Dog Sports Radio (@MadDogRadio) March 17, 2025

Sure, West Virginia was 13-10 without him, but that's in a significantly tougher league than the ACC. If North Carolina played a Big 12 schedule, would they finish 10-10 or better? Very unlikely. Regardless, Cunningham pointing to an injury that happened eight games into the season is ridiculous, and it is unfair. The fact that WVU won three more Quad 1 games without DeVries than Carolina had all year should be all you need to know about who is more deserving.

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