Late Saturday night, less than 18 hours before the unveiling of this year’s bracket, a veteran member of the NCAA men’s tournament selection committee revealed how tough it has been to choose among this year’s bubble teams.
“This year is harder than all my previous years combined,” Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard wrote on X. “Just gut-wrenching knowing some very good teams will unfortunately not be dancing.”
This was the rare year in college basketball when there were more deserving NCAA tournament bubble teams than spots in the field of 68. Bubble teams from across the country made valiant last-gasp charges at the same time as a handful of bid-stealers came from nowhere to win their conference tournaments and shrink the number of available at-large spots.