Vanderbilt was ranked 81st in the NET, 80th in KenPom. They were 5-11 in Quad 1 games, had two Quad 3 losses and a Quad 4 loss (at home to Grambling State!). The vast majority of their wins were single digit ones, including against a lot of *really* bad teams. They just weren't good all year. Beating a mediocre Kentucky team twice in ten days and catching Tennessee after their nightmare skid began doesn't really move the needle for me.

If anything, I would've gone Rutgers over Nevada. Wins at Purdue, at Penn State, at Northwestern-- massive road wins that show you can beat the best, those are always teams I want to go to bat for. At 35th, Rutgers is the highest rated team in KenPom to not make the dance. That said? They have four Quad 3 losses. Like... you can't do that if you want me to think you were snubbed. Nevada has *one* win away from home against Top 90 opponents, against New Mexico, and they have two Quad 3 losses-- they probably shouldn't have been in either. And they'd be an underdog to Rutgers on a neutral floor.

But really, this is where I'd take my soapbox to advocate for getting rid of the First Four. Pitt, Mississippi State, Nevada, Arizona State-- none of these teams are *really* good enough for the dance imo.

The only time a team is *really* snubbed is when they win a Saturday conference tournament game, barely lose the championship on Sunday, and don't get in because the tournament pretty openly just doesn't consider the Saturday and Sunday games when it comes to seeding. Like, Texas A&M last year had a decent argument to be called a "snub"... but even then, they lost, like, 7 games in a row in conference play. It's just hard to feel good about your chances when that happens.

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