West Virginia University turned down invitations to the National Invitational Tournament and the inaugural College Basketball Crown event in Las Vegas, doing so the day after being historically snubbed from the NCAA Tournament. After releasing statements about the snub on Sunday evening, Athletic Director Wren Baker and Head Coach Darian DeVries each released follow up statements on Monday morning about the decision to not play in the other two events. 

Baker: “As I said last night, we believe that we are in NCAA tournament team and that our overall resume proved we were deserving of being selected to the field. I am very disappointed for the young men in our basketball program. I am proud of our team and coaching staff for what they fought through and accomplished this season. After consulting with our team, we have decided not to participate in any other postseason tournaments and will direct our support to the current members of our program and our preparation for next year. I want to thank our entire men’s basketball program for the great memories they gave Mountaineer Nation this season and the foundation this group set for the future. I also want to thank our fans for their unwavering support. You are truly one of the great fan bases in all of college sports.”

DeVries: “I want to reiterate what I said on Sunday that I am incredibly proud of this team and what they accomplished this season. One of our team goals was making the NCAA Tournament and we had a resume worthy of an NCAA Tournament selection. Our guys poured their hearts into this season and all their collective efforts into making the NCAA tournament. I would like to thank all of Mountaineer Nation for their unwavering support of our team this season.”