This is a screengrab from video of Gov. Patrick Morrisey (at podium) and Attorney General John 鈥淛B鈥 McCuskey (background) announce, on March 17, 2025 an investigation into the NCAA Division I Men鈥檚 Basketball Tournament selection process that kept the 性视界传媒 Mountaineers out of the 2025 tournament.
This is a screengrab from video of Gov. Patrick Morrisey (at podium) and Attorney General John 鈥淛B鈥 McCuskey (background) announce, on March 17, 2025 an investigation into the NCAA Division I Men鈥檚 Basketball Tournament selection process that kept the 性视界传媒 Mountaineers out of the 2025 tournament.
No question, the West Virginia University Mountaineers got hosed in the NCAA basketball tournament selection process. But the fact that Gov. Patrick Morrisey is getting involved is a bit much.
性视界传媒 was the first squad 鈥渙ut鈥 of the 68 teams chosen to vie for the men鈥檚 basketball national title (meaning, if there was one more spot, the Mountaineers would鈥檝e been the team filling it). 性视界传媒 went 19-13 overall and 11-11 in the Big 12, which is a bubble-team record. However, the Mountaineers had a lot of quality wins in an expanded and loaded conference. 性视界传媒鈥檚 program, players and fans are certainly justified in their anger and frustration at the selection process.
The decision looks even worse when considering the University of North Carolina, which went 22-13 on the season but 1-12 against quality competition, squeaked into the Big Dance during a season in which the school鈥檚 athletic director happened to be the head of the selection committee.
Unfortunately, this happens all the time, going way back to the expansion to 64 teams in the 1980s. There鈥檚 always a team or two that gets left out that should鈥檝e gotten in, and teams that get in that should鈥檝e been left out. It鈥檚 just the way it goes. And, no matter who is on the selection committee, a program like UNC 鈥 a traditional powerhouse 鈥 will always have an edge on other programs from large conferences that don鈥檛 carry that kind of legacy. Of course, in a lean year for a team like UNC, it doesn鈥檛 hurt to have the athletic director involved in deciding who鈥檚 in and who鈥檚 out.
Yet, Morrisey stood with West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey at a Monday news conference, calling for transparency and answers as to why 性视界传媒 got slighted. Morrisey should know better than anyone that those making the decisions are going to look to their own agenda first, transparency, fairness and process be damned.
Under a Republican supermajority since 2021, the state Legislature and other state leaders have essentially shut the public out when it鈥檚 come to critical decisions that affect West Virginians in much bigger ways than who makes it to the NCAA tournament.
On his first days in office, Morrisey issued a slew of executive orders and public statements that essentially bullied minorities, immigrants, public health officials and trans individuals. There was no transparency in that process; no consideration of fairness. Morrisey did it because it suited him and he could.
Guess what? Others can and do play that game all the time. As the old saying goes, if you don鈥檛 have a seat at the table, you鈥檙e on the menu.
