Perhaps the biggest surprise in this year’s 68-team field is how few there were.
Most of the 37 at-large teams expected to make the field did so and as expected.
No, it didn’t make those hopeful of defying the odds happy at places like Auburn, San Diego State or Indiana, the four teams selection committee members said were the last ones to fall short. But most recognized they entered championship week needing to win more games to avoid sealing their fate.
鈥淭here’s been a lot made about a weak bubble, the committee disagrees with this notion,” committee chairman Keith Gill said following the bracket release. “The bubble has teams capable of winning multiple games and, as always, there were some quality teams that just missed out on getting a bid.鈥�
Most bracketologists had Oklahoma, and San Diego State listed as the first three teams out of tourney. Indiana was typically listed in the next four out. Clearly, some of the missing teams believed they belonged.
Former Auburn coach turned broadcaster Bruce Pearl made no secret that he thought the Tigers, now coached by his son Steven, deserved one of the 37 at-large bids. Steven Pearl also lobbied for his team following a loss in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The Tigers were the only one of the top four teams left out to accept an NIT bid, where they were joined as 1 seeds by New Mexico, Tulsa, and Wake Forest.
鈥淲e deserve to be in the tournament,鈥� the younger Pearl said Thursday before acknowledging what he was doing. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my job to fight for my team. It鈥檚 my job to be my team鈥檚 advocate. It鈥檚 my job to speak about all the things that this group鈥檚 done.鈥�
Just how non-controversial were the selections?
During Gill’s 14-minute conference call with reporters, there were no questions about who didn’t make the field. Instead, he spent most of the time explaining how the committee determined the seeds, including how , the Mid-American Conference regular-season champion, ended up as the fourth and final team on the No. 11 line with a 31-1 record.
He said Miami was selected ahead of Texas, North Carolina State and SMU (its First Four opponent) and was not the last at-large team chosen.
In many cases, it seemed schools were already prepared for the inevitable.
Indiana, for instance, scheduled no availability with players or coaches even though coach Darian DeVries and his son, Tucker, endured the Selection Sunday heartbreak for a second consecutive year. The father-son tandem spent the past three seasons together at three different schools and were part of West Virginia’s team that was listed as the first team out last season.
New Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny offered his support to coach Porter Moser and promised to give him more resources to compete. Roughly 24 hours later, the Sooners learned they were the first team left out this year.
Auburn was second on the list, followed by 2023 NCAA Tournament runner-up and 2025-26 Mountain West regular-season runner-up San Diego State with the five-time national champion Hoosiers fourth.
鈥淎n underdog spirit will only take us so far,鈥� Denny said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my job to ensure that our resources match our expectations. We haven鈥檛 held up our end of that bargain. From NIL and staffing and beyond, we鈥檙e going to fix that.鈥�
Some unusual twists during championship week didn’t help the bubble teams. Miami’s surprisingly early loss in the MAC tourney coupled with an Atlantic 10 semifinal loss by regular-season league champ Saint Louis took two potential at-large bids away as the two projected one-bid leagues suddenly each had two teams int he field.
Cincinnati, another team thought to be on the bubble, announced Friday it had fired coach Wes Miller after five seasons. After Tuesday’s loss to Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, Virginia Tech used an X post to turn down a potential NIT invite.
鈥淕iven the current health status of the members of our roster, and the need for a number of our student-athletes to focus on recovery and preparation for their professional careers, we believe it is in the best interest of our players and the long-term direction of our program to conclude our season at this time,鈥� the post read. 鈥淲hile we respect the tradition and competitiveness of the NIT, the standard for our program remains clear. Our expectation is to compete in the NCAA Tournament.鈥�
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AP Sports Writers Cliff Brunt in Oklahoma City and Aaron Beard in Raleigh, North Carolina, also contributed to this report.
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