NCAA Mistakenly Told South Carolina Gamecocks They Had Made 2016 NCAA Tournament

The South Carolina Gamecocks finished the 2015-16 season with a 24-8 record and finished third in the SEC. Heading into Selection Sunday, Frank Martin‘s team was squarely on the bubble, not knowing whether they would make the 2016 NCAA tournament or head to the NIT. What actually ended up happening had to be the biggest swing from excitement to gut punch all in 10 minutes.

From Deadspin:

According to USC Athletics Director Ray Tanner, Frank Martin and the Gamecocks were notified by NCAA officials around 6:30 p.m. that they had been invited to the NCAA Tournament with a record of 24-8.

Ten minutes later, NCAA officials called South Carolina back and told them their invitation was a mistake, Tanner said. The NCAA Selection Committee instead selected the Vanderbilt Commodores.

For a program that hasn’t made the tournament since 2004, it had to be one of the sickest feelings to have everything ripped out from under you. To make matters worse, the NCAA responded with their explanation for how something like this could happen and it was unacceptable.