The 5 Best Teams Left Out of the 2019 NCAA Tournament

3. North Carolina State

An Atlantic Coast Conference team that finished with a 22-11 record, 9-9 conference record, compiled wins over the Auburn Tigers, Syracuse Orange, and lost by just one point to the Virginia Cavaliers is settling for the NIT Tournament this season.

This team, who ranked 32nd in numberFire's nERD rankings, is, of course, the North Carolina State Wolfpack. The Wolfpack, who got into last year's tournament with a 21-12 record, have special reason to be upset at their omission, especially considering that they weren't even one of the first teams left out of the at-large bids.

Those teams were the North Carolina-Greensboro Spartans, Alabama Crimson Tide, Texas Christian Horned Frogs, and Indiana, who ranked 81st, 60th, 43rd, and 40th in nERD, respectively. To make it worse, those teams all received 1 seeds in the NIT. Perhaps that slight will give the Wolf Pack enough motivation to end the season on a strong note.