By Ed Morrone

Colonial Athletic Association conference commissioner Tom Yeager said it best-Selection Sunday was a bittersweet day.

On one hand, it showed just how far the conference has come receiing multiple bids for the first time, as UNC-Wilmington (conference winner) and George Mason (at-large) gained entry into the Big Dance.

But on the other hand, it showed the selection committee still has its flaws, leaving the Pride out of the Tournament over teams such as Air Force (lost its conference quarterfinals to sub. 500 Wyoming), Seton Hall (lost in the first round of the Big East Tournament to No. 10 Rutgers) and Utah State (a team many expected to be selected only if it won its conference tournament).

“I’m more disappointed about [not getting] the three than I’m excited about the two,” Yeager told ESPN.com’s Kyle Whelliston. “I’ll have to talk to the committee members to find out the exact reasons why Hofstra was left out. I really thought they were in.”

So did the players and coaches of the Pride, who looked like they had all been punched in the stomach after seeing George Mason’s name called over theirs.

“Every year there’s some controversy as to who gets in and who doesn’t, and this year’s no different,” Pride head coach Tom Pecora said. “I believe the two teams [UNCW & the Pride] that play in the conference championship in our tournament deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament.”

In essence, the conference probably did deserve three bids, mainly because it was such a breakthrough year for so many teams. Four teams (UNCW, Mason, the Pride and Old Dominion) had more than 20 wins, while two others (Virginia Commonwealth and Northeastern) had 19. However, it wasn’t enough, and the conference will be forced to lick its wounds and settle for two in the NCAAs and two (the Pride and ODU) in the NIT.

“I think we’re excited we finally got an at-large team in,” Yeager said. “But it’s been bittersweet because we thought we had a third team that looked very much like, if not better, than some of the [other] teams that got in.”

So Mason and Wilmington will head to the Tournament to play Michigan State and George Washington, respectively, while the Pride will go to the NIT and continue to wonder where it all went wrong.

“You’re not going to change it, it’s down there on paper and it is what it is, but it would’ve been nice to know why,” Pecora said.

Pride Coach Tom Pecora