2021 NCAA Tournament: Louisville, Saint Louis Among Five Biggest Snubs

Selection Sunday ahead of the NCAA Tournament was made a whole lot different for bubble teams based on results one day prior.

The Oregon State Beavers and Georgetown Hoyas, specifically, stole a pair of at-large bids from those at the bottom of the at-large pool and forced two others into the First Four. The Beavers did so with a Pac-12 upset over the Colorado Buffaloes while the Hoyas earned a dominant win to claim Big East Tournament over Creighton Bluejays.

The Houston Cougars, thankfully for those on the bubble, defeated Cincinnati Bearcats in the American Athletic Conference to make sure another at-large bid was not stolen. But the damage had been done.

The 68-team NCAA Tournament bracket featured a few snubs due those at-large bids being taken away.

Selection Sunday Live Tracker: Follow Results Of 2021 Bracket Selection

Mar 14, 2021

Here are five teams who were snubbed on Selection Sunday:

Louisville Cardinals
Head coach Chris Mack and the Louisville Cardinals had their tournament aspirations hindered earlier this season with a nearly three-week absence because of COVID-19. And they paid the ultimate price Sunday. The Cardinals were 13-7 on the season with a perfect 6-0 record against Quad 2 opponents. However, their Quad 1 Ranking (used to describe good wins) was a brutal 1-6. They weren’t helped by a 14-point, first-round loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament, either.

Saint Louis Billikens
Saint Louis won seven of their first eight games, including victories over No. 8 LSU and North Carolina State and won seven of their final 10. Like Louisville, though, positive COVID-19 tests forced the team to pause for a month, and their immediate return to the floor was followed up with bad losses to Dayton and La Salle. Those losses — considered Q3 and Q4 defeats — likely were what did the 14-6 Billikens in.

Colorado State Rams
The 18-6 Rams will look back on their Mountain West semifinal loss to Utah State as the biggest reason they were left out of the tournament. Colorado State tallied a 2-4 Quad 1 record, but their final impression against Utah State allowed the Aggies to earn the No. 11 seed. The Rams missed out after splitting with league rivals San Diego State — No. 6 in Midwest — and Boise State.

Ole Miss Rebels
The 16-11 Rebels won eight of their final 11 games with verdicts over Tennessee — No. 5 seed in midwest — and Auburn. All told, Ole Miss recorded three Quad 1 wins in eight contests. However, a loss in the SEC quarterfinals to LSU — No. 8 seed in East — may have been the knockout punch.

Belmont Bruins
The 26-4 Bruins looked poised to run through the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, as they did during the regular season. Still, a one-sided loss to Morehead State in the conference championship likely kept Belmont from the dancing. Belmont, who doesn’t get the chance to earn Quad 1 wins, proved again how mid-major programs rarely get at-large bids.

Those teams being left out made way for bubble teams like Utah State, Syracuse, UCLA, Drake and Wichita State to earn a trip to the tournament.

The 20-8 Utah State Aggies earned the No. 11 seed in the South Bracket. The 16-9 Syracuse Orange were given the No. 11 seed in the Midwest bracket.

The 17-9 UCLA Bruins are among the First Four with a clash against the 15-12 Michigan State Spartans for the No. 11 seed in the East. The 16-5 Wichita State Shockers and 25-4 Drake Bulldogs, meanwhile, also are in the First Four competing for the No. 11 seed in the West Region.