Announcers Blast March Madness Tournament After Team's Bad Performance
Men and women college basketball players from around the country come together every spring for the annual NCAA tournament, known commonly as March Madness. The NCAA selection committee chooses which teams participate in the championship and which ones don't, and the results of one recent matchup had some sports commentators questioning those decisions.
The University of Virginia Cavaliers lost by more than 20 points to the Colorado State University Rams on March 19, and CBS Sports Network commentator and former NBA player Wally Szczerbiak noted that Mountain West Conference schools like Colorado State haven't been properly recognized for their accomplishments this season.
"This performance matters by Virginia," he said of the Cavaliers' loss. "Mountain West, we've been saying, has been completely under-seeded. And the way you perform in this tournament, it puts the committee on notice."
"They made a mistake putting Virginia into the NCAA tournament," he continued. "Every bracketologist was saying it. They go out and play like this. It's unwatchable basketball the way they played today on national TV."
Szczerbiak went on to mention schools that he believed deserve to be in the March Madness tournament but aren't.
"St. John's [University] is sitting there like 'We've won six out of seven. We're scoring 90 points a game playing great basketball down the stretch in the Big East. Seton Hall beat Marquette and UConn. They're sitting at home or in the [National Invitation Tournament]. They should be in this NCAA tournament. Pitt should be in this NCAA tournament also."
"The committee made a big mistake by putting this team in the NCAA tournament this year," Szczerbiak concluded. "And it’s nothing against [Virginia coach] Tony Bennett. He’s a great national championship-winning coach, but his team did not belong on this floor with Colorado State."
"[The committee] made a mistake putting Virginia into the NCAA Tournament. Every bracketologist was saying it. They go out and play like this. It's unwatchable basketball the way they played today on national TV."
— CBS Sports College Basketball ???? (@CBSSportsCBB) March 20, 2024
—@wallyball pic.twitter.com/QwfrZgz86X
Another co-host suggested that the team might just not have the sparkle they once did. There's a question of whether Virginia basketball, the way they play, maybe it's outdated."
If your bracket isn't doing so well, in Szczerbiak's eyes, you might have been set up to fail.