As the 2025 NCAA tournament bracket was revealed on Sunday, there were bound to be a few notable exclusions. One of these was West Virginia, who fell just short of the tournament as the first team out.
With a 19-13 record, and a 10-10 Big 12 record, the Mountaineers were quickly viewed as one of the tournament’s biggest snubs. West Virginia seems to agree, with the Mountaineers publicly stating they believe they deserved a berth in the tourney.
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A couple of hours after the bracket was announced, West Virginia posted a statement from head coach Darian DeVries on social media addressing the snub.
“Obviously, we are extremely shocked, saddened and disappointed with not being selected for the NCAA Tournament. We strongly believe that we have a résumé that is worthy of an NCAA Tournament team,” DeVries said. “I am incredibly proud of this team and what they accomplished. They poured their hearts into this season and put all their collective efforts into making the NCAA tournament, and I believe they did that.”
Soon after the snub, West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker released a statement on social media, saying he was “heartbroken.” He posted the statement alongside a list of the Mountaineers’ accolades from the season, which included six wins over Quad 1 teams and four wins over ranked teams, including then-No. 2 Iowa State and then-No. 3 Gonzaga.
“I can’t comprehend this team being left out. Our résumé was better than several teams in the field and it’s a terrible travesty that we weren’t included,” Baker wrote.
West Virginia was passed over in the tournament in favor of North Carolina, which made the tournament as the last at-large team in the field.
UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham is the chair of the selection committee, prompting some to raise eyebrows at the Tar Heels’ inclusion. Cunningham and Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill, who is the committee’s vice chair, told CBS that Cunningham was not in the room when UNC was being discussed, as per the committee’s policy.
Gill said the Tar Heels would not have made the tournament if UAB had beaten Memphis in the AAC championship game on Sunday.
Still, the snub is a tough blow for West Virginia, with many getting the sense that the committee made the wrong choice. After the selection show, Cunningham cited a season-ending injury for Mountaineers guard Tucker DeVries — the coach’s son — as part of the reasoning for leaving West Virginia out. But DeVries played in only eight games before suffering the injury in December. He underwent shoulder surgery last month.
Instead, UNC will be the ones going dancing, playing San Diego State in a First Four game on Tuesday for the No. 11 seed. West Virginia, meanwhile, will be staying home.
