The inclusion of the Virginia Cavaliers in the NCAA Tournament has sparked an intense debate among both analysts and fans. Notably, Virginia was pitted against Colorado State at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. On one hand, some argued in favor of their strong defense and experienced roster making them worthy contenders, while on the other hand, their consistency and the ability to handle pressure is being highly questioned.

Notably, the Cavaliers finished their regular season with a 23-11 overall record, including a 13-7 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). They did make it to the ACC title tournament, however, faced a 65-73 defeat by the NC State Wolfpack. Now after much deliberation, let’s look at how things have been with them in their First Four matchup.

Virginia Cavaliers stuck in a pickle

After the Cavaliers’ devastating defeat, analysts have gone wild on the Selection Committee after this game. In a recent video shared by CBS Sports stating, “This performance matters by Virginia, I mean Mountain West completely blew them off the floor. Mountain West, we’ve been saying has been completely underseeded, and the way you perform in this tournament.”

“It puts the committee on notice. They made a mistake putting Virginia into the NCAA Tournament. Every bracketologist was saying it. They go out and play like this. It’s unwatchable basketball the way they play today on national TV.”

Notably, Virginia’s gameplay lacked the swiftness and efficiency required to compete in the NCAA Tournament, except for the Cavaliers’ Jordan Minor whose crossover moves did manage to stun the Rams for a bit. Reece Beekman, the team’s leading scorer could hoop only 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. In the regular season, Beekman averaged 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game.

READ MORE: Can Marquette Win The March Madness?

In the game, Jordan Minor could score only 7 points and 2 rebounds. Meanwhile, Issac McKneely contributed 6 points and 2 rebounds, along with Ryan Dunn with 5 points and 5 rebounds. The Cavaliers are known for their slow-paced defense that can exhaust their opponents, however, this time the tables got turned on them in the First Four.

Analysts’ extended opinion

Pressing on the subject of the debate, the analysts gave some added insights based on their observation of other teams like Saint Johns and Seton Hall, “Saint Johns is sitting there like, we’ve won 6 out of 7, we’re scoring 90 points a game, playing great basketball down the stretch in the Big East. Seton Hall beat Marquette and UConn. They’re sitting at home or in the NIT, they should be in this NCAA Tournament.”

“Pitt should be in this NCAA Tournament. Also, the committee made a big mistake by putting this team in the NCAA Tournament this year. And, it’s nothing against Tony Bennett, he is a great national championship-winning coach, but his team did not belong in this floor with Colorado State,” he added.

At the end of the day, history repeated itself for the Cavaliers as in their last year’s feat in the NCAA Tournament as they had faced defeat in the first round itself.