NCAA Tournament Snubs: Teams That Missed the Big Dance
Every year, Selection Sunday brings joy to 68 teams as they prepare for the NCAA Tournament. However, it also leaves several teams disappointed, wishing they had earned a spot in the field. These are the teams on the bubble that ultimately didn't make the cut. Despite building a resume worthy of March Madness, the tournament selection committee decided their cases weren't strong enough, or there simply weren't enough spots. While stolen bids by conference tournament champions weren't as prevalent this year, some teams still have a right to be upset, especially after the controversial inclusion of North Carolina. The big dance is always magical, but that doesn't mean all the right teams got in. Here are the biggest snubs from the 2025 NCAA men's tournament.
Biggest Snubs
- Boise State Broncos
- Indiana Hoosiers
- UC Irvine Anteaters
- West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia
The shocking omission is the Mountaineers, who were widely believed to make the field before it was revealed it was the first team to miss it. Even after an early Big 12 tournament exit, Mountaineers fans checking in on their program's chances entering the Selection Sunday show had to feel pretty good about their chances. Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney projected WVU as one of the "last four byes," well clear of the bubble cut line, as did ESPN's Joe Lunardi. The impressive start of the year for first-year coach Darian DeVries wasn't enough after a late slump that included a loss to Colorado in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.
What doesn't make sense is the Mountaineers had a resume worth being in the field. Early in the season, it picked up big wins against Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas and Iowa State, all wins against top 20 teams in the NET rankings. An overall 6-10 Quad 1 record is on par for a bubble team and the 10-13 record combined with the Quad 2 is really good.
The six Quad 1 wins were more than 13 at-large teams selected. West Virginia proved it can beat quality teams, but it somehow wasn't enough. Even without DeVries, WVU has been rock-solid against the nation's top teams, posting a 10-13 record against Quad 1 and 2 opponents, and a perfect 9-0 record against teams in the bottom two quadrants. Along the way, the Mountaineers beat Arizona and Gonzaga in neutral-site games, won at Kansas and beat Iowa State at home.
Among the factors cited by committee chair (and UNC athletic director) Bubba Cunningham, the absence of senior guard Tucker DeVries played a part in West Virginia missing the field, though DeVries has been out since early December and only played in eight games for the Mountaineers.
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- Record (Conference): 19-13 (10-10)
- NET Rating: 51
- KenPom Rating: 53
Boise State
The late pushed by the Broncos were all for naught. The Rams' biggest victim this year has been the Broncos. Boise State went 0-3 against the Rams this season, including a 69-56 loss in Saturday's Mountain West championship game. Ultimately, the Broncos can blame themselves for losing the conference title game, but they played well enough to be included in the regular season, finishing second in a strong Mountain West with a 4-4 record against the league's non-CSU tournament teams, including conference tournament wins over New Mexico and San Diego State-the second-to-last team in the field. That Mountain West tournament run could have helped bump the Broncos into the field, but it doesn't appear that the committee weighed it heavily enough for coach Leon Rice's squad. Boise State won nine of its last 11 regular-season games and made it all the way to the Mountain West tournament final, but it wasn't enough.
Boise State had an exceptional 24-win season, more than last year's First Four team. The Broncos posted win against tournament teams Utah State and New Mexico and also beat Clemson in the regular season. They followed that with a defeat of San Diego State and New Mexico before falling to Colorado State in the conference tournament. The Broncos finished with an 8-8 Quad 1 and 2 record, proving they were capable of playing against the field of 68. Boise State's résumé wasn't solely predicated on MWC play. The Broncos also earned solid non-conference wins over Clemson and Saint Mary's, No. 5 and No. 7 seeds in the tournament, respectively.
The biggest mark against Boise State was it had a Quad 3 and 4 loss. Although they happened before 2025 began, the whole resume matters at the selection committee.
- Record (Conference): 24-10 (14-6)
- NET Rating: 44
- KenPom Rating: 50
Indiana
The late surge by Indiana was all for nothing. A topsy-turvy year for the Hoosiers nearly ended with a successful late push for the Big Dance, but Mike Woodson's tenure is set to end with his program as second team out of the 2025 bracket. Indiana put itself in a major hole during a run from Jan. 11 to Feb. 8 in which it lost seven of eight games-all in Big Ten play-before rebounding to win five of its last eight. That strong finish included big wins against Michigan State and Purdue, both top-four seeds in the NCAA tournament. The Hoosiers missed out on the tournament and giving Mike Woodson a March Madness appearance in his final season in Bloomington.
