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In the aftermath of another dominant performance by the UConn Huskies in the NCAA Tournament, head coach Dan Hurley didn’t mince words regarding what he perceives as the NCAA Selection Committee’s snub of the Big East.
“Obviously, the mistake was made. It sucks,” Dan Hurley said following the Big East starting 6-0 in the NCAA tournament.
“Just the quality of the league; look what we’ve done in non-conference games,” Hurley said, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. “I don’t know what our record is the last two years, non-conference [multi-team events], NCAA tournament, and Seton Hall beat us by 15. You know, we’ve won eight straight in this tournament, all by significant margins, and they were good enough to beat us and they were good enough to beat Marquette.”
“And there should have been five or six Big East teams in this tournament. You’ve seen how other leagues that got the bids that our league deserved has underperformed,” said Hurley without naming other schools or conferences.
The Big East Snub
Hurley’s sentiments that the Big East Conference was snubbed echoed across the conference, with Seton Hall, St. John’s, and Providence all feeling aggrieved by their exclusion from the tournament despite strong resumes. Collectively, these teams amassed 29 Quad 1 and Quad 2 wins, including victories over the top teams in the conference. However, their efforts were insufficient to secure their spots in the field of 68. The peculiar point is that the committee ranked the three Big East teams that did make the tournament all in the top 10 of the tournament rankings.
UConn was ranked No. 1 overall, Marquette was ranked No. 7, and Creighton started the tournament ranked No. 10 overall. Every team in the top 10 has reached the Sweet 16. Many in the Big East argue that if the three best teams in the Big East are ranked in the top ten, how could they not have another team ranked in the remaining 58?
Coach Hurley’s frustration is shared by many within the conference, with St. John’s notably missing out despite being the highest-ranked team in the KenPom ratings (25) to miss the tournament. Seton Hall and Providence, while boasting impressive victories, fell short of the committee’s criteria, leaving them on the outside looking in. Seton Hall went 13-7 in the Big East and finished 22-12 overall. Just one Big East win shy of Creighton, the No. 10 overall seed.
The Big East Does Its Talking on the Court
While the Big East found itself underrepresented in the NCAA Tournament, it has responded emphatically on the court. Despite only three teams from the conference making the cut, all three have collectively advanced to the Sweet 16, boasting a perfect 6-0 record.
Connecticut, the overall No. 1 seed, set the tone with a commanding 91-52 victory over Stetson in their opener and a convincing 75-58 victory over Northwestern in the round of 32. Joining them in the second weekend are Creighton and Marquette, who overcame second-round challenges to keep the Big East flag flying high. Marquette beat Colorado 81-77 to advance, and Creighton needed double OT to beat Oregon 86-73 to advance to the Sweet 16.
It’s as if the committee saw the Big East as mid-major because it received mid-major treatment. But this conference had three teams in last year’s Sweet 16 and is the defending national champion. It has also won three of the last seven men’s national basketball titles.
Despite the Mountain West Conference sending a robust six teams to the tournament, only fifth-seeded San Diego State remained in contention late Sunday night. Similarly, the SEC faced a lackluster performance, posting a 5-6 record in the first two rounds, with just two of its eight teams progressing to the Sweet 16. Even the typically dominant Big 12 conference experienced a modest showing, with only two teams advancing past the initial rounds.
Below is the breakdown of each conference with multiple teams and their record, including the first four games.
| CONFERENCE | RECORD | WIN PCT% |
|---|---|---|
| ACC | 8-1 | .889 |
| Atlantic 10 | 2-2 | .500 |
| American | 0-2 | .000 |
| Big 12 | 7-6 | .538 |
| Big East | 6-0 | 1.000 |
| Big Ten | 6-4 | .600 |
| Mountain West | 4-5 | .444 |
| Pac-12 | 6-3 | .667 |
| SEC | 5-6 | .454 |
| West Coast | 2-1 | .667 |
Big East Commissioner Comments On Tournament Committee
Big East commissioner Val Ackerman acknowledged the disappointment but refrained from criticizing the selection process, emphasizing the conference’s respect for the committee’s decisions. Despite the setbacks, Ackerman remained proud of the conference’s strength and the message being sent by the teams still competing in the tournament.
“I think the teams that are left are finding a way to send a bit of a message here: That the Big East is one of the elite basketball conferences in the country, and we play at the highest level,” Big East commissioner Val Ackerman said at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where Uconn played its first two tournament games.
“We’ve been in four Final Fours since 2016, we’ve got the overall No. 1 seed, we have a two-seed in Marquette and a three-seed in Creighton, and that says a lot about the strength of our league. Would it have been better to get a few more teams in? Yes, absolutely, but that’s not the way the cookie crumbled this year. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”
While the snubs may sting, the Big East’s tournament performance is a powerful reminder of the conference’s caliber and competitiveness on the national stage. For a conference with the defending national champion and three teams sitting in the Sweet 16, the Big East is still very well represented.
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