| Before March Madness truly kicks into gear, certain teams are just left mad.
The outcry over so-called NCAA Tournament snubs emerges every year, but this season it hit a crescendo with a plethora of "bid stealers" winning their conference tournaments.
And this time around, the anger hit close to home.
St. John's and Seton Hall notably did not make the men's tournament despite strong résumés.
Both teams appeared to have strong chances of going dancing until a whopping five teams earned automatic bids that wouldn't have qualified as at-large teams.
"This is the first time since I've been on the committee that we've had five bids that have been stolen," NCAA Tournament committee chair Charles McClelland said on the CBS broadcast after the full bracket was released. "The last two years combined, there has only been three.
 Al-Amir Dawes and Seton Hall were the "second team out" in Sunday's unveiling of the NCAA men's basketball tournament bracket.
AP
"…It was a very difficult process, one of the most difficult that I've been in. And I talked to some of the staff that have been in this room for 20 years, and they said this is probably the most difficult selection process that they've been a part of."
Seton Hall was the second team of the first four left out, meaning they would have been in had it not been for those five teams.
St. John's wasn't even one of the first four teams left out, despite a NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rating of 32, which historically has corresponded to a tournament berth.
"I think we all should probably never mention that word [NET] again because it's fraudulent," St. John's head coach Rick Pitino said after the bracket reveal. "I think the NET is something that shouldn't even be mentioned anymore. I think we had a good strength of schedule [in] KenPom [rankings]. Why mention him? We tried to play a tough schedule, we tried to do things the right way, and we didn't get in. But I never make excuses."
Ironically, Pitino's son Richard was partially to blame for the Johnnies being left out. His New Mexico team won the Mountain West tournament to earn an automatic bid.
The other bid thieves were North Carolina State (ACC), Oregon (Pac-12), Duquesne (Atlantic 10) and UAB (AAC).
At least Wagner and Saint Peter's punched their tickets.
 Rick Pitino tried to wrap his head around St. John's being left out of March Madness despite a 6-1 closing kick.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Still, it's easy to point at a few at-large teams that were less deserving than Seton Hall or St. John's (which declined a spot in the NIT).
Virginia ranked just 54th in NET and went a poor 2-7 in Quad 1 games. Then there's Florida Atlantic, which ranked 39th in NET and was 2-2 in Quad 1 games. (St. John's had a 4-10 record in Quad 1 games.)
The exclusions of St. John's and Seton Hall, along with Providence, meant the Big East came away as Selection Sunday's big losers.
The Big East landed just three tournament teams (UConn, Marquette and Creighton) in the field of 68 despite having the second-best NET as a conference. Compare that to the lowly Mountain West, which received six bids.
It was likely the best group of teams left out of the tournament in recent history.
And, in a bit of cruelty before the joys of March Madness, it was a couple of our local teams who got punished.
Guides to the brackets:
Men's: Complete printable bracket | East region team capsules and analysis | Midwest region team capsules and analysis | South region team capsules and analysis | West region team capsules and analysis
Women's: Complete printable bracket | Region-by-region analysis
Today's back page  New York Post
What's a backup QB worth? How quickly they fall.
The 2021 NFL Draft quarterback class entered the league with high hopes, but recently found itself on the discount rack.
It's a harsh indictment of just how far the values of Justin Fields, Mac Jones and Trey Lance have plunged, and can serve as a harbinger of what it will take for the Jets to unload Zach Wilson.
The Bears traded Fields, who was the fourth quarterback selected in that draft at No. 11 overall, to the Steelers on Saturday in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick, which can become a fourth-round pick based on playing time.
 Justin Fields was exiled this weekend by the Bears, who received a sixth-round pick in exchange for the former first-rounder.
USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
The Steelers already told Fields he will be the backup to Russell Wilson, according to NFL Network.
Last week, the Patriots traded Jones, the No. 15 pick and fifth quarterback selected in that draft, to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick. He will compete to be the backup for Trevor Lawrence, the only quarterback in the 2021 class who still has his starting job.
Then there is Lance, the No. 3 pick in that draft, who was traded by the 49ers to the Cowboys last offseason in exchange for a fourth-round pick and spent last season as a third-stringer behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush.
Three top-15 picks returned a combined zero Day 1 or 2 draft picks after losing their starting roles.
If that's all they're worth, what does that mean for Wilson, who Jets general manager Joe Douglas said has been given permission to seek a trade?
Wilson, as the No. 2 pick in that draft, has a more expensive contract than all three of those guys. He's far less accomplished on the field than Fields and Jones, and Lance's lack of time on the field — he played in just eight games before the trade — might have provided intrigue and boosted his trade value.
