As with every Selection Sunday, there are schools that get overlooked and don’t get slotted in the official bracket. And when it comes to the 2025 NCAA Tournament, West Virginia has the dubious distinction of being that team.
The tournament’s selection committee revealed that one of the biggest reasons for the Mountaineers’ omission was the fact that senior guard Tucker DeVries was potentially going to miss games. DeVries had shoulder surgery last month, although hasn’t played in a game since early December.
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Due to the committee’s reasoning, CBS Sports college basketball senior writer Matt Norlander made it clear that he was absolutely stunned to see West Virginia to miss out on the 68-team field.
“It’s an insane reason to keep a team out of a tournament,” Norlander said on the Eye On College Basketball podcast. “They have played more than 75% of their season without Tucker DeVries and they have beaten more Quad 1 teams than North Carolina by a wide margin. What are we doing here?”
“Every single bracket projection had them in,” Norlander continued. “It is a good thing that the committee is falling victim to groupthink. However, if 111 people from professional bracketologists to diehard hobbyists all have this team in the field and they’re not in, you messed up.”
DeVries only played in eight games during the 2024-25 season, so it’s hard to say that the former Drake star really contributed a massive amount to West Virginia’s success this season.
Instead of West Virginia making the NCAA Tournament, North Carolina ended up being selected to compete in a First Four game against San Diego State in a battle of No. 11 seeds. The Tar Heels had a 1-12 record in Quad 1 games during the season, far worse the Mountaineers’ 6-10 mark.
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