Texas A&M was a bit of a surprise snub when the men’s NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed Sunday. On Tuesday, Aggies men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams delivered an emotional, nearly eight-minute long statement decrying the selection committee’s decision to not select his team for the field of 68.
“We were and are completely devastated and heartbroken,” Williams said after his team’s win over Alcorn State in the opening round of the NIT. “Sad is the wrong word, because it doesn’t completely express the totality of our emotions.”
Texas A&M (24-12) had won seven straight games before falling to Tennessee, 65-60, in the Southeastern Conference championship game. The Aggies knocked off Alabama on the road late in the regular season before dispatching Auburn and Arkansas in the SEC tournament. All those squads are participating in March Madness.
But the Aggies are not.
Williams said that since the team’s return from the SEC tournament he has “spent all my waking hours trying to better understand the data on how (our) 12 SEC competition-only wins weren’t enough.” He also said he dug into how the selection committee was put together, who was on the committee and what data they look at and what they discuss in the hopes of understanding how Texas A&M fell short.
“I wanted this understanding so I could have an explanation for our players, their parents, and coaches and be accountable in my relationship with each of them,” Williams said.
Williams said he turned off his…
