Daniss Jenkins, Josh Hart torch Virginia, March Madness selection committee amid sloppy loss

If the NCAA Tournament selection committee was hoping to move past the criticism of who did and didn’t make this year’s tourney, Virginia did little to help its cause — and there were more than a few people ready to throw shade.

The selection committee came under fire from Big East teams like St. John’s, Providence and Seton Hall not making the tournament while a team like Virginia did. 

Well, it only looked worse when Virginia scored 14 points in the first half against Colorado State in its First Four matchup and went nearly an hour before scoring another basket in a 67-42 rout.

Virginia’s Ryan Dunn (13) and Dante Harris walk off of the court after suffering a 67-42 blowout loss to Colorado State. AP

It was Colorado State advancing to face Texas in the Midwest Regional at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday. 

It left Big East basketball fans feeling a certain way, even prompting Villanova alumnus and Knicks star Josh Hart to comment. 

“They really picked this Virginia team over the Big East teams,” wrote Hart, who helped the Wildcats win a national championship in 2016. 

St. John’s shooting guard Daniss Jenkins purportedly weighed in during the course of the night with his own post on X and a repost of Hart’s remark. 

“Really crazy!!!!!” Jenkins wrote, adding two hand smacking face emojis. 

St. John’s Red Storm guard Daniss Jenkins Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

The exclusion of so many Big East teams had many basketball fans up in arms, and committee chair Charles McClelland’s reasoning for leaving several out only enraged fans further. 

“When you start talking about St. John’s, they were 4-10 in Quad 1,”  McClelland explained on Mad Dog Radio on Sunday. “They had seven opportunities at the Top 3 teams from the Big East and went just 1-6 with a home win over Creighton and not a non-conference win of real note.” 

Josh Hart Robert Sabo for NY Post

The last four teams in this year were Virginia, Colorado State, Boise State and Colorado. 

Seton Hall had been one of the first four teams out. 

St. John’s had hoped to get into the Tournament for the first time since 2019 and grab a win for the first time since 2000, but instead was on the outside looking in.