By: Brayton Boggs
After a promising start, the WVU men’s basketball season came to a devastating end when the team was excluded from the NCAA Tournament.
Not seeing West Virginia as one of the sixty-eight teams qualifying for the tournament came as an unexpected shock to the entire fanbase. The Mountaineers had composed a respectable résumé, which included nineteen overall victories and four wins against ranked opponents*. Additionally, the 111 bracketologists – those who are tasked with predicting the tournament field – all had West Virginia making the tournament. This was the first time that a team chosen by every expert was left out**.
Tanner Laughery, a student at WVU, was in utter disbelief that the Mountaineers were not “going dancing.”
“I was watching the selection show with friends to find out where we would be driving to watch our Mountaineers. The room went silent after we weren’t selected,” Laughery said. “It feels like we were robbed.”
What sparked even more controversy nationwide were the revelations concerning the selection process. The North Carolina Tar Heels (UNC) – a team positioned behind WVU in all major rankings – made the tournament as an 11 seed. It was discovered that North Carolina’s athletic director, Bubba Cunningham, is the selection committee chairman and would receive over one hundred thousand dollars with UNC making the tournament***.
Although Cunningham has publicly stated that he was absent from any discussions involving the Tar Heels, many people cite this conflict of interest as a corrupt scheme.
Isaac Arthur and Brycen Brown are two students at WVU and lifelong Mountaineer fans. They believe the integrity of the selection process was violated.
“While Cunningham may have been out of the room when the committee discussed North Carolina, it is extremely unlikely that he had zero influence as he is the committee chair and takes part in seeding discussions,” Arthur said.
Brown shares in the skepticism.
“Even though [Cunningham] did not make the final decision, there is no one stopping him to make a push while the committee debates seeding,” he said. “It is really disappointing.”
Patrick Morrisey, the governor of West Virginia, echoed these concerns and promised to initiate an investigation. The governor called on state Attorney General JB McCuskey to request a full report of the selection proceedings to ensure transparency while also examining possible “backroom deals” ****.
While Mountaineer fans were forced to watch the opening rounds of March Madness with a sour taste in their mouths, WVU stayed in the news. On March 18, head coach Darian DeVries accepted a deal to become the next coach for the Indiana Hoosiers. One week later, WVU announced the hiring of Ross Hodge. Hodge is a proven winner and coaches his players to be relentless defenders*****. Many fans hope that his arrival will restore the “Press Virginia” style of play popular under legendary coach Bob Huggins.
Despite missing out on the NCAA tournament, the month of March was filled with ‘madness’ for Mountaineer basketball as the team now sets its sights on the 2025-26 season.
Picture: Frustrated Mountaineer basketball fans question a foul call. Credits: https://www.dominionpost.com/2021/01/23/limited-spectators-will-be-allowed-at-wvu-coliseum/
THE PHAROS 
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