Did SMU Really Get Snubbed?

As they went through the bracket release on Selection Sunday, the main team that everyone immediately thought got snubbed was Southern Methodist University. Coach by the great Larry Brown, I also thought SMU should have been safely in the 68 going in. One of my articles on Yahoo! Voices even pointed out SMU as a potential sleeper for the NCAA Tournament. SMU seemed to be a lock as they were ranked 25th in last Monday's edition of the AP polls, so why would they not make the big dance? They also play in a respectable league, the American Conference, which features teams such as Louisville, Connecticut, and Cincinnati. All of these figures seem to make SMU, 23-9 and 12-6 in conference play, being a lock for the tournament. However, ultimately what it came down to was their pathetic non-conference schedule. In short terms, it was ranked in the 300's. Although, their overall strength of schedule was 129, the poor non-conference schedule was what the committee thought hurt them the most. If if you don't think they played that poor of schedule and still think they should get in, here are their non-conference games and keep in mind that most of these were played on their home court.
11/8 TCU
11/11 Rhode Island
11/18 Arkansas*
11/20 Texas State
11/24 Arkansas Pine-Bluff
11/26 Sam Houston State
11/29 Virginia*
11/30 Texas A&M
12/2 McNeese State
12/4 Illinois-Chicago
12/18 Texas-Pan American
12/20 Wyoming

The games indicated with an asterisk were really their only games against respectable squads and both of those resulted in losses for the Mustangs.

Overall, it is easy to argue that the committee messed up by not including SMU in the field, but their non-conference strength of schedule killed them. This was the main area where teams like NC State were able to get in at the expense of the Mustangs from SMU. The future does look bright for them, as they have a solid recruiting class, and I no doubt have faith that Larry Brown will keep this program going up.