Much of the season was a disappointment for Indiana and was sitting at 14-10 before reviving its season with impressive wins over Michigan State and Purdue. The Hoosiers needed a good week at the Big Ten tournament, but lost to Oregon in the first matchup in Indianapolis. IU was weighed down by a 4-13 record in Quad 1 games, but that is still better than UNC's mark. The Hoosiers held serve in all other games, with a 15-0 record in Quad 2, 3 and 4 contests.
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Indiana can feel slighted with North Carolina's selection. It had a 4-13 Quad 1 record and never suffered a bad loss − unlike the Tar Heels − with a perfect 15-0 record in Quad 2-4 games. If North Carolina didn't get punished for failing to capitalize on Quad 1 chances, the Hoosiers have a right to be mad the same thing didn't apply to them. Indiana may not have been the flashiest team, but it improved as the year went along and went toe-to-toe with some of the Big Ten's heavy hitters down the stretch.
- Record (conference): 19-13 (10-10)
- NET Rating: 54
- KenPom Rating: 48
Ohio State
Ohio State had a similar argument as Texas to make the tournament. The only difference is the Longhorns got in and the Buckeyes didn't, likely because of its bad losses − despite picking up some notable wins this season.
The Buckeyes went 17-15 with victories against Texas, Kentucky, Purdue and Maryland. They also had a No. 41 NET ranking, a pretty solid spot to be at considering teams behind them got into the field and the highest ranking to miss this year's tournament.
A 6-11 Quad 1 record isn't ideal considering the amount of opportunities and a 3-4 Quad 2 record, but the six win mark in the top quadrant has typically been the benchmark for teams in power conferences to get in.
UC Irvine
UC Irvine's absence from the NCAA tournament is no real surprise. After its conference title game loss to UC San Diego, the Big West champion and a 12-seed in the Big Dance, the Anteaters' hopes were largely dashed. That became official with the bracket's release. The Anteaters were close to securing the automatic bid from the Big West tournament before UC San Diego pulled away to take the title. While the automatic spot would have erased any doubt, Russell Turner's team had a legit case to give the Big West two teams in the field for the first time 2005.
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At 28-6, UC Irvine is tied for the eighth-most victories in Division I this season and equals the most wins of any team to miss the tournament. Mid- and low-major teams that doesn't have the reputations of programs like Gonzaga have a hard time making field even if they flirt with 30 wins. These are the kinds of teams that often make noise as 13- or 14-seeds, and certainly offer more exciting possibilities than power conference also-rans. Irvine had more wins than any other non-tournament team, a top 20 defense per KenPom, and were excellent away from home, with an 18-4 record in road and neutral site contests. The NET ranking is what hurt the Anteaters the most at No. 62 in the rankings, and the 1-1 Quad 1 record likely doesn't outweigh three Quad 3 losses. Still, UC Irvine did plenty of winning to put up a case to be an at-large spot, but instead the Big West won't get two teams in the tournament.
- Record (Conference): 28-6 (17-3)
- NET Ratings: 62
- KenPom Ratings: 66
Dayton
A team that flew under the radar for much of the season but certainly had a case to be an at-large team was Dayton. The Flyers finished third in the Atlantic 10 and while 10 losses in that conference is typically too much, they had a 3-3 mark in Quad 1 games with defeats of Connecticut and Marquette.
Controversial Inclusion: North Carolina
The official bracket for the 2025 men's NCAA tournament has officially been released, and as is often the case, the March Madness field comes with some real controversy. Plenty of other teams would love to be playing on Tuesday night in Dayton, and have strong arguments over a UNC team that failed to rise to the occasion just about every time they've faced another tournament-quality team.
North Carolina, one of the sport's biggest brands, fell well short of expectations. While the Tar Heels were 22-13 overall, they didn't have many résumé-building wins, finishing 1-12 in Quad 1 games. Even so, they are in the Big Dance as the final team in the field, earning a No. 11 seed in the First Four, where they will face San Diego State.
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