Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams began his post-game press conference Tuesday night with a statement lasting almost eight minutes in which he denounced Aggie’s elimination from the NCAA Tournament as “defying logic”.
Williams’ comments followed his team’s 74–62 victory over Alcorn State in the first round of the NIT, in which the Aggies finished first as one of the first four teams to be eliminated from the NCAA with 68 teams. tournament grid.
“We were and remain completely devastated and heartbroken,” Williams said. “Sad is the wrong word because it doesn’t fully express the totality of our emotions.”
Coach Williams’ opening statement following his victory over Alcorn State tonight: pic.twitter.com/I4vKIBOr4Z
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) March 16, 2022
Texas A&M (24–12) finished the season with a bang, breaking into the SEC tournament with wins over Florida, fourth at Auburn, and 15th at Arkansas to reach their first conference championship game, where the Aggies lost to Tennessee. 65-50. With three wins in Tampa, Florida – part of a seven-win streak – Texas A&M was expected to make it to the NCAA Tournament.
After the SEC tournament, Williams said he spent hours studying the data and trying to understand “why those 12 wins in SEC competition alone weren’t enough” while knowing that the four teams in the SEC that won more than the Aggies were awarded 4th seed or above. He said his research also focused on the selection committee itself: its members, how they are appointed—”in other words, which committee did the committee choose?” – their career path, frequency of meetings and topics for discussion.
“I wanted to make sure I looked at it all from their point of view so I could better understand why what we did this season wasn’t enough. I wanted this understanding in order to have an explanation for our players, their parents. and coaches, and be accountable in your relationship with each of them,” Williams explained.
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“After studying all this continuously over the past two days and looking at it from all angles,” he continued, “it defies logic that we are not in the NCAA Tournament.”
Williams said that despite “repeated pleas”, those above him did not provide him with any specific data – only general information, as a result of which he “lost all respect and faith in the system and those who are in it.”
“What happened is wrong,” Williams said.
Williams became emotional at times reading his statement, especially when he mentioned the players who chose to stay at Texas A&M, with their extra year of eligibility granted due to the pandemic.
“The process is clearly not perfect, and it is clear that there is much more unseen and unknown involved in the selection of the 36 expanded teams than what has become known to the public,” Williams said in conclusion of his statement. “Until there is full transparency and accountability, the system will remain broken and this will continue.”
Williams also brought with him a summary of his research, of which he offered copies to reporters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.