One after another, images of exhilaration flashed across the screen, images of players and coaches celebrating a moment they’ve dreamed about their entire lives.
On other campuses, teams like Colorado State and Temple and Richmond and Old Dominion were silent, quietly trying to figure out how they could be left out of the NCAA Tournament, snubbed in favor of high-profile teams such as UCLA and Indiana.
The Bruins (20-13), who earned an 11-seed and somehow avoided going to Dayton for the first round, may be the most storied team in the nation, but appeared to be headed to the NIT, having gone 4-12 on the road and 2-8 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI this season.
Selection Committee chairman Scott Barnes called it “one of the tougher decisions we had to make,” citing strength of schedule as a key factor, even though it’s a factor mid-major teams can’t control since their conferences are inherently weaker.
Colorado State (27-6) is ranked 18 spots higher than UCLA in the RPI, the Rams’ ranking of No. 30 making them the first team in the top 30 to be left out of the tournament since it expanded to 68 teams (2011).
Afterward, an emotional Larry Eustachy, Colorado State’s coach, would not take questions from the media about the team’s exclusion, apologizing that he did not want to say something he would regret.
“The disappointment is you got 12 players in there crying,” said Eustachy, who reportedly missed out on a $200,000 bonus he would have received had the Rams made the field. “We’re certainly one of the best 68 teams in the country. Obviously, the committee didn’t feel that way.
“I’ve got a team I got to console. That’s what it’s all about. … They’re devastated. And they should be. They’re certainly an NCAA Tournament team.”
Colorado State was one of multiple teams with a legitimate claim, with Barnes saying Temple was the last team left out, bumped from the brackets after Wyoming unexpectedly beat San Diego State in Saturday’s Mountain West Championship.
The Owls had the most impressive win of any bubble team, blowing out No. 2 seed Kansas, and also defeating No. 8 Cincinnati, but Temple missed on three opportunities to defeat American Conference champion SMU. The AAC, which features last year’s national champion (UConn), only received two bids to the tournament.