LAST FOUR IN: Georgetown, NC State, Richmond, Utah State
FIRST FOUR OUT: Mississippi State, Memphis, UNC-Greensboro, Cincinnati
NEXT FOUR OUT:  Providence, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama

CONFERENCES WITH MULTIPLE BIDS
BIG TEN: 10
BIG EAST: 7
PAC-12: 5
ACC: 5
BIG 12: 5
SEC: 4
A-10: 3
WCC: 3
AAC: 2
MOUNTAIN WEST: 2

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Trying to place all these teams on the proper seed lines seems to get more difficult with each passing week. I thought today would be a good time to remind ourselves what the committee values and what they don’t. Committee members come and go, and each of them probably has a set of metrics they value more than others. However, there are several things that every committee over time has been consistent on. Some are positive traits, others are negative. But I think we can rely on these almost every year.

The committee’s motto

The committee has always gone by the motto, “Who did you play, where did you play them and how did you do?” The motto breaks down into three metrics.

Who did you play? This refers to strength of schedule. On the top of the bracket, a single digit SOS is looked at very favorably. But as these numbers reach the 200 and 300 range, it can often cause a team to be left out of the field, or at the very least to be given a much lower seed than their resume suggests. Penn State has a 300+ non-con SOS this year. This could hurt their seeding as they attempt to land on the four line or above.

Where did you play them? Of course this has to do with how you did in games away from home. There are no home games in the NCAA tournament. So while I feel this stat has been a little devalued over the past few years, it’s still important. In this year’s bracket, a perfect example is Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are having a great season, but currently with a 1-8 road/neutral record, Rutgers would do themselves well to win a few more games away from the RAC.

How did you do? Of course the last part of the motto refers to the team’s record. Oddly enough, some bracketologists seem to ignore this important stat. That’s why we play the games, right? Sometimes we get so caught up in Q1 and Q2 wins and SOS that we forget to give proper credit to teams that win games.

Beyond the motto

There are still few other items the committee values. Q1 and Q2 wins are certainly looked at, but are not the end all be all. View the “Q” columns as a snapshot of the season to illustrate if teams are comparable or not. But the committee does not stop there. They breakdown the schedule by top 10 records, top 20, top 30, etc. The important stopping point here is top 75. All teams on the top-12 seed lines fall into this category. And in the end, those are the teams you need to beat to win the title.

Finally, bad losses never hurt you as much as good wins help you. Everyone has a bad night occasionally. To see one or two Q3 losses is nothing to get overly concerned with. However, if losses in those categories compile, it shows a team’s inconsistency and can be cause for concern. This is one obstacle that Providence must overcome if it wants to get into the bracket. The Friars have three losses in Q3 and one in Q4.

I hope this helps take a peek at what the committee values as we get ever closer to Selection Sunday.

Brackets will be posted every Monday and Friday now until Selection Sunday. Follow me on twitter @tkbrackets. I will give you updates all season long as we make our way to Atlanta for the Final Four.

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