Biggest March Madness snubs: San Diego State, Auburn headline teams to miss 2026 NCAA Tournament

College basketball has a large postseason field relative to other sports, but there will always be some hard feelings when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed.

Even in a seemingly weak season for bubble teams, with many struggling to separate themselves during championship week, a few who didn't hear their name called on Selection Sunday believe they should have been in the field.

Count Auburn coach Steven Pearl among those who believed in his team more than the selection committee did. "It's a team that can win games in the tournament, and I think they've done enough, ultimately, to have their name called on Selection Sunday," Pearl said of his Tigers, who would have set a record for most losses by an at-large team if they had been selected.

Instead, Auburn is one of a handful of teams feeling left out of the madness.

Here's a look at the top snubs from Sunday's March Madness bracket reveal. 

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2026 March Madness snubs

San Diego State

• 2025-26 record: 22-11 (14-6 in Mountain West)
• 2025-26 NET Ranking: 47

The Mountain West had a fairly strong year overall, but no team separated itself from the pack enough to give Utah State a second team from its conference in the big dance. San Diego State had the best case. 

The Aztecs played the Aggies closely in the Mountain West title game on Sunday and beat Utah State earlier in the season, also beating New Mexico twice and Nevada twice during the season. San Diego State did lose 11 games, but a tough non-conference schedule included Michigan and Arizona.

San Diego State's worst loss came against Troy, but Troy went on to win the Sun Belt title and that game went to double overtime. Given their schedule, the Aztecs were a close call for the selection committee when it came down to those final few spots.

Auburn

• 2025-26 record: 17-16 (7-11 in SEC)
• 2025-26 NET Ranking: 39

Auburn would have broken all precedent by earning an at-large bid with 16 losses. The Tigers can also make the case that their situation is unprecedented.

Auburn did face an enormously difficult schedule between the non-conference slate and SEC play, taking on five teams seeded within the top three lines in the bracket. The Tigers also have one of the nation's best wins, beating Florida in Gainesville. Auburn is the highest-ranked team in NET and KenPom to be left out of the field.

Ultimately, 15 losses likely would have gotten the job done. A late-season home loss to Ole Miss doomed the Auburn, and it's worth noting losses to Purdue, Michigan and Arizona, while understandable, came by a margin of more than 25 points. Auburn didn't prove it could consistently hang with the best, and that left Pearl's team on the wrong side of the bubble.

SN AWARDS: All-America team | Player of the Year | Coach of the Year

Oklahoma

• 2025-26 record: 19-15 (7-11 in SEC)
• 2025-26 NET Ranking: 48

Oklahoma spent most of the season pretty far away from NCAA Tournament consideration, but the Sooners finished the season strong to put themselves in contention for an at-large bid. After a loss in the SEC quarterfinals, however, it became clear a bid was unlikely.

Should Oklahoma have snuck in? The Sooners can say they didn't lose a game outside of Quads 1 and 2, with a road loss at South Carolina perhaps their worst defeat, and they have four Quad 1 wins including victories at Vanderbilt and Texas. 

On the other hand, Porter Moser's squad had plenty of opportunities to handle business and couldn't, dropping close games against Alabama, Missouri and Arkansas. Those margins kept Oklahoma's metrics in good shape, but at some point, winning the games matters most. 

New Mexico

• 2025-26 record: 23-10 (13-7 in Mountain West)
• 2025-26 NET Ranking: 46

New Mexico would have a better case to call itself a snub if it had beaten San Diego State in the Mountain West semifinals, but the Lobos still had a fairly impressive resume with a NET ranking higher than both San Diego State and Oklahoma.

With a number of key close losses deflating their record, the Lobos did pick up wins over VCU, Santa Clara and San Diego State, struggling to a 2-7 mark in Quad 1 games but handling business with a 6-1 record against Quad 2 competition.

Two Quad 3 losses doomed New Mexico. A home loss to Colorado State can be excused, but a road loss to rival New Mexico State was likely the difference between this position and at least strong at-large consideration in Eric Olen's first season on the job.

HISTORY OF UPSETS BY SEED:
16 vs. 1 | 15 vs. 2 | 14 vs. 3 | 13 vs. 4 | 12 vs. 5