Boise State Has Gut-Wrenching Reaction To Being Placed In The First Four Of The NCAA Tournament

While 28-6 Indiana State being completely left out of the NCAA Tournament was the shocker of Selection Sunday, perhaps the second-most egregious move involved Boise State being given a No. 10 seed to play in the First Four.

The Broncos put together a 22-10 campaign, but fell to New Mexico in their opening game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament. While that loss certainly didn't help Boise's cause, many believed it was still comfortably into the NCAA Tournament, but the committee clearly had a different point of view.

The Broncos were handed a 10 seed and will take on fellow 10 seed Colorado in a First Four matchup on Wednesday night. The other play-in game will be between 10 seeds Colorado State and Virginia.

Cameras were in the room to catch the reaction from Boise State as it learned its tournament fate, and to say the entire room had every ounce of oxygen taken out of it when that No. 10 flashed on the screen would be an understatement.

There were audible gasps, and not the good kind.

KenPom Rankings Tell The Story

When looking at the KenPom rankings, Boise being upset about receiving a 10-seed is (somewhat) warranted.

The Broncos finished the year ranked 39th in KenPom, with Colorado State finishing a spot ahead of them at 38th. The other two play-in teams, Virginia and Colorado, are two very different cases.

Somehow, someway Virginia snuck in as a 10 seed despite finishing 69th in KenPom. 

Colorado has the case for being the most upset about being placed in the First Four as it finished the year ranked 26th in KenPom. 

Each year the entire college basketball world - teams, media, and fans - scream and shout about improper seeding. This year is no different, but it's rare we get the ‘aw shucks’ reaction from a team that actually does make the field like we did with Boise State on Sunday.