Mitchell Kennedy

Quality wins and Edwards availability were deciding factors for SMU being the last team in the field! Wow!

Committee chairman Keith Gill said SMU was the last team in because it had better quality wins than Oklahoma or Auburn. SMU wins vs. NCAA field with seeds 6. UNC 6. Louisville 10. Texas A&M Auburn 1. Florida 4. Arkansas 5. St. John's 7. Kentucky 11. Texas 11. NC State 15. Queens Oklahoma 5. Vanderbilt 8. Georgia 10. Missouri 10. Texas A&M 11. Texas

In this interview on the Selection Show, chair Keith Gill indicated that the committee's belief that BJ Edwards would be available for the NCAA Tournament tipped the balance to make SMU the last team selected. The Mustangs lost four of their last five games while Edwards was injured. SMU told the committee and the public that Edwards would be available for the NCAA Tournament. Now we learn that he will not play tonight vs. Miami (Ohio). I understand that injuries and availability can be an inexact science, so we should not be quick to assign motives. But it is highly unusual for an injury to have this much consequence on selection, only to have the information prove to be incorrect. There needs to be a full accounting as to what happened and why, and how much the information that SMU provided to the committee was a factor in this decision. It goes directly to the integrity of the process. I hope this question will be further addressed and clarified in the coming days. In the meantime, I hope we get a great game!

In this interview on the Selection Show, chair Keith Gill indicated that the committee's belief that BJ Edwards would be available for the NCAA Tournament tipped the balance to make SMU the last team selected. The Mustangs lost four of their last five games while Edwards was injured. SMU told the committee and the public that Edwards would be available for the NCAA Tournament. Now we learn that he will not play tonight vs. Miami (Ohio). I understand that injuries and availability can be an inexact science, so we should not be quick to assign motives. But it is highly unusual for an injury to have this much consequence on selection, only to have the information prove to be incorrect. There needs to be a full accounting as to what happened and why, and how much the information that SMU provided to the committee was a factor in this decision. It goes directly to the integrity of the process. I hope this question will be further addressed and clarified in the coming days. In the meantime, I hope we get a great game!