West Virginia Gov Patrick Morrisey calls for investigation into NCAA after Mountaineers' tournament snub

One authorities typical isn’t blessed with the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee leaving their squad out. 

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey stood astatine a lectern during a property league connected Monday with a motion that work "National Corrupt Athletic Association" aft the West Virginia Mountaineers didn’t marque it into the March Madness bracket. 

The Mountaineers were 1 of the teams connected the bubble, and portion immoderate believed that they had a beardown lawsuit to beryllium among the 68 teams selected, the committee thought different successful the end. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Patrick Morrisey (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

"West Virginia deserved to beryllium successful the NCAA Tournament," Morrisey said. "This is simply a miscarriage of justice, and robbery astatine the highest level."

Morrisey besides announced that helium has asked West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey to unfastened an probe into the NCAA enactment committee to spot if "backdoor deals" were made. 

The Mountaineers were a fringe tourney squad aft going 19-13 wide portion finishing 10-10 successful Big 12 league play. 

Many believed West Virginia was going to get into the tourney erstwhile the Big 12 Tournament began, arsenic they had the squad to marque a imaginable tally astatine the title. However, a astonishing nonaccomplishment to Colorado, who owned past spot successful the league during the regular season, changed each of that. 

NORTH CAROLINA'S NCAA TOURNAMENT BID LEADS TO SOCIAL MEDIA BACKLASH: ‘HOW DID THIS EVEN HAPPEN?’

Whether that was the deciding origin successful the Mountaineers being near disconnected the bracket wasn’t disclosed by the enactment committee, but the connection "snub" was rapidly thrown astir erstwhile that happened. 

The bracket results led caput manager Darian DeVries, arsenic good arsenic diversion manager Wren Baker, to merchandise statements connected the matter. DeVries said helium was "shocked" his squad didn’t person a accidental astatine competing for the nationalist title. 

"Obviously, we are highly shocked, saddened and disappointed with not being selected for the NCAA Tournament," the connection reads. "We powerfully judge that we person a resume that is worthy of an NCAA Tournament team. I americium incredibly arrogant of this squad and what they accomplished. They poured their hearts into this play and enactment each their corporate efforts into making the NCAA Tournament, and I judge they did that."

West Virginia Mountaineers manager Darian DeVries watches during the archetypal fractional against the Colorado Buffaloes astatine T-Mobile Center. (William Purnell-Imagn Images)

Baker added, "I can’t comprehend this squad being near out. Our resume was amended than respective teams successful the tract and it’s a unspeakable travesty that we weren’t included."

One of the main statistical backings for a squad is Quadrant 1 wins, which the enactment committee determines arsenic a crippled against a squad that is ranked successful the apical 30 of the NET (the NCAA’s valuation tool) astatine home, against a squad ranked 1-50 connected a neutral court, and 1-75 successful distant contests. 

West Virginia had six wins successful Quad 1 games, portion North Carolina, a squad galore had issues with making the tournament, went 1-12 successful those games. The Mountaineers besides had wins implicit 4 ranked teams this season, including at-the-time No. 2 Iowa State, No. 3 Gonzaga (on a neutral court) and No. 7 Kansas. 

Their 3 wins implicit AP apical 10 teams is the astir successful the Big 12 this season. 

So, Morrisey called the dismissal of the Mountaineers "ridiculous" and "outrageous" during an interrogation with Newsmax.

Patrick Morrisey (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He besides suggested that, portion serving arsenic the state’s lawyer general, a palmy suit against the NCAA successful the past could’ve led to the snub. 

"Is this retribution?" helium said, referencing the suit helium had with the governing assemblage wherever helium challenged transportation rules successfully successful 2024. "We’re going to person to get to the bottommost of that."

UNC’s diversion director, Bubba Cunningham, is besides the seat of the enactment committee. He said Sunday, aft the bracket had been announced, that helium wasn’t successful the country for the determination to fto the Tar Heels successful arsenic the last squad successful the field. 

Instead, helium deferred to vice seat Keith Gill, who gave an mentation arsenic to however the Tar Heels got in.

Patrick Morrisey (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"Our policies necessitate the AD of immoderate schoolhouse to recuse themselves and really permission the country for those discussions. And they're not allowed to enactment successful immoderate ballot arsenic well. ... We voted successful 4 teams successful the tract connected Saturday night, and we had a contingency vote.

"The contingency vote, that was the past squad successful the field. And it was based connected Memphis-UAB. If Memphis won that game, past that was going to escaped up a spot successful the tourney and that was going to beryllium North Carolina."

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports sum connected X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.