Dick Vitale Names His Biggest Snub From The NCAA Tournament

Unfortunately, the NCAA Tournament can only accommodate so many teams. There are bound to be schools feeling left out.

To many observers, Louisville was the most obvious snub this year. But ESPN’s Dick Vitale singled out a mid-major powerhouse as his team that got unfairly cast aside.

Belmont, which won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship, finished 26-4 overall. However, the Bruins lost to Morehead State in their conference title game, effectively ending their NCAA Tournament chances.

On ESPN following the unveiling of the bracket, Vitale took up for Belmont, which he felt was deserving of a bid because of their record, even if they didn’t play in a major conference.

“There’s one team I thought should have been in this field and is not, and that’s Belmont out of the Ohio Valley,” Vitale said, via 247Sports. “Now, I know people are screaming, yelling saying, ‘Who did they play?’ Well, they play whoever’s in front of them. They don’t get opportunities to play against teams where you can get Quad 1 wins. If you roll the dice enough and you’re in one of those big leagues, you’re going to get some wins. Belmont, they won 26 games. That’s the most as anybody in the field. Twenty-six was what Gonzaga won. So, I thought Belmont really should have been part of this tournament.”

It’s a fair argument, and honestly, Belmont probably could beat a good chunk of the at-large teams that made the field. However, the committee relies heavily on factors like the NET rating and a team’s performance against quality opponents (Quad 1, Quad 2, etc.).

As long as that is the case, it is bound to be bad news for teams like the Bruins.

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