THIS IS AN ARTICLE, by Luke Maiers.

Every year after the field of 68 teams has been filled for the NCAA Tournament there is outrage over seeding, who got in, and who didn’t get in. This season is no different. The two biggest blemishes this season for the Committee was the seeding of the Wichita State and the fact that Vanderbilt made the tournament.

The Shockers have had another amazing year up to this point. They notched 30 wins, and only lost one game in conference play. The one thing that probably held them up was their record against quality teams in non-conference. WSU had plenty of opportunities, but they just couldn’t capitalize in games against Louisville, Michigan State, and Oklahoma State. Those are the types of losses that can kill a team when March rolls around. With all of that being said, HOW IN THE HELL DOES A 30 WIN TEAM WHO HAS MADE THE FINAL FOUR IN THE PAST ONLY GET A TEN SEED?

Greg Marshall has proven in the past that he is capable of taking a non-power five school and doing some magical stuff with that squad. This situation resembles the injustice that occurred in the 2014 NCAA Tournament when the Shockers were awarded a number one seed after they went undefeated. The thing that was corrupt about that situation was that they had to play the under-seeded Kentucky team in the next round. They would eventually lose that matchup against the Wildcats and for whatever reason the Committee likes to bully this school in particular.

Next up is the abomination that is Vanderbilt getting selected to the field. I had to wait to cool down to write about this topic because never in my wildest dreams could I have ever thought that a 15-loss SEC team would make the dance. But it happened. The only thing that got this team in was their three wins over the Florida Gators, but this is not that great of an accomplishment. The Gators have struggled and are the definition of inconsistency this year, yet somehow they managed to be pretty decent. They also beat an Iowa State team who was struggling at the time that the teams played.

Aside from these instances, they played horrible in every other statement game they had. Marquette, Minnesota, Butler, Middle Tennessee, and Dayton are all teams that made the field but Vandy couldn’t win any of these games. If you were to say that a 15-loss team from the ACC made the field, I would have less of a problem with it. The SEC is trash outside of Kentucky, so why in God’s green earth should Vandy be let in? I can not see one reason as to why this is a rational move by the Committee.

By doing this, teams like Illinois State, Syracuse, and Iowa missed out and that is agonizing to think about. Illinois State’s coach, Dan Muller has made his feelings known about his team missing the field.

There is no other way to put the selections this year other than miserable. A 15-loss SEC team should never make the Tournament and Wichita State has to do something to gain respect. I’m not sure how the Shockers will do that but they have to do something, otherwise they will keep getting bullied by the Committee. The way the tournament selection is done now needs to change.