 What kind of trade market can the Jets expect for Zach Wilson?
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
It seems far-fetched the Jets will get a better offer than the sixth-round pick Fields and Jones each yielded for their teams. It appears far more likely the Jets might have to attach a pick to Wilson just for another team to take him and his salary.
He is set to count roughly $11.2 million against the salary cap next season, according to Spotrac, and the Jets would be required to carry that entire figure as dead money if they decide to cut him.
It's clear Wilson's days with the Jets are done after the team signed Tyrod Taylor, but it's much less clear how both sides can actually accomplish that.
Would the Jets part with a fifth-round or sixth-round pick just to get Wilson off their hands? They'll likely need to.
The Jets' decision to move on from Wilson in favor of Taylor as their backup to Aaron Rodgers also represents the different ways teams opt to fill their backup quarterback role, which last season emerged as a critical roster spot as a plethora of starting signal-callers went down with injuries.
 With Tyrod Taylor (right) joining the Jets, the Giants used free agency to secure a new backup for Daniel Jones.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
While the Steelers, Jaguars and Cowboys dealt for failed high draft picks who still possess some upside and were available via trade, the New York teams looked to the open market.
Taylor received a two-year, $12 million deal from the Jets. The Giants signed Drew Lock to a one-year, $5 million deal to back up Daniel Jones.
In totality, the ample backup quarterback options have been acquired for cheap prices – either late-round picks or short, team-friendly contracts in free agency.
If that's the going rate, even after we saw how important backups were last season, it doesn't bode well for the Jets' chances at bringing back anything for Wilson.
Jalen Brunson, in coach speak There's praise, and then there's what Jalen Brunson has received from a growing list of opposing coaches.
They keep gushing about the Knicks star point guard and everything he represents.
 Jalen Brunson goes to work during a 42-point outing in the Knicks' win over the Kings on Saturday night.
USA TODAY Sports
On Saturday night, Kings coach Mike Brown went out of his way to share his thoughts on Brunson, who scored 42 points in the Knicks' 98-91 win.
"Man, he's a hell of a player," Brown said. "I don't know if — Steph [Curry] maybe — we blitzed anybody as much as we did Jalen tonight, tried to send two [defenders] at him. And he still scored 42 points. … We sent the double team at him every single time he came off the pick and roll in the second half and probably half the time in the first half. He's a hell of a player. Big game, he stepped up and he really helped them get it done tonight."
It mirrors what an array of the league's best coaches have said after Brunson ripped their teams apart.
Take these comments from Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, one of the most respected figures in the NBA and a two-time champion.
"He has a great competitive will," Spoelstra said after Brunson scored 38 points in the Knicks' Game 5 win over the Heat in last year's Eastern Conference semifinals. "So, he's going to continue to attack, he's going to try to manipulate the defense. He's aggressive, he's physical, but he also knows how to draw fouls.
 Kings head coach Mike Brown called Jalen Brunson "a hell of a player" who dissected his team's pick-and-roll defense.
Getty Images
"He's clever, so he has that combination. So be it. You have to respect him as a competitor and then find a way to get the job done."
Brunson embodies exactly what the best coaches crave: someone whose game goes beyond his physical gifts with his sound fundamentals, stellar footwork and basketball IQ. And it's his competitiveness and leadership that seems to elevate him to another level.
"I think Jalen is such a natural leader," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who has won four NBA titles as a coach and previously won five as a player, said while coaching Brunson with Team USA last summer. "Because he's a point guard, he immediately comes to mind. He's the one who's leading the '1, 2, 3 USA' chant. Some guys just, it just comes naturally to them."
What we're reading 👀 ⚾ As he begins Year 4 of owning the Mets, Steve Cohen finally is able to turn the page on the Wilpon era and is excited about the youth movement underway in the organization, writes The Post's Joel Sherman.
🏒 The Rangers look playoff-ready to The Post's Larry Brooks. But they had bigger concerns after a no-doubt 5-3 win over the rival Islanders: Defenseman Ryan Lindgren made an early exit, putting no weight on his left leg.
🏒 Meanwhile, the Islanders are skidding at the worst time.
⚾ If you're still glass-half-empty on Yankees ace Gerrit Cole's injury, this prognosis from an orthopedist should make you feel better.
🏀 Get a load of what Victor Wembanyama did to the Nets: 33 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, seven blocks in an overtime win.
⛳ Scottie Scheffler cemented his world No. 1 status by repeating at the Players Championship.
🎾 Indian Wells, tennis' "fifth major," belonged to Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek.
⚽ How do you Adu? America's top soccer prodigy, 14-year-old Cavan Sullivan, is in talks to sign with Manchester City.
⚾ Reminder: Baseball season begins in two days.
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