Late Saturday night, a member of the NCAA men's tournament selection committee expressed the difficulty in choosing among this year's bubble teams. Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard described the process as "harder than all my previous years combined," acknowledging the heartbreaking reality of some deserving teams not making it to "the dance."

For the 2022 college basketball season, there were more deserving bubble teams than available spots in the field of 68. Bubble teams from across the country fought relentlessly for a chance at an NCAA tournament bid, while a few surprise conference tournament winners stole precious at-large spots.

Among the bubble teams that received lifelines were Virginia and Colorado, while disappointment fell upon the Big East. Seton Hall, St. John's, and Providence, prominent teams from the vaunted Big East, found themselves left out of the tournament's field, leaving the conference with just three bids.

Although the Big East trio stood out as the biggest headline, they were not the only teams that experienced the anguish of not hearing their names called on Selection Sunday. Let's take a closer look at the six biggest NCAA tournament snubs for this year:

- Oklahoma: After facing a series of late-season injuries, the Sooners believed they had done enough to secure a spot. However, the committee did not share the same perspective, pointing to the team's lack of marquee wins and missed opportunities in Quadrant 1 games.

- Seton Hall: Despite having 13 wins in the highly competitive Big East conference, Seton Hall's hopes were damaged by predictive metrics and several losses against lower-ranked opponents, such as USC and Rutgers.

- Indiana State: Boasting an impressive overall record of 28 wins and a solid performance in NCAA team-sheet metrics, Indiana State's downfall was their inability to defeat high-caliber teams. Their losses to Drake, the Missouri Valley Conference runner-up, and power-conference opponents like Alabama and Michigan State proved detrimental.

- Pittsburgh: The committee made an example of Pittsburgh, emphasizing their weak non-conference schedule strength (ranked 343rd by the NET). Despite a strong finish to the season, winning 12 of their last 16 games, the Panthers would have to settle for an NIT invitation.

- St. John's: A late surge of five straight wins was not enough to secure an NCAA bid for St. John's. Their strong rankings in advanced metrics did not compensate for their limited success against top-40 NET teams, with Creighton being their sole notable victory of the season.

- Providence: The Friars' hopes were dashed when standout forward Bryce Hopkins suffered an ACL injury in early January. Providence managed to defeat Creighton twice along with quality wins over Wisconsin and Marquette. However, more than half of their victories came in Quadrant 4, leaving them on the edge of the NCAA tournament bubble.

The committee's decisions often serve as a reminder of the importance of strong performances, marquee wins, and avoiding damaging losses throughout the season. The 2022 NCAA tournament will now unfold with these notable omissions, leaving fans and analysts to debate the committee's choices.

As the tournament gets underway, fans can expect intense competition from the selected teams, each aiming to advance and etch their names in college basketball history.