NCAA Bracket 2011: Sorry, but UAB Proves the Selection Committee Makes Mistakes

Like watching an ex-girlfriend kiss your best friend, witnessing UAB get pummeled Tuesday night 70-52 by the Clemson Tigers had to rekindle the anger of many of the teams whose bubble was busted on Selection Sunday.

As if sitting through an hour of made-for-TV drama on Sunday, waiting anxiously for their names to be called, only to be left heartbroken wasn't bad enough, teams like Virginia Tech and Colorado had to relive their nightmare on Tuesday as they no doubt stared bitterly at their television screens knowing they could have done better. 

UAB was a disgrace. And to add injury to insult, they not only lost the game, but they also lost their conference player of the year, Aaron Johnson, to a broken tibia with the game already well out of hand.

This matchup was so bad, fans were clamoring for a rerun of the opener between Arkansas Little-Rock and UNC-Ashville, supposedly two of the worst teams in the tournament, who put on a wildly entertaining overtime thriller to kick off March Madness.

I'm not sure UAB could have beaten either one of these teams.

So what does this say for the NCAA Selection Committee? Should we disband the keepers of the invites and follow college football's suit by letting the computers decide who gets to dance?

Surely, a complex mix of RPI, coaches' polls, AP polls and strength of schedule matrices would have rewarded teams like Virginia Tech and Colorado, who both had impressive resume building wins, while leaving out the less-deserving UABs of the college basketball world.

Or better yet, why not expand the field even more, watering it down so that everyone gets a chance? I mean, after all, in this day in age sports aren't about winning or losing, but making sure everyone has fun.

It's all about the experience, the memories, moments that last a life time.

I'll bet if you asked the UAB Blazers right now, this night was probably one they would soon like to forget.

At least Virginia Tech and Colorado can take comfort in the fact that the one who stole their bid is sharing in their misery.