Ok, so regardless of what they've done so far in the NCAA tournament en route to a Final Four bid, maybe the Va. Commonwealth Rams might not have deserved to be in the tournament over teams like the Colorado Buffaloes, Virginia Tech Hokies and Alabama Crimson Tide based on regular season results. But look at it this way. If anyone is seeded that far down and fighting for 11/12 seeds to get into the tournament, your resume clearly isn't good enough to be guaranteed any spot. There's a reason they call it the bubble--you want to make sure you're in the dance, you don't stick inside something that's bound to pop over time.
So it's unsurprising that karma went up and bit the ESPN college basketball experts in the butt when they went out and straight up trashed VCU, their players, their resume for getting into the NCAA tournament over other teams they felt were more deserving. I'm sure it's just a coincidence that all the teams they extolled for the First Four bids are all in conferences that ESPN has lengthy TV contracts with...
Naturally, VCU went on and beat a Pac-10, Big East, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 team on their way to the Final Four. Never underestimate the power of sports "experts" to be so utterly wrong in the certainty of their opinions.
The damning video after the jump.
Dick Vitale Digger Phelps Huber Davis Jay Bilas | Teams left Out of Men's Basketball Championship (via SportClipsHD)
Shaka Smart wasn't kidding around when he said he'd use that as motivation.
Coach Shaka Smart on ESPN's Bracketology (via vcuathletics)
Of course, now Dickie V has gone out and picked VCU to beat Butler to get to the title game. Hindsight, it's awesome baby!