The West Virginia Mountaineers missing out on the NCAA Tournament has been arguably the biggest takeaway from Selection Sunday, with countless media members criticizing the Selection Committee.
WVU’s snub has angered far more than just those in the sports world. West Virginia governor Patrick Morrisey threatened legal action Monday against the NCAA Selection Committee for the decision. And that news prompted ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas to clap back at the governor, saying “maybe you should have won more games.”
Morrisey held held a press conference to discuss the NCAA’s decision. Right away, it became evident he was convinced there was some sort of collusion involved in this decision, coming to the press conference with a sign on his podium that mocked the full name of the NCAA, reading “National Corrupt Athletic Association” instead of National Collegiate Athletic Association.
“West Virginia deserved to be in the NCAA Tournament,” Morrisey said. “This is a miscarriage of justice, and robbery at the highest level.”
Additionally, Morrisey shared how he had already asked West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey to open an investigation into the NCAA selection committee to find out whether any “backdoor deals” were made.
Only time will tell whether this investigation ever happens or if there is indeed any evidence of wrongdoing. But those who are conspiracy theorists have already pointed to the fact that North Carolina Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham chaired the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee this year. And North Carolina got the final at-large big over West Virginia.
Cunningham cleared this up on the CBS Selection Show after the brackets were revealed, outlining how, per NCAA policy, he was not in the room whenever North Carolina was discussed by the rest of the Selection Committee.
North Carolina AD UNC — and Chairman of the Selection Committee — Bubba Cunningham on the Tar Heels being selected to the NCAA Tournament:
“I was not in the room for any of that.” #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/u2xf0UDPG1 https://t.co/cOZ6dcnBdO
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 16, 2025
Whether you believe Cunningham had any influence on the Selection Committee’s decision or not, the choice to put in North Carolina over West Virginia specifically has been met with significant backlash.
Bilas shared his opinion on UNC receiving the final at-large bid, saying that one of the bubble teams such as Indiana, West Virginia, or Ohio State should have gotten in over North Carolina.
“I think I’m like most everyone else,” said Bilas in a video shared on X. “I was surprised to see North Carolina make it into the field as an at-large. I expected that they were going to be right there at the bubble. It may be a difficult decision. But I figured teams like Texas or West Virginia, Ohio State, or Indiana would at least go in first. North Carolina played a hellacious schedule but they just didn’t win enough against it relative to the other teams at the end of the line.
“There’s always been this mantra with the NCAA Tournament of ‘Who did you play? Who did you beat?’ No discussion about who North Carolina played. They played a great schedule. But did they beat enough teams relative to the other teams at the end of the line? I think the answer was probably no.”
What to make of UNC getting into the NCAA Tournament field as an at-large: pic.twitter.com/hvi2MOY662
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) March 18, 2025
While Bilas doesn’t think North Carolina should have been included in the tournament, that also doesn’t mean that he believes there was any collusion involved to get the Tar Heels into the field.
Bilas would go on to send a message directly to Morrisey, labeling any sort of legal action against the NCAA Selection Committee as “silly.”
“There’s one thing that’s a little bit bothersome,” Bilas said. “I think for West Virginia, complain all you want, make your case. Let’s talk about whether the system is right. Whether we should make changes and all that stuff. But this idea about a lawsuit against the NCAA Selection Committee is really kinda silly.
“I wish I were the judge of that thing. Because one of the questions I would ask the plaintiff is… ‘How many games did you play? And how many of those games did you win?’ Well, if you don’t want to be at the end of the line having the committee decide that, maybe you should have won more games. Case dismissed.”
Clearly, Bilas believes that while the NCAA may have made the wrong decision to let North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, it is simply just a wrong decision without any other motives at hand.
