NCAA Basketball: Is the Selection Committee ruining college basketball?

A Growing Trend

Cinderellas may make the most compelling storylines, but they’re being left out of the Big Dance at an ever-increasing rate.

Current committee chairman Bruce Rasmussen was appointed to the Selection Committee in 2013. Since he began his tenure, an average of seven teams outside of the six major college basketball conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, PAC-12, SEC) have received at-large berths each year.

In the last three years that average has dropped to just over four.

This current iteration of the Selection Committee has slowly begun a transformation in deciding who makes it into the tournament. Mediocre teams from the major conferences are being favored over mid-major schools.

Just look at this year. Four teams (Alabama, Oklahoma, Syracuse, Texas) received at-large berths after finishing the regular season with a sub-.500 record in their conference.

If that’s not mediocre, I don’t know what is.

But they’re getting the nod over high-performing mid-major schools. Let’s say in theory that Loyola-Chicago lost during the MVC tournament. It’s a near certainty that they’d be left out, leaving one open at-large spot. Who’d have gotten it?

Baylor.

The committee released their first four teams left out of the tournament, and the first team left out was the Bears.

Another power conference team with a sub-.500 conference record.