Coaches from mid-major schools are upset with the new way the NCAA Tournament's bracket is set up diminishes their schools' chances of making it to the Big Dance.

Middle Tennessee coach Kermit Davis and Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said the quadrant system makes it extremely difficult for teams that are considered mid-majors.

"The committee sent a message to me that it's going to get tougher for everybody at our level to get an at-large with this new system," Davis told ESPN. "You've got to be perfect. We only have a few chances, and they are usually either on the road or on a neutral court, where the Power 5 schools have six to eight opportunities at home in front of their crowd.

"Look at the season that Saint Mary's had. They were in the top 20 a week ago. I think people would rather watch both of us in Dayton than two Power 5 teams that finished seventh or eighth in their leagues."

It wasn't just smaller schools that were hurt by the new system: USC coach Andy Enfield also was confused about why the Trojans were snubbed, even though they finished second in the Pac-12 and lost to regular-season champion Arizona in the conference tournament final.

"We had an RPI of 23 and a strength of schedule of 37," Enfield said. "It says we played a tough schedule and won a lot of games. We also won 11 games away from home — six on the road. They were supposed to value that."

Another aspect that was discussed was why schools that have been named in an FBI probe regarding illegal recruiting (Oklahoma State, USC and Louisville) were considered.

According to NCAA Tournament selection committee chair Bruce Rasmussen, that was never a discussion the committee had.